If there’s a technique Keegan Swenson likes to win, it’s solo. Time and time once more, he rides away from his rivals and crosses the road on the greatest gravel races with seconds, typically minutes, to spare on his rivals.
The inaugural USA Biking Gravel Nationwide Championships final summer season featured a wind-battered, unfastened course, and Swenson attacked the lead group with 5 miles remaining. Alexey Vermeulen, Brennan Wertz and Payson McElveen made up the chase group, however even collectively, they didn’t have the legs to achieve Swenson. Ultimately, the Utah native crossed the road about 20 seconds earlier than the others to be topped the first-ever gravel champion.
Previously few years, 30-year-old Swenson has appeared almost untouchable within the gravel and marathon mountain bike racing scene. He’s received the largest and hardest races, together with Unbound Gravel, SBT GRVL, Massive Sugar Gravel, the Sea Otter Traditional, Leadville 100, Crusher within the Tushar, in addition to the USA gravel and XC mountain bike nationwide championships. He’s received any of those a number of occasions, together with the collection general title within the Life Time Grand Prix two years straight. He’s at present main the Grand Prix once more, which continues on August 10 in Leadville, Colorado.
Talking to Biking Weekly, Swenson stated he has largely been at dwelling in Utah since Unbound. He had been coaching on Utah’s thin-air climbs in preparation for the upcoming Crusher within the Tushar, which was cancelled due to wildfires close to the course. He pivoted to mountain biking, racing the Downieville Traditional in California —the place he received each the cross-country and downhill races— earlier than resuming coaching at dwelling for the 100-mile, high-altitude epic that’s the Leadville 100.
For many who hadn’t been following mountain biking, Swenson might have appeared to have come out of nowhere. But his dominance is the end result of a long time value of laborious work and regular progress. Swenson’s background features a prolific rise over the course of a decade, culminating in a failed bid for the Olympic Video games that set him on the path he’s on as we speak.
Do or Die
‘For those who aren’t pulling via, he’ll pull more durable, and doubtless drop you within the course of,’ writes Ryan Simonovich about Swenson.
(Picture credit score: Brett Rothmeyer)
Swenson’s background and present mentality evoke a ‘do or die’ mentality that’s extra regular than frantic. He grew up in Park Metropolis, Utah, raised by a father who works in healthcare and a mom who works at a ski store. As a child, he was a downhill ski racer, touchdown on a podium or two, however ultimately shifting on to mountain bike racing across the age of 12.
His junior profession started to blossom, and he received the U.S. nationwide mountain bike championship title in 2010 for the 15-16 age group. Two years later, his identify started popping up within the biking press. He received the 17-18 junior nationwide championship, catching U23 riders who began the race forward of him. After success on the Pan American Championships and at a number of World Cups, he ended 2012 ranked 4th on the planet and signed a contract with Cannondale Manufacturing unit Racing.
The most recent race content material, interviews, options, evaluations and knowledgeable shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
He then grew to become a mainstay on the mountain bike World Cup circuit, racing punchy, technical programs towards the very best racers on the planet. The races largely happen in Europe, and like street racing, it’s notoriously laborious for Individuals to interrupt in.
This era coincided with a lull in World Cup outcomes by American males. Whereas the ladies’s discipline was buoyed by the likes of Kate Courtney, Haley Batten, and Erin Huck—who all went on to race within the Tokyo Olympic Video games—the American males would solely earn one spot on the video games.
In spring 2021, a couple of key races would dictate whether or not Swenson or rising star Christopher Blevins would fill that spot. A muddy race within the Czech Republic was the final probability to qualify, and Blevins’ Twentieth-place end clinched his ticket to Tokyo.
Reflecting after the race, Swenson on the time wrote: “Disappointing race for me in Nove Mesto. The shape was good and I used to be able to battle for it however the legs simply didn’t present as much as the occasion. To race anyplace close to the entrance of an elite World Cup you need to be 100%, there is no such thing as a hiding and no faking it should you aren’t prepared.”
Whether or not he knew what his future would maintain on the time or not, a quote given to the Aspen Instances certain reads as foreshadowing as we speak: “The Olympics isn’t the one factor,” he stated. “Certain, it might be cool to go, however there’s nonetheless quite a lot of different issues I wish to do and obtain racing bikes. So it’s not the end-all, be-all.”
