People she knows call her ‘Gee’, but most people in the US were not familiar with Geerike Schreurs (SD Worx-Protime), or how to pronounce her name, until she hit the big time of gravel at the 2024 Life Time Unbound 200. A relative newcomer to gravel racing and a first-timer at Unbound, the Dutch rider finished second to winner Rosa Klöser, another debutant, in an exciting eight-rider sprint to the line in downtown Emporia, Kansas after 203 miles (327km).
Saturday’s fierce sprint, to end a race that played out over 10 hours, 26 minutes and two seconds, was also the fastest edition of Unbound Gravel’s north route which has been completed now three times.
“When I realised it was for sure going to be a sprint, I tried on the final kicker to attack, and use my big core, my weight, on the downhill to get a gap,” laughed the tall Dutch rider referring to her height, at just over six feet.
“I had a really good lead out from Sarah Sturm, she was at the front on the last corner, I said ‘just go, go, go’," said Schreurs of her fellow Specialized rider. "I think the strongest actually won today. Rosa [Klöser] was really strong. I’m really happy that I could sprint to second place today.”
Coming into her first Unbound Gravel race, she already had a strong results sheet, including a win at The Gralloch two weeks ago, second at Wörthersee Gravel Race and The Traka 360. She also made a trip to the US and finished fourth at Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona. But 2024 is her first full season racing off-road events, so even she was unsure of what she would uncover at Unbound about her abilities and her competitors.
“I don’t know everyone so well yet because it’s my first year. It’s my first time at Unbound. So it’s always sort of hard to see how everyone will be in the sprint,” she said in the mix zone to media after her second place at Unbound 200.
“It’s really awesome. It’s really different. I’m happy that I can experience this. I have such a great sponsor behind me, they let me come over from Europe to be here, especially Specialized. That’s really awesome.”
A cycling career reboot
Her path to gravel glory is a bit complicated. Gee’ began racing a bike when she was 19 years old and she did it for fun. “I played volleyball for a very long time and wanted something different.”
Her cycling career began in 2008 with a club team and after several years on the Continental level she just stopped racing when her team closed its doors. In 2017 she began working as a soigneur for teams Hitec and Cylance, then landing with Lidl-Trek in 2019. In 2023 she took an opportunity to focus on her riding again, this time with SD Worx-Protime.
“She quit cycling, which at that time I thought was really sad that she did because she was really strong as a road cyclist," SD Worx-Protime sports director Anna van der Breggen recalled in a YouTube video about Schreurs put out by Specialized. "She started pretty late and she really liked it, but it was also quite different [to be part of] the bunch when you don’t have the experience. I remember she crashed many times, and she had some great results.
“I don’t know how it came up, but I suggested it, why don’t you try gravel racing. She had a gravel bike and she liked it on the roads around here [Netherlands] so she was positive about it,” Van der Breggen said. They both wondered if it was possible after so many years of Schreurs working as a soigner, but Van der Breggen said the timing was right since gravel was growing.
“When you see the qualities of Geerike, it is something she can really do well. The longer it takes, the better she gets. And she is of course very motivated. We like it that there is a gravel rider racing in our kit. Team SD Worx-Protime is really supporting this. We are helping where we can to give her the best preparation and materials, together with Specialized to make her the best gravel rider.”
Schreurs finished second at The Traka 360 this year, while the 200 last year, where she came fifth in the women's category, was a pivotal point in her gravel journey as 'the first event that got me into gravel'.
“I know now that I was a really good soigneur. By always looking after someone else, you sometimes forget yourself, ‘what do I want, or what do I need’," said Schreurs. "When I made the decision last year, I thought I do something finally that I want to do. And I don’t let anyone change my decision. I feel happy about it, that I was brave enough to make that decision and go back to where I didn’t [leave] on a good feeling.”
Now with a podium at Unbound Gravel 200, Schreurs said she planned to stay in the US to to compete at the Oregon Trail Gravel, held June 26-30 as one of the global events for the Gravel Earth Series.
“I’m really looking forward to it [Oregon Trail] as well. It’s going to be another American experience. And have some time between to just relax and enjoy America.”
