SECOND JOB
The No Border Gravel team is a collection of six riders from across Europe, competing at the sharp end of one-day gravel races throughout the continent. Don't get that confused with being a professional though. Each of the six riders has a day job, from digital marketer to orthopedic surgeon-in-training.
Read on to find out who's who on one of the hardest working teams in the European gravel scene.
This hodgepodge of talented, ultra-driven part-time racers is the brainchild of Rotterdam-based, orthopedic resident surgeon Lisa Wörner — a former World Champion rower turned medic, who cut her teeth bike racing in the US for the Velocio Exploro team. When she returned to the Netherlands in late 2021 to complete her studies, she wanted to keep racing with the support of a team around her.
By the end of 2021, Lisa had the backing of Velocio, BMC, and SRAM. She’s now joined by five others who all equally love to compete but also balance more rounded lives outside of the tapes: Daniel Rytz, Henning Bommel, Graciela Ferrer, Julian Siemons, and Emmie Collinge.
"[No Borders] fits training around their working lives, condensing sessions into manageable time slots and bemoaning the lack of time to recover. That’s the thing with being an amateur; cycling may be a priority—but it isn’t everything."
Who They Are
Lisa Wörner: Former professional rower, world title and world record holder turned gravel racer. During the week (and often on late shifts), Lisa is a doctor.
Daniel Rytz: Life-long cyclist who works on all things digital for one of the biggest banks in the Nordics. Based in Stockholm, you’ll find him sharing his knowledge on local training rides and—when not working or riding—behind the mic of Sweden’s biggest podcast, Cykelwebben Podcast.
Henning Bommel: Former German National Track Team member, life-long cyclist, and Olympian. These days, he works for the military in Berlin, training new recruits on how to push themselves longer and harder. That is when he is not racing gravel at the highest level for a 40-year-old — Henning has a set of age group rainbow bands from the inaugural Gravel World Champs in 2022.
Who They Are
Julian Siemons: Dubbed the weapon on the team, this young Belgian has just wrapped up his studies whilst working freelance as a digital marketing specialist. A cyclocross racer since the age of 7, Julian’s new to gravel but has been at the sharp end of every race he has done throughout 2023.
Graciela Ferrer: Madrid-based Graciela lives and breathes cycling. That is when she is not studying marketing, building a base of knowledge that takes up most of her mornings. Each afternoon, she works at the city’s most prestigious bike shop before training. And when she gets a free moment, she does jewelry too.
Emmie Collinge: The UK-born but Italy-based Emmie is new to competitive cycling. Ex-European Mountain Running Champ and the holder of many of the fastest times up various road cycling passes in the Alps, Emmie does everything at turbo speed—especially typing in her work as a translator and transcreator for major brands in running and cycling.
