Closing out September in Colorado, Cole Davis (Project Echelon Racing) earned two firsts - a gravel victory on his second-ever start and a roster spot on Team USA for the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships.
After a full road season with US-based Continental team Project Echelon Racing, finishing strong with second at the one-day Bucks County Classic in Pennsylvania, Davis was about to enjoy some off-season time with family in Leadville, Colorado.
Instead, his off-season became an off-road opportunity that led him to Minnesota, then southern Colorado and western North Carolina, culminating in a journey this week to the Netherlands.
At the USA Cycling Gravel National Championships in La Crescent, Minnesota, the 26-year-old earned a silver medal and deposited $1,500 in prize money. His portion of the prize purse gave him the resources to race The Rad Dirt Fest, and a win there turned into a ticket to the Netherlands, and the unexpected tag as a 'gravel cyclist'.
"Yeah, I never thought I'd be called that in my life," Davis told Cyclingnews about recent success on gravel giving him a new label. "The road scene in America is pretty tough at the moment, and I'm grateful to have a team where they provide lots of opportunities. I count Gravel Nationals as my first gravel race. So I got a wildcard spot [to Worlds], so I decided I might as well continue my season.
"It's pretty interesting to think about, if I get fourth, I don't qualify [for Worlds]. I probably don't get any attention. Most importantly, I don't have any prize money to continue funding the rest of my season.
"So I started planning out the rest of my season, and I was uncertain if I was going to go to Worlds. I pretty much used up all the prize money from Gravel Nationals to set up the rest of the calendar, and then after the RAD, I was able to cover the rest of my trip to Worlds, so that was pretty cool."
It's been a whirlwind three weeks, during which he earned the silver medal at US Gravel Nationals, won The Rad Dirt Fest and then went second at Belgian Waffle Ride North Carolina. None of the gravel races were on his radar until a month ago, when he travelled to Minnesota to join Project Echelon teammate Sam Boardman at Gravel Nats.
"Sam was in the breakaway, which was perfect. He's a great breakaway rider, and he was on a good day, which allowed me to become the world's most-hated gravel racer for about four hours. I just sat on the moves, followed the favourites, never touched the wind," Davis recalled.
"Then finally, I leaped across to a group of favourites that had gone. As soon as I got to them, we turned off the main road, and I saw Sam had clearly just crashed, and his race was over. I was like, wow, if there was ever a great time for me to attack across to a few guys, that was it. That was three or four hours into the race, so without Sam up there, I think the outcome is very different."
It was a first gravel medal for Davis, a DNF for Boardman.
Davis grew up in northern California racing mountain bikes in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) leagues, then transitioned to road racing when he was 17 and won the US men's junior road race national title. He competed the next four seasons with the Hagens Berman Axeon development team, competing across one-day and stage races in North America, South America and Europe.
After two more years on small squads and compiling victories at Redlands Bicycle Classic and assorted criteriums, he landed at Project Echelon Racing for 2025. His season started slowly due to injury, then he was the best-placed Continental rider, 21st, at Maryland Cycling Classic, and then finished second at Bucks County Classic.
The US elite men's team headed to UCI Gravel Worlds does not have a roster of proven gravel stars or WorldTour riders like squads from the Netherlands, Belgium or France. Davis is the only athlete from either the men's or women's podiums at US Gravel Nationals to accept the invitation to race this weekend.
He will have some company, another wildcard rider, Justin McQuerry, who was ninth at Highlands Gravel qualifier. Several other riders who auto-qualified at UCI Gravel World Series races include Andrew Lydic, who was fifth at Gravel Adventure in Poland, and Ethan Overson, who was third at The Rad Dirt Fest.
But Davis is not star-struck about going up against current and former WorldTour riders like Tim Wellens, Romain Bardet, Gianni Vermeersch, Petr Vakoč, Tim Merlier and Greg Van Avermaet, who will race Sunday.
"I don't think there's anything to be intimidated by the guys you race against used to be WorldTour. They're just normal people. While the WorldTour status is easy to see, like that rider is good, there are so many other hidden gems of competition out there," he said.
His debut on gravel may be a 'farewell tour' as well, admitting he is looking for a new team, but also a full-time job if his athletic career hits an abrupt end.
"So I'm trying to figure things out right now. I basically have to find some more financial stability if I want to continue racing. And yeah, I'm currently in the job application process to become a regular, functioning adult in a month or two time if I'm not able to find something," he told Cyclingnews.
"I also think that I'm probably one of the most versatile riders in the country. If it's racing crits, I'm happy to do that. If it's gravel, if it's road, I'll do that. I love it all. Just any opportunity to continue riding bikes full-time. I'm up for anything. I mean, I want to stay racing my bike."
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