Jumbo Visma star Wout Van Art participated in the Dirty Kanzeled gravel ride organized by former road pro Lawrence ten Dam. The event is an alternative to the postponed Dirty Kanza gravel race, which was scheduled to take place in September once the COVID-19 epidemic eases.

Ten Dam organized the ride, which will take place on Saturday, May 30, and attracted more than 650 participants. The Dutch have mapped many gravel routes in Belgium and the Netherlands, but participants can map their own using the Komoot route planning app.

So far, 250 routes have been mapped around the world from countries as far away as the United States, Australia, and Uganda. Riders, whether solo or in small groups, are encouraged to follow their country's COVID-19 lockdown regulations.

Former road riders Peter Stetina and Levi Leipheimer will also participate in the ride, while Niki Terpstra will ride with Tendam and Continental pro Ivar Slik. The trio will tackle a 320-km course in the Netherlands. Van Aert will ride in northern Belgium near his home of Herentals, east of Antwerp.

For Van Art, the ride will be another major activity in a busy week. Already on Wednesday, he faced Mathieu van der Pol in the final day of the Container Cup, an indoor heptathlon series held on Belgian television.

Van der Pol won with a time of 8:50 ahead of Greg Van Avermaat, while Van Aert finished 12th with a time of 10:26.

As is customary for gravel events, the Dirty Kanzeldo Ride offers quirky prizes ranging from coffee bags to socks to heart rate monitors.

Bonker of the Day is awarded to the biggest hunger knocker. The winner will win cycling nutritional goodies from Nuun and Clif Bar.

"CO2 Patron of the Day" will be awarded to the rider with the most punctures and will receive five pairs of Specialized "Pathfinder" gravel tires.

The rider with the highest heart rate in Dirty Kanzelled will receive a Wahoo Tickr heart rate monitor as The Hummingbird prize.

The Not So Early Bird award will be given to the most late starter.

As with all gravel riding events, style is expected. The most fashionable Dirty Kanzelled rider, as evidenced by tagged social media, will be awarded the MooiBoy of the Day, which translates to "Pretty Boy". 5 pairs of Sockeleon merino socks and a riding jersey will be awarded for this achievement. rewarded with five pairs of Sockeleon merino socks and a riding jersey for this achievement.

The Crash Test Dummy is a prize that no one wants to win, but if you pull off a great lie down, you will receive a three pack of Quackzalver sports cosmetics.

The most stunning post-ride photo will receive a party animal prize, along with beer and barbecue.

Finally, The King of Komoot Award is given to the creative person and is awarded to the best route created within Komoot.