The 2021 gravel campaign has not gone quite as planned for Colin Strickland, the men's mainstay of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, but he hopes to turn things around and find his best form at this weekend's SBT GRVL.

Strickland finished fourth in the 2019 event, which was won by Ted King, but this year's campaign has been complicated, training has been hampered, and a knee injury has affected his schedule.

"I've been trying to focus on getting in shape because my fitness has clearly been lacking this season," Strickland told Cycling News while making the long ride from Austin to Colorado for this Sunday's race.

"I'm trying to get back to the form that will win me actual races.

The 2020 season has been a taxing one for everyone on the gravel racing circuit. Races were almost unilaterally cancelled or postponed, and out-of-competition conditions dropped dramatically as Strickland focused on other projects and mountain biking. At the same time, a new wave of gravel riders like Laurence ten Dam and Peter Stetina raised the level within the men's field to a new level.

Strickland has remained competitive, but has been edged out in the closing stages of longer races such as Unbound and The Rift. Strickland has improved his fitness in races in the past, but admits that the disjointed race program of the last 18 months has not helped him.

"I haven't been riding my bike much," he said. 'I've avoided Strava, but I think my average this year was 9 hours a week in 2021. Last year it was low because I went into mountain bike mode thinking all the races would be cancelled.

"I was in good shape in early 2020, but after that I couldn't increase my mileage. I was distracted by other projects, such as starting my own business, and the race eventually suffered. You can't race at full throttle, and you can't beat them doing that. If I ran nine hours a week, I could finish fifth in Unbounded Gravel."

The season started out strong enough for Strickland, but he feels that his early results mask the cracks in a way, and that more riders have been able to distance themselves from him in races since the year began. A knee injury prior to the unbound did not help matters either.

"I won my local race and finished second in the Gravel Locos race behind Lawrence ten Dam. I hurt my knee before Unbound and had to take two weeks off, and I don't know if anyone wants to hear my excuses, but I didn't make the time for a lot of reasons."

"It's starting to show. It's depressing because it's my job and my identity. I'm going to get my life in order and get it together for next year. I'm going to take the time to train, and I'm going to get really fast.

"I'm sniffing around and mixing it up, but I'm used to being the hammer and not the nail. When the race really starts and you know you have nothing left, you are obviously helpless against it."

It's not just the racing that has improved in the last year or two, but the training methods as well: a couple of years ago, a fully fit Strickland would have gone toe-to-toe with the occasional World Tour rider who stepped onto the gravel, but now he's a full-time road-turned Strickland is now a full-time road convert, and the level of athleticism has risen to a whole new level.

It's not just fitness during races that has improved, but training methods and dedication as well.

"That has been the biggest support for my training. I used to race a lot and in Texas I always had a very good early season.

"I could do the hard miles on my own, but some of the former World Tour athletes are good at training. I'm good at racing, but not so good at training."

"I'm getting better. At The Rift in Iceland, Strickland was in the mix until he pulled out of the race due to illness. At that point, he was in a group of three that would decide the race, but Stetina eventually took the lead.

The competition will be even more intense at SBT GRVL, but the former Unbound Gravel and Gravel World winner is optimistic that form is right around the corner.

"In gravel endurance races, you have to suffer a lot to really get fit. You have to suffer, and I've suffered a lot in these races, the Belgian Waffle Ride, The Rift, and in between recent training sessions.

"Someday my form will come back. I will probably do some modest races, maybe a few longer ones, but sooner or later it will happen. Right now I'm the kid who goes to class but doesn't do my homework. Everyone else is doing it, but I'm not."