Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless) took the bronze medal at the US Gravel National Championships which earned her a wildcard entry to her second trip to the UCI Gravel World Championships, October 5-6. However, she and a number of top US gravel races, from Keegan Swenson and Russell Finsterwald to Lauren De Crescenzo and Alexis Skarda, have declined roster spots at Worlds to focus on the final two races of the Life Time Grand Prix series.
Convenience and profitability are two of the major deciding factors for US riders to pass on an opportunity to compete for a world championship, but also the course set up in Belgium, which is only half 'gravel'.
In particular, for the athletes in the Grand Prix, top results in The Rad Dirt Fest in southern Colorado this Saturday and Big Sugar Gravel on October 19 in Arkansas will determine who takes top shares in the $300,000 prize purse, divided equally among the top 10 men and top 10 women after Big Sugar.
Worlds has a rainbow jersey on offer, yes, but there is no prize money, there is no travel support from USA Cycling, riders may have to pay for their own national kits and it's a long way to go for a one-day race, the courses shorter than most US races - just 134km (83 miles) for women and 181km (112 miles) for men.
The UCI Gravel World Championship course "is not going to favour an American gravel rider," said Onweller, who cancelled her plans to head to Belgium the day after The Rad and opted to remain stateside to compete for the top shares in the Grand Prix, where she is second overall, and focus on "two pure gravel events that suit me very well".
"I was excited about the opportunity to be a part of a team and to help maybe another rider that [the Worlds course] does suits well, but it's hard. It's an Olympic year, and there's not a ton of support. It's hard to give up an opportunity to race Worlds, but I have to think about where my priorities are at right now, and what best suits me personally. The decision was multifaceted," she told Cyclingnews and a small gathering of journalists at a virtual press conference about the Grand Prix.
"It was very clear, once I became second in the overall [of LTGP], that not only did I need to fight for Big Sugar, but I needed to fight for the overall. I've been targeting Big Sugar my entire year. The Life Time Grand Prix is really bringing off-road racing in America to [spotlight], and it's highlighting the women, setting the standard for separate women starts. And I feel that I really want to support that.
"And I was also concerned about experience, my ability to make a difference there, for what that means. So for example, if I finish 20th at Worlds, that doesn't really do a lot for me and my sponsors. But it does a lot if I finish and win the Grand Prix overall."
The winner of Big Sugar Gravel in 2022, Onweller explained that she had booked a flight from Colorado to Belgium for this Sunday, but was concerned about the effects on her fitness and health going from a race at elevation to an international flight to compete in one five-hour race and then fly back home to recover.
De Crescenzo said she had a tough time making up her mind as well and decided to cancel her flight to Belgium just last night. "It's not a good course for me" she admitted and preferred to save money by not paying for her own airfare, accommodations and team kit and focus on the Grand Prix.
Jim Miller, chief of sports performance at USA Cycling, confirmed it was indeed constraints in an Olympic Games year that have led to a decrease in support that was part of a Worlds programme in the past.
"In Olympic years, we face significant expenses without the corresponding revenue to offset them. Since we’re not government-funded, we must find ways to cover those costs ourselves. Simply put, we can't spend money we don’t have," Miller told Cyclingnews about USA Cycling not providing financial assistance for travel and not fielding support on the ground in Belgium.
Borstelmann and Lydic spins
John Borstelmann is also part of the Life Time Grand Prix and he spoke to Cyclingnews about the opportunities ahead in both the series, where he is just outside the top 10 with two races to go, and a spot for Gravel World Championships. Unlike Onweller and De Crescenzo, his wildcard entry this year to the Worlds is his first, based on second overall at the US Gravel Nationals, and it was an offer he could not refuse.
"My main motivation is I always wanted to race in Flanders, in the crosswinds and the cobbles and the little punchy climbs. This will be diving into the deep end, sort of like a bonus race for me," the 33-year-old told Cyclingnews from his campsite in Trinidad, Colorado where he is preparing for The Rad Dirt Fest.
"My bread and butter are the US gravel races. I think just being there and developing some content around the experience of the race is going to be valuable enough to my sponsors.
"As a team, we have no support from USA Cycling so it will be a lot of guys privateering. My understanding from the Italian World Championships, 230 guys on the line, it's just so chaotic that any sort of team strategy is virtually impossible. I feel sort of like it's my duty a little [to race Worlds]. I'm extremely excited."
Finsterwald declined his wildcard spot, earned from fourth overall at the US Gravel Nationals, due to an already busy fall. He concurred with Borstelmann about the chaotic nature of a start with so many riders.
"I just didn't feel it fit into my schedule and I don't have enough UCI points to start towards the front, which seems important on that course," he said.
22-year-old Andy Lydic does have UCI points and will be in Belgium for the US squad for a third time. He said he had set aside funds go to Worlds by himself, as it was "an investment in my future".
"I do find paying for the travel and team kit to be an investment in my future. I set aside the funds to enable myself to go to the World Championships because it matters to me and I believe will pay for itself down the road with sponsorship and partnership opportunities."
Borstelmann, who has an extensive gravel resume in US races including a trio of wins at Gravel Worlds in Nebraska, was so motivated to make the Worlds team for the first time that he applied through the USA Cycling petition process the week before US Gravel Nationals, in case he didn't finish in the top 5.
"I have always wanted to compete at the highest level. And [USA Cycling] did commit to a prize purse at gravel nationals. I have enough money coming in from that which I wasn't really counting on for my travel, racing budget this year, and I'll be able to make it work. Seems like a good use of those sorts of funds."
He said it was still to be determined if participants going to Belgium for the Gravel World Championships would need to pay for team kits. He just wants to go hard and ride to support US gravel champion Brennan Wertz.
"Brennan's form coming off Nationals, my hope is that he'll have a good starting position and he's got enough road experience he'll be able to ride at the front of the peloton. I would, personally, would love to have an excuse to just get to the front and go crazy and ride as hard as I could for the first half of the race, even if that meant blowing up, if it helped Brennan."
