Take a flick through Tiffany Cromwell’s biography, and you’ll quickly see that the cyclist is a force to be reckoned with. She had her heart set on becoming a competitive basketball player, but at 5’4” tall, she was steered into a cycling career during a talent identification program conducted by the South Australian Sports Institute. Since then, she’s flourished on the tarmac, joining the Canyon//SRAM team during its inaugural year in 2016 and serving as road captain at innumerable races.
In 2021, she added another string to her bow and tried her hand at gravel racing. In 2023, Cromwell won four gravel races, podiumed another twice and was tenth at the UCI Gravel World Championships. Along with her partner, Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas, she makes up something of a power couple. Their travels together have led her to explore all corners of the globe, offering her the opportunity to move countries often and visit places which resonate with her, notably Japan and Korea. She also collaborates with the Alfa-Romeo driver on the GRVL series of races, organising the SBT, FNLAND and RADL.
Cromwell breaks down the five destinations that shaped her career.
Canyon Grail CFR Unbound
Luca Phil Franze
High Five
1. Adelaide, South Australia
This is where cycling was introduced to me. It’s my home. It’s the place I love. You can get lost in the hills, and there are amazing roads coursing through them. And, now, I’ve discovered some amazing gravel as well. Adelaide is always great to return to and it’s what shaped me as a junior rider and helped set me up for my career as it stands now.
2. Flanders, Belgium
This is where you learn to become a classics rider [the most prestigious one-day road cycling races in the international calendar]. They say you never win on your first attempt because it’s an art. You need to know the roads, know the sectors, positioning, everything, but it’s cycling at its purest form. The Flanders races are always awesome, with an incredible atmosphere, the fans, the smell of frites and beer. And they’re always super hard races; you need to be a complete rider to learn and win them.
Canyon Grail CFR Unbound
Luca Phil Franze
3. Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Colorado has been a very happy place for me: the mountains, the altitude, the nature around Steamboat Springs. I went there the very first time for Colorado Classic and SBT, and this was when I was first introduced to gravel racing. It made me understand what it was. It’s one of the original gravel races, when it was the true spirit of gravel. It was camaraderie, it was fun, it was mountain vibes, and amazing rolling gravel roads. And, yeah, I love going back there.
4. Lahti, Finland
Lahti is nature in its purest form. Again, beautiful gravel roads. There aren’t any big mountains, but you have a lot of forests and lakes. It’s where you can go and just completely switch off, be free, slow down the pace of life. They have bike paths everywhere, so it’s quite a safe place to ride. And it’s a destination I like to go when I just need to be... after a heavy racing period, or heavy travel period, or big events, it’s where I can go and unwind, ride my bike, and enjoy the quiet times that cycling offers.
5. Côte d’Azur, France
The Riviera has so much history, not only in cycling but as a place in itself. And I’m sure if walls could talk, there would be some incredible stories. You’ve got yachts, super yachts, giga yachts on the water; you’ve got ski fields two hours away. It’s a very hard place to ride, with no easy flat routes. But it’s been my home for the last 12 years, and it’s a place I enjoy; it’s always good training. Sometimes, it can be a bit hectic in the summer; it’s busy, but you’ve got this sparkling blue sea. And then you can be in the mountains and feel like you’re in another world. A lot of other professional bike riders live there, so you can train hard with other people if you want or do your own training with plenty of solid, challenging terrain.
