Most of the Formula 1 paddock took the quick flight after the race in Sepang, but Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas went a wildly different route. The 10-time race winner chose to swap a short hop for a massive 419.67km cycling trip from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore over several days, arriving safely ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
His adventure on two wheels started just hours after the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia concluded, an event where he spun out and failed to finish. That very evening, he tackled a 56.60km stretch from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson in just over two hours. The miles piled up quickly from there. On Monday, he spent almost six hours in the saddle for a mammoth 161.91km journey through Malacca City to Muar. Tuesday brought another punishing block of more than five hours on the road covering 161km, taking him along natural coastal paths and gravelled, less common routes toward Batu Pahat, through Senggarang, past Kelapa Sawit, and finally into Kulai.
Wednesday brought a slightly shorter leg that completed the total 419.67km expedition into Singapore. It was a stunning undertaking, but Bottas insisted his preparations for the weekend remained completely untouched. Everything was meticulously planned so that he could recover properly, treating Wednesday as a short recovery day and relying on familiar long-distance training.
Life on two wheels is hardly new territory for the Finn. Earlier this season, he even secured a spot at the Gravel World Championships by finishing fifth in his age group at a qualifying event in the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, that championship conflicts with his Formula 1 duties this weekend, meaning he has to sit it out. There are no immediate odysseys on the calendar right now, though the door remains open.
Along the way, the journey offered plenty of sights, including jungles, plantations, and a bit of night riding. It even helped him face down a personal hurdle. As he told the media in Singapore on Thursday, he overcame some of his little fears because he does not really like snakes, yet the ones he encountered along the way turned out to be really chill.
