Aussie gravel cycling champ in red-hot form ahead of Dirty Warrny

The Bendigo cyclist was fatigued from years living and competing in road events overseas and decided to ease back on his commitments.

The 24-year-old started focusing on "fun events" and surprised himself when he saluted in the 2023 Australian National Gravel Championships in Tasmania in June.

Fast forward five months and Sens, who now prioritises his preferred discipline of gravel racing, is one of the favourites for the second instalment of the Dirty Warrny - an epic 246-kilometre gravel event that starts in Geelong and finishes at Lake Pertobe on Saturday, November 11.

He finished seventh in last year's inaugural edition and was drawn back to try and improve his standing.

"It's probably one of the toughest races on the calendar but one of my favourites as I like the longer events and I'm pretty sure it would be the longest gravel race in Australia," Sens said.

"I had a good ride last year, finishing up in seventh but (I'm) wanting to move up a bit and try and get towards that top step.

"It's one of the best courses. Just super nice, it's got a bit of everything included. A lot of climbing, a lot of descending, fast descents and then it's flat all at the end.

"Starts and finishes in really nice spots with the finish in Warrnambool. It's just a really tough day out and it's quite fun to see what your body can do."

Sens is in stellar form, winning the UCI Gravel World Series Gravelista event in Beechworth on October 28 after he represented Australia in the Gravel World Championships in Italy earlier in the month.

The St George Continental road cycling team member believes he is better prepared for the Dirty Warrny after "going in blind" last year.

"It was one of my first gravel races that I did so I had no idea what to expect and we ended up going in a breakaway of three of us and we got caught at 80 kilometres to go from another group of four or five guys," he said.

"So I was quite happy with how I raced it last year but this year my form's a lot better... so yes confidence is quite high.

"When you get the ball rolling it's quite easy to race well so hopefully all the mechanicals and punctures stay away and I have a nice clean ride."

Sens said inaugural champion Brendan Johnston would start the race as favourite.

"He won it last year. He's just come off a huge block of racing in America where he ended up six or seventh overall in the Lifetime Grand Prix series - the biggest gravel series in the world," he said.

"He was national champion last year but sadly couldn't race again this year. So I haven't raced him much and not for the last year. I think he'll be the one to watch and I'll target him all day basically."

Sens is hoping to follow a similar trajectory to Johnston and contest the elite American series next year.

He will find out if his application is successful on Saturday - the same day as the Dirty Warrny - with only 30 male riders selected.

If unlucky, he plans to still compete in the US, just for a shorter period, and hopes to race in next year's world championships in Belgium.

In recent years, gravel racing has grown in popularity all over the world, including Australia, with the UCI introducing its Gravel World Series in 2022.

Sens explained the attraction for him, and others, behind the discipline.

"It's just a lot harder and suits my strengths a bit more," he said.

"(It's) more constant on the pedals. Longer days out and then when it gets super tough it really shows the differences in everyone.

"Road can be a lot more technical, even the guys that are weaker they can play it smarter and there's a lot more thinking on the road, whereas on the gravel especially in an event like the Dirty Warrny, the strongest guy will always win if they don't have mechanicals and everything goes smoothly for them.

"It's definitely my preferred discipline, just the adventure side of it, the challenging side of it. But there's so much to it from nutrition to fuelling and bike setup."

Another benefit Sens noted of gravel cycling was the safety aspect, with training completed off road and away from the dangers of traffic.

He also appreciates the environment competitions have created.

"It's a bit more of a weekend away, that's what I enjoy about the gravel," he said.

"When you go away it's so much more chilled. There's no team environment, no pressure and you're working for yourself all the time... If you make a mistake there's no one to blame but yourself really."