Trek-Segafredo's Kiel Leinen, however, is under no illusions about how important this growing discipline could become in his native America.

The American told Cyclingnews that gravel could be a renaissance moment for American cycling.

"I think gravel will save American cycling," Reynen said of the ill-fated UAE Tour.

"Right now the road scene is disappearing, along with the teams and the races. Gravel gives us hope and excitement. I'm hoping for a bit of a renaissance in American cycling."

Gravel racing has certainly exploded in the US over the past few years with more events and strong interest from World Tour riders, as riders like Peter Stetina and Ian Boswell have switched from the World Tour to the dirt over the winter

EF

EF Pro Cycling has put together its own alternative calendar with riders like Lachlan Morton and Alex Howes lining up for various events like the Leadville 100, GBDuro, Three Peaks cyclo-cross, and Dirty Kanza

Raine, a rider from the United States, has been working on a new calendar.

Reynen participated in the latter last season and finished sixth. But while gravel is growing, the American road scene has been decimated in recent years by the dissolution of races and teams: the Tour of California, started over a decade ago, was dropped from the calendar this year, and the US lost a World Tour event.

However, despite the state of American road racing, Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Ian Garrison (Deceuninck-Quick Step), and Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) have joined top European teams, A number of young American talents have moved to the World Tour this year. Reynen welcomed the new generation, but hinted that more could be done at home regarding the sport's strategic growth.

"Right now, it's true that when a big star is born there is more interest, but I think we could spend more money on infrastructure and development. Then we would have more and more young riders."

"It's not that we don't have a talented generation. I'm certainly old news, and it's great to see young riders making headlines. But it would be great if we could get 30 Americans on the World Tour."

As of now, Reynen's 2020 schedule is unknown. At the time of our interview, he was planning to race in the Classics and possibly the Criterium du Dauphiné. These plans were made before the spread of the Covid 19 coronavirus began to disrupt the racing program, but at the time of the interview, it was unlikely that the American would return to Dirty Kanza this year.

"I can neither confirm nor deny 'what the FBI is saying. 'The problem this year is that the Olympics have all changed,' he said. Gravel is super important, but the team's mission comes first. I guess the answer to that is that we don't know yet.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and I want to come back and will come back whether it's this year or not. It's a great event and I love supporting it.

As Lehnen considers the next step in his World Tour racing career, a full schedule of gravel races is well within his grasp.

"Of course. That core group of guys have been racing together since I was 18, and I want to continue that."