Privateer Diaries: On turning 25.
The gravel sponsorship market, and riding to Andorra.
Hey, how’re you?
This is going to be one of those messy pieces where I go here, there, and everywhere.
From a 72hr bike packing trip to Andorra, where my head is with the privateer sponsorship market, and a few words on my 25th birthday that happened in early December.
I’m back in Girona now after spending Christmas back home in Lincolnshire with the family. Maybe it’s getting to my mid-twenties, or perhaps it’s because we’ll probably go to Canada for Christmas next year, but this past week felt extra special.
Bumping into old friends, spending time with family, and riding old training roads. I moved away from Grimsby just after my nineteenth birthday and never moved back, and probably never will, but that changes nothing.
Anyway, let’s have it.
I turned 25.
To many of you reading this, I’m probably still a spring chicken, but to me it feels like a milestone birthday.
I remember my 10th birthday, as my sister was off school with a snow day, and I thought it was a big deal that I was entering ‘double digits’. There’s not much in my head about my fifteenth birthday, and my twentieth was spent in this weird limbo. I’d just moved back from France, we were in COVID lockdown, and I was about to move to Girona. It’s even stranger to think of the next five years - I’ll be thirty.
Twenty-five feels like that point where life is all over the place. Some of your friends are away, travelling the world, others are climbing the corporate ladder, and some are starting to take life a lot more seriously.
I’m at the middle point. I have intrusive thoughts on a weekly basis to drop everything in life and move to New York City or California. I still want to live in Nice at some point. I want to start a team, and I still want to win races. There’s a lot.
It’s that age where I don’t feel settled. Bike racing has defined all of my adult life, and while it still means everything to me, the last few years have reminded me how easily plans can change.
Anyway, that’s enough of being deep.
Bike packing to Andorra.
Speaking of intrusive thoughts, I acted on one in mid-December and did a mini bike-packing trip up to our place in Andorra.
I had a few big days on the plan and wanted a little bit of adventure. Why not ride to Andorra and back over three days, I thought.
Conn McDunphy, my old training partner, was in town and was also recruited for the silly idea. I’ve done the ride a few times in summer, but never in winter. The ride takes you from Girona and criss-crosses the lower Pyrenees, over La Molina ski-station and finally up and over the peak of Andorra at some 2400m in elevation.
It’s December, and Andorra is a ski resort, so there’s plenty of snow and some questionable road conditions. Day one was the big day, day two was to the cafe, and day three was back home.
I love riding up there. The air is thin, the roads are hard, but it’s bloody beautiful.
Privateering
I’ve been asked to write a couple of pieces for CyclingNews, one about the financials and realities of privateer gravel racing, and another on building a team, so expect a few thousand words to come from me in January.
I’ve already said on this Substack that I’ve turned down some contracts for 2026 as I’m extremely clear on what I want to do, or more, what I don’t want to do. Of course, that means leaving money on the table, which is tough. I’m far from a financial situation where I can afford to do that, but it just feels right, and I’ll figure it out.
It’s a tough market out there. Lots of friends and colleagues are struggling to pull together a package that’s on par with previous years. There are a few reasons here: brands are investing more heavily in big projects (like Specialized Factory Racing), some teams are folding (Classified-Rose and Ridley Racing), there are more gravel riders, and there seems to be more targeted spending than before.
I’ll be honest, there have been a fair few sleepless nights. My financials aren’t as strong as in previous years, and I’m trying to budget carefully for flights to the US races and everything that comes with them. I’m about to receive a TT bike from Colnago, but it’s a frame-only situation, so I still need to buy the Shimano parts to build it up. I’m still with ENVE, but they don’t make a TT rig.
All of these things cost money. I know I’m in a crazy, fortunate position to even be able to say “I’m about to receive a TT bike from Colnago” and that my life allows me to do some pretty cool things, but heading into 2026, I’ll need to be a bit more creative with the budget.
That also means picking up some work alongside racing. I’m comfortable with that, I’m just figuring out what it looks like. So, please hit me up with any opportunities!
I’ll personally be going through a few sponsor changes, too. I’ve decided to leave Castelli and their SOG project. There was an offer on the table from them, and Soren Jensen, who’s my boss there, has also become a close friend. We spoke at length about my plans both for 2026, and the future.
It’s one of those relationships that goes into the ‘don’t be sad it’s over, smile because it happened’ category. Castelli is a brand that got me through many Lincolnshire winters as a kid and is a brand that I’ve always looked up to. There is a huge part of me that is sad to leave.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but I want the freedom to make choices based on my own long-term vision. Sometimes that means knowing when to step away.
There’s more to come on where I’m going in January.
Other bits
I’m going to hit you all with some recommendations because I’ve had some class reads and podcasts recently.
Just trust me - this is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
Second Nature Pod
This is about Dylan Bowman, the co-host of Second Nature, being retired from his Red Bull sponsorship. It’s great.
Freakonomics Pod on Horse Racing
This was a Cole Davis suggestion. It’s a three parter, and an extremely good listen.
Unibet Rose Rockets Substack.
This is biased as I help them to write it, but I love how the team just say it how it is - no bullshit.
Righto, that’s it for today!
As always, please do feel free to reach out to me by replying here or hitting me directly on jtlcycling@gmail.com - I’m always up for conversations or article ideas
I don’t start racing until Mid South in March this year so the winter build feels a touch slower, but honestly, that’s quite nice too.
I always put a bit up in the newsletter about the team I’m trying to build, and unfortunately that project has taken a little to the back seat. The simple reason is money. I spent most of autumn pitching it and although we had many good conversations, ultimately none of them resulted with what I deemed as an appropriate level of funding to get it off the ground.
It’s something I keep working on, but it needs to be with the right person, or partner, and ultimately the right financial backing.
It’s got to be done properly. And my network is currently maxed out when it comes to conversations.
Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read.
Joe
While you’re here…
I’ve added a paid subscription and a ‘Buy Me A Coffee’ link to this post.
This allows me to write articles that don’t necessarily fit in at one of the normal outlets. I’m currently working on something about Keegan’s move to Specialized, and also something about the different funding models for a team.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/joelaverick
Happy birthday. I feel similar feelings having just turned 29.