Picture 1 of 4
Simen Nordahl Svendsen (PAS Racing) gained the professional males’s division whereas Lauren Stephens (Cynisca Biking) defended the ladies’s title at Garmin Gravel Worlds offered by Lauf.
Svendsen, a two-time winner of The Rift in Iceland, got here into the Nebraska race having completed eighth at SBT GRVL. The Norwegian took prime honours with a end time of 6:48:46, profitable a two-rider dash forward of US racer Innokenty Zavyalov. Canadian Adam Roberge, a former Gravel Worlds champion, completed third lower than a minute again. Peter Stetina soloed throughout the road in fourth, with Ethan Overson in fifth.
SBT GRVL winner Stephens broke free from a three-rider breakaway within the remaining mile and posted a time of seven:57:46, leaving Briton Karolina Migon in second place, 22 seconds again, and her PAS Racing teammate Emily Newsom rolling throughout the road in third. Crystal Anthony held on for fourth and Emma Grant completed fifth.
For the primary time within the 15 years of the Lincoln, Nebraska occasion, the professional girls had a devoted begin, taking the 150-mile course 10 minutes after the professional males and 25 minutes forward. To emphasise the ladies’s solely race, organisers added $10,000 to the prize purse, offering $500 for every lady within the prime 20 to reach on the second race checkpoint forward of riders within the common area. The entire prize purse as $30,000 for professional women and men, however solely the ladies shared within the further $10,000.
One other first for the occasion was a profitable dwell stream, offered on YouTube with assist from Goodlife Manufacturers for the whole thing of the 150-mile race. Motion was captured from cameras mounted on jeeps, with separate photographs from the lads’s lead group and the ladies’s peloton. Commentary was offered for each classes by Dede Griesbauer, Matt Lieto and the forged of the Groadio podcast, Invoice Schieken and Amanda Nauman.
Motion throughout Nebraska
By means of the water oasis at mile 86.5, Chase Wark led a trio that included Ethan Overson and Daxton Mock on the entrance of the race. All of them stopped briefly to restock for hydration and resumed the pacemaking on a protracted, straight, dusty highway passing countless rows of cornstalks.
A chasing group behind started to separate on the rollercoaster terrain, some riders starting to undergo within the warmth, rising above 86°F.
The newest race content material, interviews, options, opinions and skilled shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
On one other lengthy, flat part heading to the final relaxation cease at mile 119, eight riders fashioned the entrance group. Then Innokenty Zavyalov and Svendsen surged forward, with Mock and Roberge chasing collectively, and Stetina and Wark forming a duo. All six have been separated by lower than a minute. Trevor August and Overson fell off the tempo.
A change on the entrance noticed Zavyalov, Svendsen and Roberge kind a trio and so they gained a major hole. Zavyalov attacked with beneath 3 miles to race and Roberge seemed to wrestle however powered again on the relentless rollers. Svedsen set the tempo, and his companions weren’t too considering pulling via.
With 1.5 miles to go, Zavyalov attacked once more and solely Svendsen might reply, Roberge fading within the mud. With one right-hand nook to complete, Svendsen got here round Zavyalov within the remaining dust chicanes to take the victory.
Within the girls’s race, 14 of the professional girls have been packed tightly on the opening northern part of the course. Then PAS Racing duo of Migon and Newsom joined a pack of a few dozen males after the CX part, with 54 miles coated, and several other different riders making an attempt to bridge throughout, Stephens the primary one to tag alongside.
On the water oasis at mile 85, the Stephens-Newsom-Migon trio started to tug away, the hole rising to over 4 minutes. A casualty from the chasing group was Kyleigh Spearing, who had gone via a number of CO2s to cease a leak, however succumbed to the mechanical and dropped away.
On the remaining support station, the lead trio stopped and took on extra fluids and a few ice. Stephens was the primary one to remount and proceed after about 30 seconds and appeared to speed up slowly to permit the PAS teammates to hitch.
Behind, a gaggle of 5 labored collectively and have been but to make the freeway crossing. When chasers arrived at support station 12 minutes later, Isabel King and Emma Grant stopped, whereas Anthony, who was third in Nebraska final yr, Justine Barrow and Marisa Boaz rolled via.
The temperatures continued to rise for the elite girls, with no clouds to interrupt the warmth, the thermometer pushing 90°F. With lower than 10 miles to go, there was a 10-minute hole for threesome out entrance and behind Anthony made a transfer from the 4 chasers.
On a small uphill rise, the PAS Racing teammates took turns attacking Stephens, however the US gravel champion reacted every time to remain on their again wheels. A couple of mile on, Stephens launched her personal assault from behind Migon and sailed away. She stored wanting behind her within the remaining mile and will see them clawing their manner again, however she held the hole for the win.
