It's been a long time coming, but finally Laurens ten Dam will wear a number in a major race since retiring from road biking at the end of 2019. In the 153-mile event, the veteran Dutchman will face Peter Stetina, Colin Strickland, and Ted King. Tendam told Cycling News on Wednesday evening while driving across from Illinois to Texas, "I've found my way to the United States and I'm basically starting my first race since Lombardia 2019."

"I'm looking forward to putting my number on again because I haven't done that since I retired. I did the Grasshopper and the Bikepacking event early last year, but this is my first major race."

"I'm interested to see how I fare. I've been training reasonably well lately

"Colin Strickland, Ted King, and Peter Stetina will be there, so they're all good gravel racers I know. I don't know yet if the pace is up or down, but I feel good and I'm having fun. I'm here for three more weeks and then I have the Unbound coming up in a few weeks."

Ten Dam traveled to the US last week and rented a small van. The adventure was, of course, supposed to take place in 2020, but was interrupted by a global pandemic, but the former Tour de France top-10 finisher is enjoying being in a completely different environment.

"I'm starting this gravel experience at the end of 2019, going to Canza, bikepacking, and finally starting all over again. I'm going solo this trip, but I don't know how long it will last. I'm 40 years old and I'll be competing against younger riders, but I want to give my best in the races that are coming up."

"I have no idea what will happen. I don't know what will happen. But I'm going to go into it with an open mind. I'm going to give it my all and then we'll see what happens with my legs. I'm 40 years old, but I still have a lot of miles in my legs. At least 150 miles

"I have no idea what's going to happen. I trained all day in Bentonville and on Wednesday I parked the van and rode some beautiful trails. Now I have to clean my bike and basically improvise. I'm not used to having a world tour crew behind me, but it's a lot of fun."