‘We have no support from USA Cycling’ – Multiple US riders skip Gravel Worlds as team members asked to cover extensive costs

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’.