Mads Wurtz Schmidt is the Danish 2015 U23 World Time Trial Champion who built a long WorldTour career on time trial discipline and breakaway craft. After racing for Stölting, Katusha-Alpecin, and Israel-Premier Tech across Grand Tours and Classics, he moved to gravel with the Specialized Off-Road super team — and in 2026 won the Unbound Gravel 200, soloing one of the muddiest editions in the race's history. His perspective on the realities of being a workhorse-tier WorldTour rider, the professionalisation of gravel, and how time-trial-style pacing wins long races is candid and unusually useful for amateurs.
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