The battle for victory at Lauf Gravel Worlds came down to a hard-fought two-way duel between Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road) and Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz htSQD) in the pro men’s race and Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM) and Geerike Schreurs (SD Worx – Protime) in the women’s pro competition, with searing sprints between the pairs deciding the gruelling 151.8 mile (244km) race.
“What a day – what a ride,” said Klöser in an Instagram post. “Extremely proud and grateful to finish one of the races with one of the most competitive women’s fields with a win this year!”
Klöser was crowned after gapping her SD Worx rival on the final corner and then putting down the power to make the most of the advantage. Beers, on the other hand, looked to be on the back foot coming through the final corners given Swenson had determinedly kept him in the front position through the approach. However, even though the South African had been forced into the front spot early he was not going to give it up when it counted most, kicking up the pace a gear as Swenson slipped out of the draft and celebrated on the line of Gravel Worlds.
“That’s a good feeling,” said Beers in an Instagram post after clinching the $17,500 winner’s prize. “Proper race out there today! Gnarly conditions which made it even more challenging than it already was going to be. But I’m super happy to put this one together – It’s not often I win a sprint so that was nice.”
“A brutal day out there,” said Beers in a post race interview. “Obviously the running and the mud made it really hard and really decisive but we played our cards and we attacked in the right spots.”
The first mud section of the race, which is also part of the Gravel Earth Series, left Beers on the chase but he made it back and…
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