He hasn't raced in more than five years, but on Saturday Thomas Decker will compete in a 200-mile unbound gravel event in Kansas.

Such a challenge is daunting enough for the current riders on this weekend's World Tour, but Decker's entry to the US is completely self-made, as he bet his friend and colleague Lawrence ten Dam that he could beat him.

While that claim seems somewhat unlikely, given that ten Dam came into Unbound Gravel with a convincing win in the Gravel Locos last month, the two Dutch friends traveled to the US together, rekindling a friendship that dates back to the late 1990s, when they first raced together as children. They have rekindled it.

"I hadn't ridden a bike in four years, but I made a bet with Laurence on the podcast that we'd ride together for the first time, and he said he'd ride with me for the first time.

"We were just talking shit, but at that point I weighed 90 pounds, I used to weigh about 68. But then last year there was Lockdown, and I got on the bike a lot more. I've lost weight and I have more friends to ride with in Amsterdam

"Laurence was already preparing for gravel events in the US and Europe, so I started training too. It all started as a joke, but now we are together again like this, just like the old days: we started together in 1998 in the same small club and now we are riding bikes in the US."

The last time Decker competed in a race kit was in 2015, after a failed attempt at the UCI Hour Record.

"So it's been over six years since I've done anything like a race. I feel healthy; I'm not going to be 68-69 kg, but I'm going to ride my bike and have fun. That's the most important thing."

Decker is trying to balance his friendly competitive spirit with the fact that this is his first race in over half a century. Not a gravel specialist, he will rely on his own abilities, enthusiasm, and perhaps a little luck given the obstacles that await him in a 200-mile race of this nature. He does, however, have a faint hope of a top 10 finish. One thing is for sure: The 36-year-old knows he will suffer.

"Saturday will be a race and it will be hard. The level is really high, but I think I can aim for the top 10. Like the level in my body, the World Tour riders are doing a lot more miles, I've never been on a bike for 10 hours, so I'm curious to see how my body reacts," he said. There will be suffering, just like in the past," he told Cycling News.

"Even though it will be the hardest ride of my life, it will still be fun. It's still a luxury to be in a position to do what you love. People know that I'm passionate about this sport and they've made me feel very welcome."