Valtteri Bottas has revealed that he had some rather ‘worrying’ encounters with a variety of creepy crawlies on an epic cycle ride from Malaysia to Singapore.
The Finn, known for his keen cycling nous, opted to take the scenic route from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia to this weekend’s race at the Marina Bay Circuit.
Bottas clocked over 740 kilometres over the four-day tour, the bulk of which were completed across the middle two days.
There was plenty of elements for the Cadillac driver to navigate, and as he revealed ahead of the race, one or two creatures that might have caused concern.
“I saw some snakes, which I was a little bit worried about, but actually they were pretty chill,” he said. “They were just doing their thing.
“I saw one cobra; I saw one python just crossing the path in front of me; I saw some of those big lizards that you also see here.
“One was on the path – I had to jump over it with a bike, so I saw it like last minute. I got chased by one goat. I got stuck behind a group of cows on a small track.
“Eventually, they moved away.”
Bottas revealed the idea for the mammoth quest to Singapore was from long-term partner and road cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, albeit as “a kind of joke”.
Asked what the wildest part of the journey was, Bottas explained the sounds of wildlife could be disconcerting.
“The noise in there is like when your mind starts to play games with what is out there,” he said. “Who knows what is out there, but then you just need to crack on and keep going.
“Riding with your lights on at night was probably the most epic part in the forest.”
READ MORE – FIA reveals outcome of F1 Bahrain GP ‘software bug’ investigation
Discussion about this post