Ian Boswell crossed the finish line Saturday with a dramatic victory in the men's unbound gravel 200 race, but as he raised his arms in celebration, the American wore a sweatband on his right arm that showed the flag of the transgender community, He also raised awareness of the transgender community.

For Boswell, this is both a personal issue and a step toward recognizing the rights of transgender athletes and the community at large. The former World Tour rider's nephew is transgender, and Boswell wore the armband again a few weeks ago at the Rule of Three gravel race in Arkansas, but this was the first time he saw more media and spectators show their support for him.

"It's personal for me because my nephew is transgender, but it's really great that people are questioning and noticing," Boswell told Cycling News the morning after his memorable victory.

Boswell brought more than a single sweatband to the race. He even made time to hand out more sweat bands to his fellow racers at the start.

"When I was handing them out at the start line, people asked me what the flags were. It's still new to me and my family, but I think it starts with something as simple as doing research and talking to people."

Boswell, who raced in Arkansas last month, made sure to educate herself about the issues surrounding transgender athletes, especially after the state passed controversial laws surrounding transgender athletes earlier this year.

"When I went to Arkansas and raced, I tried to be very careful about the LGBTQ community because it had nothing to do with me, and I thought I was ignorant about the laws here in Arkansas and the attention that the cyclocross world championships were getting." Boswell told Cycling News.

"I got really curious and instead of just having a knee-jerk reaction, I talked to people in the community and asked them how white men could support them and what they wanted. We reached out to different people involved in the trans community and the LGBTQ community to figure out what was the right thing to do in terms of attending these events. [As for the race in Oregon, I did a podcast in Arkansas with Molly Cameron, who I've known for a long time, and she started a foundation to help the cycling community navigate what's going on. So I've been in regular contact with her and the message was really anything to help. This is a long running problem and a battle, but the journey starts with sharing messages."

Boswell won the Unbound Gravel 200 in a two-up sprint with Lawrence ten Dam, adding that the American drew great inspiration from the flag during the race while racing 200 miles of dirt and gravel roads.

While the win was clearly a big moment in his racing career and arguably his biggest win ever, on-road or off-road, the 30-year-old said that his pride in supporting the LGBTQ community and bringing attention to them is He admits that his pride in supporting the LGBTQ community and bringing attention to them is greater than the personal joy that comes with the victory.

"There were many times during the race when I would look down and see the flag. I am in a very privileged position to be able to race and run." On the other hand, a lot of people have a lot of big issues in their lives that they have to deal with. If I can bring a little awareness and support, it honestly means more to me than winning any race. I've spent a lot of time with people in the trans community, and they have very difficult issues that they go through. I'm happy and proud to be able to shine a little light on those communities."