New alternatives within the Life Time Grand Prix
Swenson racing at Unbound Gravel in 2024
(Picture credit score: Brett Rothmeyer)
Swenson’s profession had centered on XCO mountain bike racing, however he additionally had strong leads to longer marathon-distance races, together with wins at Arizona’s Whiskey 50, then a part of the Epic Rides Off-Highway collection. Ideas of change had been already on Swenson’s thoughts when he was nonetheless racing XCO, and when he did not make the Olympics, he determined to comply with the voice that was calling him towards longer races.
The summer season following that fateful race in Nove Mesto, Swenson would go on to XC nationals at Winter Park earlier than successful Leadville and instantly following it up with a win on the Breck Epic stage race.
One other fateful factor occurred in 2021. Within the fall, health firm Life Time introduced their plans for the invite-only Life Time Grand Prix, comprising six races the corporate owns, together with Unbound and Leadville.
Swenson hit the bottom operating, successful the opening spherical at Sea Otter and likewise claiming a win at Utah’s Crusher within the Tushar, along with Leadville. He received the general title and solely bought higher the next yr, sprinting forward of 4 former WorldTour execs to win the marquee Unbound.
There’s no nice metric for figuring out the very best gravel racer on the planet. There could also be an official (and unofficial) gravel world championships, however the European type of gravel racing is difficult to check to the North American type. No doubt, although, Swenson is taken into account among the finest.
He’s additionally considered one of many highest-paid gravel racers. In 2022, he raced the street world championships in Australia and, on the identical time, was being courted by WorldTour groups, interested by what would occur if he traded Kansas and Colorado for the Dolomites and the Alps. Finally, he turned them down.
Whereas financials aren’t simply discovered, many contemplate the sponsorship offers in gravel to be extra profitable than a rider like Swenson would have the ability to make on the street, the place he would probably be shuffled right into a rookie domestique function, at the very least initially. In gravel, Swenson and others can dealer their very own offers and partnerships moderately than incomes a wage provided by the conventional group mannequin, giving the riders extra management and, in the event that they’re fortunate, additional cash.
When requested, Swenson stated that it’s laborious to say if his revenue compares to others on the circuit as he doesn’t understand how a lot others are getting paid. However a brand new sponsorship cope with the insurance coverage firm Fairos factors towards Swensnon’s enterprise savviness in attracting non-endemic sponsorships. Swenson says that working with the corporate is a aid in that they provide him insurance coverage protection, one thing that almost all racers should pay for out of pocket.
If Swenson is as effectively paid as is assumed, he does not present it. There are bikes and bikes in his storage – no Lambos a la Mathieu van der Poel. His favorite pre-training meal is pancakes (and was even earlier than a pancake combine firm sponsored him), he listens to pop punk and metallic, and his social media profiles are full of normal coaching and racing posts, giving followers a glimpse into his life with out gifting away an excessive amount of.
He sports activities a laidback angle and is quiet however in a extra assured than shy method. He lets his legs do the speaking.
“Sounds a bit callous, however ‘no one cares, work more durable’ is my favorite quote,” he says. “For me, it mainly simply signifies that there aren’t any excuses or replacements for laborious work. I feel that basically applies to something that you really want in life, work, sports activities or in any other case.”
To date, this has labored out for him, and Swenson has been capable of muscle his method forward of the remainder of the U.S. discipline. For those who aren’t pulling via, he’ll pull more durable, and drop you within the course of.
Because the gravel world turns into extra internationalized with extra Europeans coming over to races like Unbound, race dynamics and ways are altering. This yr at Unbound, Swenson put in some monster pulls, making an attempt to ascertain a chase that may work collectively however no one wished to cooperate.
His method to Unbound ways might have a refresh, however he’s nonetheless thought of the favorite at races like Leadville. Each McElveen and Lachlan Morton downplayed their probabilities towards him in a current pre-race press convention, saying that no one is best at laborious, climby races at altitude.
Rainbow desires
Keegan Swenson carrying his U.S. nationwide gravel champion jersey
(Picture credit score: Brett Rothmeyer)
So what’s subsequent for the king of gravel?
Swenson tells Biking Weekly that he needs to win once more at Unbound, and he needs to win a rainbow jersey. Whether or not it is on a mountain bike or gravel bike is but to be seen. UCI factors are a consideration on the world championships (for a superb beginning place) as is the course. This yr’s worlds course in Belgium probably received’t go well with him as a lot as a extra mountainous course, however he’ll make the decision about whether or not he attends or not after Leadville and SBT GRVL.
“I simply want an extended, laborious course with a bunch of climbing,” he stated.
And no one can argue with that.
