Conor White is heading back to Bermuda with a few cuts and bruises after competing in the Gravel World Championships last weekend.

White fell both in pre-race training and in the main event as he competed in the “longest and hardest race” of his career in Belgium on Sunday afternoon.

The Bermudian cyclist crossed the line in 114th place and covered in mud but revelled in the experience.

“It was the biggest race I’ve competed in with more than 250 riders,” White said.

“The first 45 minutes was absolutely crazy and they had this section that went on to a bike path with a 180-degree turn up and off the path.

“Most people followed the way you were supposed to go but others near the back were cutting through the crowd and jumping up the wall, completely going where they were not supposed to just to get in front.”

White feels that he would have finished in the top 100 but for falling for the second time in a week.

“There was a time about ten minutes in where I was really congested with all the riders,” White said.

“We had just started and I was going through this muddy section, which was hard to ride through, and I undercut my right foot to try to keep my balance while we were going super slow and I moved to the left and my wheel got caught in a rut and I fell

“I crashed and a rider ran into me. By the time I’d got back up, I was probably passed by about 50 people, which sucked. I went down to 197th position and then moved back up to 114th in the end.

“Without the fall, I think I would have got on to a bigger group earlier on and maybe finished in the top 100 if I had a more sheltered run.

“I actually crashed two days earlier in the pre-ride too and I got a bit more banged up in that but nothing too crazy. I fell in mud and wasn’t going very fast so it was more of an annoyance as I lost position but I have a few cuts and bruises from a couple of days ago.”

The adrenalin of being involved in a race like this is something White will savour but more than five hours of total focus can take its toll on the body.

“This was five hours and seven minutes of just being on the gas the whole time,” White said.

“It’s a lot more physical than being on the road as you’re having to go up steep climbs, you can’t stand up as much and you can’t move around the bike as much because of the loose gravel.

“These races are so much longer but I didn’t think they would be quite as hard. This was probably the hardest and longest I’ve ever ridden. I probably used the same power that I would use in a criterium but this was for five hours instead of an hour.

Those on island may spot White pounding the roads of Bermuda in the next couple of weeks as he prepares for his next international assignment

“It’s been a long season,” White said.

“I’ll be home on Monday night and the Caribbean Championships is in about four weeks, so I’ll be home for a bit and most likely head to the States in a couple of weeks for some training before I head to Guyana.”