If there’s one way Keegan Swenson likes to win, it’s solo. Time and time again, he rides away from his rivals and crosses the line at the biggest gravel races with seconds, sometimes minutes, to spare on his rivals.
The inaugural USA Cycling Gravel National Championships last summer featured a wind-battered, loose course, and Swenson attacked the lead group with five miles remaining. Alexey Vermeulen, Brennan Wertz and Payson McElveen made up the chase group, but even collectively, they did not have the legs to reach Swenson. In the end, the Utah native crossed the line about 20 seconds before the others to be crowned the first-ever gravel champion.
