Words James Ion - Photography FELLUSCH
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Paul Voß is a man of many talents. Two successful cycling Podcasts, and a clothing range, and he is not that bad at bikes. He wore the famous Pokadot jersey at the Tour de France and has finished all three Grand Tours. Now with his focus on GRVL, it’s fair to say he is one of the most consistent performers on the circuit. I managed to get a few moments to speak with Paul after returning from this year's Unbound.
Paul (or Pow-el if you want to pronounce it the German way) is a laid-back guy, he is happy with how he does things and confident enough in his style that he does not have to worry about the other riders and instead focuses on himself. This confidence comes from his years as a pro rider, and the experience and wisdom of age, not that he is about to retire just yet!
On the telephone, the Rostock native was relaxed and honest about his career and the state of GRVL racing, the increased professionalism, his bad luck at Unbound and his thoughts on “Spirit of GRVL”.
After finishing road racing in 2016 he went on to coach, be a sports director and a commentator, there was no big leap into the world of GRVL, rather he took a break and built his way back to fitness, starting the next chapter in 2021.
“It took about two years to get back to fitness. In 2023 I was back to my ‘road’ form” Paul tells me. Indeed if you check his palmaries from last year they speak for themselves; multiple podiums, including third at the European GRVL Championships, and wins at The Traka and UCI Gravel World Series race in Aachen. His patience had paid off.
“It’s changed so much in the past four years” reminisces Paul, “The races used to be longer, not easier than Road races, but different, an adventure. Since the UCI has gotten involved the level has become more professional, the World Series races have a more road race feel”
Now that he is an established name in the GRVL scene I wanted to ask him about his comments from 2022 about keeping the “Vibe” of GRVL as he stated that he would endeavour to keep this going, two years on how did he see it?
“On the Road, you don’t have the time to be close to the public, it’s ALL about performance. One of the unique things about GRVL is the closeness we have to ‘normal’ riders. This closeness needs to be valued as we all race together and experience it all together, afterwards we can all share in the same story. Mass participation keeps the “Vibe” alive and brings the community closer”
It shouldn’t be forgotten that the USP of GRVL racing is that anyone can enter and rub shoulders with the pros, there is no way to do this with the Road guys and it adds a community element like no other. However, at the pointy end, it is more professional.
“You have to accept that will be more professional, it’s a job, and you have to perform to succeed, and that’s fine for the pros. As long as we keep the mass participation the “Vibe” will stay.
“Unbound is not the best GRVL race in the world”
Paul was again at Unbound this year and again did not have his best performance, a mixture of bad luck and illness put stay to any hopes of a good result, however, even he was surprised at the level of this year’s race.
“Unbound has always been shit for me, illness, mechanicals, I have never had a good run at it. But I was shocked this year when I got dropped after about six hours. The speed was very high, I would have had to have been 100% in form to have a chance, but I was dying a slow death” Despite this Paul went on to finish, he could have pulled the plug but that isn’t in his DNA.
“It’s all about finishing” he admits “You have to respect the race, I wanted to finish for me too”
He went on to take 49th place, nothing to write home about on paper, but says a lot for his character especially when so many don’t make it to the end.
What are his thoughts on the race, even if you are not into GRVL if you ride a bike, you have probably heard of Unbound.
“It’s not the best race in the world, it is up there but now there are so many alternatives across the globe, but it’s still somewhere where I will keep coming back”
We moved on to talking about the current racing scene, there seems to be a definite separation between the different series and countries. “For sure, with the UCI series, it has gotten more intense, whereas the US races are longer. The Traka and these types of races are more about being durable and are similar in effort to the US courses. These are more like you would expect of a GRVL race, the UCI series is a lot more like road racing in terms of effort.”
What about tactics, does he see this becoming more prevalent in races? “I see it more in the European races, but that is the influence of more teams competing now. I do see team tactics becoming a part of racing in the future. Money will play a big part, but I do expect to see it at the World Championships.”
How then to adapt to this, especially if racing as a one-man team, as a privateer adventurer?
“I just don’t care” laughs Paul “I keep doing my thing. I want to do things the way I want to do it. I want enjoyment and success, I don’t want it to be serious like road racing” he pauses before saying, slightly tongue in cheek, “I am not young anymore, so hopefully I will be out of the game when there are super domestiques!”
What after all his years of pro riding, can he offer as advice to us normal people?
“Don’t get stuck on the marginal gains!” he replies “Focus on the big things, get the basics right and ride your bike!”
We say our goodbyes and Paul gets ready to enjoy himself and gain more success, the “Vibe” is still strong especially, if he keeps doing it the way he wants to.
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