Gravel racing is anything but ordinary and is full of problem solving on different types of surfaces and terrain. This seems to suit Karolina Migon well, and in 2024 she will compete in her second UCI Gravel World Championships, becoming one of the specialists in this growing off-road discipline and Poland's medal hope.

Even before defending elite women's champion Kasia Niewiadoma was left off the Polish start list, Migonu was the country's top rider in gravel results this year, winning the Traka 360 and on the UCI Gravel World Series calendar, La India He won two races in Marbre and Gravel Switzerland and qualified for the World Championships in Belgium.

“I'm much more prepared physically and mentally this year; UCI races are known for being short and fast, and this one is no different. It's flat and fast, with some punchy short hills,” Migon told Cycling News. 'It's not an ideal course for me. But you never know unless you try.

“I want to see where I stand and I think gravel racing is becoming more competitive. Gravel riders have proven in several races this year that they can compete with World Tour riders. Especially at the end of the season, a lot of roadies will be participating in gravel events. It will be more fun and challenging.”

Migon took her first win of the 2024 season at La Indomable, the Spanish UCI Gravel World Series in Berja Almería. She beat last year's champion Caroline Schiff (GER) by nearly two minutes before defeating Schiff again in the 102km gravel Swiss event, which was the feature result of her career-defining endurance race in Spain.

“My favorite race of the year was definitely the Traka 360, it was my first big gravel race and I had never raced such a long distance on the road. It was unknown to me and I didn't know what to expect,” she admitted.

“But I really liked the course and felt confident that I could finish at the top. The people were great and the atmosphere in Girona, which was occupied by cyclists for a week, was incredible."

The 28-year-old seemed to have dialed in for a full race season, with second places at The Rift in Iceland, Monsterland in Italy, and Gravel Worlds in Nebraska, with few unresolved issues. He also finished fourth in the 200-km black course at the SBT GRVL and fifth in the Santa Val gravel stage race in Spain.

Until 2020, Migon was a member of the Polish amateur road team Maton Atom Duroper and competed in mountain biking, but moved to Switzerland after the global pandemic. Now 28, she was supposed to be a full-time software engineer and part-time cyclist. Last year she moved to the PAS racing team and changed some of her priorities.

“I really enjoy working professionally. I'm never bored and I get to solve different problems than I face on the bike. I work with a team of talented engineers, so it's a completely different environment than cycling. This balance helps a lot,” she explained.

“Balancing work, a sports career, and my personal life is not easy, but I am focused on the high points. At some point, I may decide to go full time in cycling or stick to my career. It's good to have a choice.”

A month after her win in Tlaca, she completed her first Unbound Gravel 200 in 21st place in the elite women's race, but instead had to celebrate a podium finish with PAS Racing teammates Chad Haga of the United States in second place and Tobias Morhi Kengstad of Denmark in third Migon, who was the first to finish in the podium. Like Migon, Kengstad also has a full-time career.

“I was really happy and emotional when I saw their result at the finish line. I was disappointed with my result because we share everything as a team, but I was thrilled with my teammates' success in such a big race. 0]

PAS Racing supports 18 riders for gravel competitions, which is not a normal path for many riders.

“I started out in mountain biking and road cycling, so the transition to gravel was a natural progression, She said.

“I moved to Switzerland and started riding bikes to explore the country and meet new people... I started riding gravel bikes about a year ago and by the end of that year I was doing well and the PAS Racing team offered me a job. At first I did not expect it to be a year of racing. The team had great results, so we adjusted our calendar so we could do more races”

. [In the gravel scene, most riders are privateers and manage everything themselves. I am really lucky to be part of a team that takes care of a lot of the stress and logistics. I am never alone in a race.”

While the rest of his PAS Racing teammates will be in Belgium for the World Championships, none of them are with Team Poland.

“I didn't race or train last year, so it was a natural progression for me to participate in the World Championships. It was incredible to be part of such a prestigious event and to see first hand Kasia's amazing victory. Her victory was well deserved and a great inspiration for gravel racing,” she told Cycling News about her first season in gravel last year

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“Last year's race felt more like a road race in terms of speed and dynamics. The gravel race is not supported by the national federation, so I didn't even know who was participating from Poland. We didn't discuss anything before the race, so there were no national team tactics. In that sense, it was a typical gravel race where everyone was running for themselves.”

The absence of Nieniadoma was not a problem this year, as last year she did not know in advance that her compatriot would be on the start line. She puts Lotte Kopecky as her favorite to win this year's race. The Belgian rider has just won two consecutive road world championships. However, Migowan reiterated that gravel is an individual competition by national teams and that they have limited resources to support them during the race. The possibility of winning the championship is wide open.

“Lotte [Kopecky] is at home and she proved this weekend that she can win in any condition. Without the back of the team car, everything is possible.”

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