[Words by Steve Thomas]

EF Education–EasyPost’s alternative racer Lachlan Morton has become a cult-like figure in offroad racing, and he is a huge role model to many aspiring and established riders alike. As the hallowed dust on his Unbound Gravel victory settled, we caught up with him to hear his thoughts on the changes in the emerging gravel scene and more about what he plans to tackle next.

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Off.road.cc: Things are changing fast in gravel racing, which is inevitable. Does this make you feel like turning more towards the adventure and record side of racing?

Lachlan Morton: I came to my own sort of realisation, and I think the progression is a natural thing and it's a good thing. It's allowing a different path for racers to make a living, and to have a bit more control over their careers. 

It's nice that the industry has really got behind it and that there is a space to be a professional in gravel racing. I think that was a spot that a few years ago was really only available to a handful of riders, whereas now there are a lot more people there. In that regard it's great.  

The majority of the events that I compete in here (USA) do a really good job of maintaining the participation element for most people. There are thousands of bike riders out there, with just a small percentage there to really race at the sharp end. 

Unbound Gravel 2024 - Lachlan Morton, by off-road.cc

A lot of people are out there trying to get around the course, or to beat their best time and to have a good time with friends. There's a lot of space for that too, and it's nice to see that's all very much still intact.

For me, personally, the increasing level means more of a turn towards the way professional racing used to be for me. I definitely realised that the way I approached it was still in my hands, and the way I go about my day-to-day life, my training and riding, I still get to control that, and I could take it as far as I want or be as relaxed as I want. 

When I show up and race I love the intensity of it and the fact that there's more people in there, and the chaos that brings, and I still enjoy that a lot. But the increase in professionalism has its pros and cons. Ultimately you can go as far into it as you want, and I've kind of gone as far as I want to go with it. I still train hard, I ride my bike a lot, but the second I'm off my bike I'm not living like a monk. I still have a life that I’m enjoying, and that’s kind of where I draw the line. It's nice to know that you can draw that line and still be competitive. 

I'm very fortunate in that I don’t need to race in elite-level competition anymore to make a living. I could just do adventures or I could just do FKTs. The second I don't enjoy
it I'll stop showing up. Currently, I'm enjoying balancing it all out. I still have a lot of things I want to do outside of racing, and I think that's all in balance. As my interests change, or if I do start having less fun, then I'll just shift that balance around.

ORCC: Over the past few years your approach has gone a long way towards changing attitudes towards non-mainstream bike racing, and this year Unbound received a huge amount of attention. In winning it, and the media attention you’ve had, has that taken you back to the WorldTour sensation and stresses of that?

LM: It's kind of wild to think how visual and global it is now. When we showed up to that race five years ago it was very, very different. Now it is a serious bike race that a lot of people around the world follow.

Lachlan morton unbound.jpg, by Suvi Loponen

The difference now is, back when I used to achieve something big – to win a race or get a result, it always felt like “now I'm stepping up and can go after something bigger and am at the level to try it.” In winning Unbound, I put it together on that day, and that’s enough for me. It’s not suddenly like I’m going to go and win everything, because now I understand myself and how things come together sometimes, that my focus wanes sometimes, and that it comes in peaks and troughs. 

I’m going to have that day forever, and I don’t feel the need to validate it forever. When I look at where I’m at in my career, it’s probably the biggest race I do now, and I’ve won it. I’m just trying to go back to normal as quickly as possible and to enjoy it. 

It’s nice to see people’s positive reactions, because a lot out there have followed me since the road days, and it’s cool to know that people get something out of me winning there. I do get a lot of personal satisfaction out of it, but I’ve learned from the past that a win could become a bit of a ghost, one that you chase again and again to try and re-achieve, and I don’t want it to be that way.

ORCC: You’ve mooted that you may undertake a huge ride all around Australia – where are things at with that and other future adventures?

LM: That’s probably about 50/50 right now. I’d like to do it but it’s a big undertaking and there are a lot of things that need to be covered and to fall in place. With the time window I have in my season, and with timing it to avoid the wet season, it means that there’s a lot of work to do between now and when I would probably do it, which would be September.

I‘d be stoked if we could do it but if it doesn’t happen now I’ll just wait for another year, and will try and find another big bike ride that I can do, maybe later in the year. It would be fun to do it as I’d like to do something big in Aus, as I’m Australian, and it’s something I could share with my wife. 

GB-Divide_Lachlan Morton.jpeg, by Suvi Loponen

It would be a supported ride, which I haven’t really done before, and that would have its own unique challenges. It captures my imagination, which is always a good sign, doing something I get excited about.

Otherwise, in November I’ll try and find a big ride or an ultra to do. Each year I find the need to go out and push myself, to be out there in it. I gain a lot from it, and it levels me out and is something I crave. There’s no doubt that there will be some kind of a big ride this year.

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