Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE-Factor) launched a final attack in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas to win the elite men's Big Sugar Gravel, putting eight seconds between himself and runner-up Colby Simmons (Visma-Lease a Bike) at the line.
From the chase group that had dwindled over the two miles to five riders, Brendan Johnston (Giant Bikes) sprinted to third place, ahead of Matthew Beers, Keegan Swenson, Payson McElveen and Simen Nordahl Svendsen.
Vermeulen, who was third last year in the finale of the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda series, used the win to take top points among this year's Grand Prix competitors.
"I made a mixture of questionable choices today but it somehow worked out," said Vermeulen. "It’s been a turbulent year with a lot going on and I just wanted to go out there and race, I didn’t want to look back all day and that’s kinda what I did.
The win came close to shifting Vermeulen from 16th position and into the prize money yielding top 10, but in the end he had to settle for the win on the day and 11th overall. Swenson had locked up his third overall title in the Grand Prix with his win in the Rad Dirt Fest in late September.
How it unfolded
At the first time check 20 miles into the 104-mile race, Matthew Beers and Michael Garrison had a 40-second advantage over the main field, 31 riders bunched together in the chase.
Another 18 miles down the dusty trails, two riders at the front had switched to Alexis Cartier and Simen Nordahl Svendsen. Giving chase 36 seconds back across the steep-walled white bluffs section near Pineville were Colby Simmons and Sebastian Schönberger.
Many of the favourites, including defending champion Torbjørn Røed, Beers, Payson McElveen, 2022 champion Russell Finsterwald, US gravel champion Brennan Wertz, Alexey Vermeulen and Swenson were in the mass bunch a little more than a minute back.
Once passing the halfway point, riding across a series of punch climbs in southern Missouri, the two sets of pacemakers had come together and were joined by 11 more for a group of 15.
With 38 miles to go, Simmons and Nordahlo Svendsen put in an attack as a pair, with Vermeulen trying to close a gap of 30 seconds on his own. What remained of the former lead group had splintered – Lance Haidet, John Borstelmann and Connor Kamm riding together at 2:06 back, Alex Howes solo 2:20 back and then Røed, Swenson and Beers in a group of 12 half a minute behind Howes.
Vermeulen made the catch of the two leaders across the next eight miles, while Howes joined forces with Borstelmann, Swenson, Røed, Brendan Johnston, EAle Wild, McElveen, Haidet, Cobe Feeburn and Sean Fincham at just over two minutes back.
Then Vermeulen and Simmons accelerated away on mainly descending bumpy roads on the return into Arkansas. The two remained together on the two short, stiff climbs remaining in the final two miles to downtown Bentonville.
