Declan Irvine uses 'pioneer' eating skills to manage diabetes and battle Life Time Grand Prix riders at Big Sugar Gravel

Australian Declan Irvine (Team Novo Nordisk) is a bit wary of the 'big' elements at Big Sugar Gravel this Saturday. He's competed twice at The Traka 200, finished top 25 at Unbound Gravel 200 and raced at the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships. 

Those were all big events, but it is the size of the gravel and challenges of the undulating terrain at Big Sugar Gravel that have him focused on how to stay properly fueled. After all, he's not just competing against an all-star field of gravel competitors, many of them battling for final positions in the Life Time Grand Prix, but as an elite athlete with type 1 diabetes he is also keeping an eye on his blood sugar levels.

"Using the continuous glucose monitors and stuff that we are kind of pioneers at, actually eating going off the fluctuations in our blood sugar, and making sure that it's always in range. Because a lot of other guys would only start eating when they start to feel flat. And once you get in that flat hunger, that's a bad feeling," Irvine told Cyclingnews in his first appearance at Unbound Gravel.

"It's kind of hard to get yourself out of it. Usually that's when you have to stop at a 'servo' and smash two Cokes and a Red Bull just to get out of it. Because we've got the continuous glucose monitor, we can pre-emptively eat to stop that from happening."

The 105-mile course of Big Sugar Gravel meanders across rugged washouts and chunky gravel in the highlands of the Ozark Mountains which span Northwest Arkansas and Southern Missouri, packing in 7,000 feet of elevation gain with a relentless procession of sharp ascents and descents know for loose gravel. Riders need to keep their hands on the handlebars, not on energy bars.

"I think I am going to have all my nutrition in my bottles and pack as it’s easier to drink then eat, so I will plan to have everything in my bottles so I can hit the right amount of carbs per hour," he said of planning for Big Sugar.

"In road racing, if something happens, you just get on the radio and go, 'Oh, I got a flat, I need to change a bike'. In gravel, so much stuff can go wrong. There's challenges and stuff that go with it. Like, we've got to take all our medical supplies around the course, heaven forbid something went wrong. But, it's just another challenge."

He explained that he had an insulin pump in a pocket that was connected to his continuous glucose monitor. He used two different readouts during a gravel race - a wristband and his Wahoo device. Again, the rough surfaces of off-road racing add an extra element.

From New South Wales, Irvine was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12. His family noticed significant weight loss after a long ski trip and then he was taken to hospital when he lost his vision. The diagnosis and treatment began immediately. He regained his vision and was able to remain active.

As a child he was involved in sailing, skiing, soccer, plus flat track and motocross, Irvine saying of the latter, "I've always loved dirt". He first raced road bikes, winning New South Wales road race and criterium state titles. 

"I moved to America straight out of high school to do the criteriums here. I came over as a junior because there used to be a lot of junior races here, and also in Canada like the Tour de l'Abitibi," he said of his early road career, which included 10th place at the Athens Twilight Criterium and winning two rounds of the Georgia Cycling Gran Prix in 2018. He then made moves in the fall, to the pro team and to Girona, Spain. 

During the COVID pandemic he had taken up mountain biking on a trip back to Australia, but returning to Spain he bought his own gravel bike and took part in The Traka 200 in 2022. He was "hooked" on dirt again.

"In Spain, where I live, gravel riding is really popular. I started gravel riding just for training and fun, and then in Girona there was the Traka, which has turned into one of the biggest races in Europe, kind of the Unbound of Europe. it was a lot lower level race then, and I came fifth in my first time doing it. I just got hooked."

Lachlan Morton motivation

While in high school he recalled that he had watched a film, "Thereabouts", made by Lachlan Morton and his brother Angus, which recounted their cycling adventure from Port Macquarie in New South Wales to Uluru in central Australia, a journey of 2,997.8km. Irvine grew up north of Sydney near Port Macquarie and the challenge struck a chord.

"So since then, I was like, I want to do that. Basically, that's awesome, and yeah, Lachlan is very cool. Then I've watched the documentary about Unbound. I never heard of it until I watched the video about it. And I was like, crap, 200 miles, that's a pretty long way. 

"I started applying to race, but never got an entry until this year. It was a dream come true. This is like my Kona," he told Cyclingnews, referring to the Ironman endurance race in Hawaii.

Irvine had a strong debut at Unbound Gravel 200, finishing 24th. A second Novo Nordisk teammate, David Lozano, made the start, but crashed out with a broken scapula. 

"I was super happy with how I rode and paced myself and everything nearly went to plan until I had a small mechanical that took me out of the front group, but still an amazing day," he said of Unbound. He also noticed who won the race too, Morton.

Morton sits currently fifth overall in the Life Time Grand Prix overall standings, while another Australian, Brendan Johnston, is seventh overall. At the conclusion of Saturday's race, the men and women in the top 10 of the Grand Prix final standings will share evenly in a $300,000 prize purse. Should they finish 11th or lower, they do not earn any prize money.

Irvine is in his sixth full season with ProTeam Novo Nordisk, and has had one of his better road seasons. He finished in the top 10 on the longest stage at Tour of Hainan in August and in the spring was in the top 15 of the mountains classification at Région Pays de la Loire Tour. While he qualified for another appearance at the Gravel World Championships with a top 25 at Santa Vall, his lead up to Big Sugar has instead been one-day road races in Europe for his trade team.

"I have trained the last week after finishing my last block of racing in Belgium and Germany, not the same preparation I had before Unbound but hoping the fitness all year will help me on the lumpy roads Saturday," he said.