Results: Lauren Stephens and Brennan Wertz Win 2024 USA Cycling Gravel National Championships

Lauren Stephens and Brennan Wertz are the 2024 U.S. gravel national champions.

The second annual 2024 USA Cycling Gravel National Championships kicked off on Sunday, September 8 in downtown Gering, Nebraska. With a $40,000 prize purse on the line, the elite fields were loaded with top gravel talent.

Stephens’ defended the stars and stripes jersey in Gering after winning the inaugural championship race last year. Stephens is also a two-time Pan American road champion and won road nationals in 2021.

She finished the 131-mile gravel race in 6:31:44, about 1.5 minutes ahead of Lauren De Crescenzo. Paige Onweller was third.

Victory in Gering, Nebraska was huge for Wertz, who has never won a national championship in any cycling discipline. At last year’s gravel nats, Wertz finished third after sprinting to the finish line with Alexey Vermeulen.

In this year’s men’s race, also 131 miles long, there was a nine-up sprint for second, with John Borstelmann coming out on top. Colby Simmons was third.

Stephens and Wertz, in addition to the other top four men and women, are now qualified for the UCI Gravel World Championship’s on October 5 in Flanders, Belgium.

The elite women’s race and results

17 women started the elite race on Sunday, with 15 completing it after Emily Newsom and Jenna Rinehart dropped out.

A group of 12 riders formed early in the women’s race, but by the halfway point a three-woman break was off the front. At mile 80, four women — Paige Onweller (Bella Vista, Ark.; Trek Driftless), Lauren De Crescenzo (Boulder Colo.; Factor / The Feed / Maxxis / Castelli / PERC), Lauren Stephens (Dallas, Texas; Cynisca Cycling), and Alexis Skarda (Grand Junction, Colo.; Santa Cruz Bicycles SRAM) — had taken command of the front of the race.

Just after the 100-mile mark, Stephens gradually gained a 25-second advantage over Skarda and De Crescenzo, both who are recovering from clavicle injuries. On the last climb of the race, the defending national champ put in a big attack and rode off the front, establishing a 45-second lead, a gap she grew until the finish where she crossed in first.

“I was just focusing on putting an attack in on the last climb. I made my attack on the steepest part and knew straight away that I got a decent gap,” Stephens said.

Stephens said that having the knowledge of the course and conditions from last year put her at ease before this year’s event.

“It was an awesome day. I was a lot less nervous this year than last year. I think there were a lot more unknowns. I was calmer coming into today having done it last year. At 500-meters I just started soaking it all in. It’s really exciting to get to wear the Stars and Stripes for another year.”

2024 US Gravel Nationals Top 10 Women

1. Lauren Stephens (Cynisca Cycling) 6:31:44
2. Lauren De Crescenzo (Factor / The Feed / Maxxis / Castelli / PERC) 6:33:06
3. Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless) 6:34:31
4. Alexis Skarda (Santa Cruz Bicycles SRAM) 6:36:00
5. Cecily Decker (Scuderia Pinarello) 6:44:55
6. Whitney Allison (Bike Sports) 6:45:09
7. Caroline Wreszin (Skratch // Factor) 6:47:29
8. Marisa Boaz (Mazda Orange Seal Off-Road) 6:50:57
9. Hannah Shell (Vantage Racing) 7:07:29
10. Leah Van Der Linden (Lauf | Eliel | Hunt) 7:11:18

Full results here

The elite men’s race and results

In the elite men’s race, a breakout group of six riders took the lead through checkpoint one – Griffin Easter (Park City, Utah; OpiCure Foundation Gravel Team p/b Canyon Bicycles) Dylan Johnson (Brevard, N.C.; Felt UN1TD), Colby Simmons (Durango, Colo.; Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Michael Garrison (Decatur, Ga.; MGR p/b NICH SpeedClub), Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz, Calif.; Santa Cruz SRAM htSQD), and Matthew Koenig (Santa Cruz, Calif.; Team Mike’s Bikes powered by Equator Coffees) – with two leaders initially gaining a 15-second advantage over the field of 49 riders.

At the 100-mile mark, Innokenty Zavyalov (Minneapolis, Minn.; Mazda – Orange Seal) held a one-minute lead over the chase group of 12 riders. He was eventually caught, and the field consolidated to 13 riders. However, the pace broke the group apart, reducing it to just eight riders with 10 kilometers to go.

Keegan Swenson (Midway, Utah; Santa Cruz Bicycles/SRAM) made a bold move at Cemetery Road, but the pack regrouped a few kilometers from the finish line. In the last two kilometers, Brennan Wertz (Mill Valley, Calif.; Mosaic Cycles) executed the plan he had going into the race.

With a perfectly timed, all-out effort, Wertz sprinted across the line just seconds ahead of the chase group, securing his first-ever gravel Nnational title.

“I knew with my size and power I didn’t have the legs for a long-range attack,” Wertz said. “A 10 kilometer attack was out of the question today. I didn’t have any snap in my legs today after being sick. I was really hoping I could sneak away one to two kilometers from the finish, so I put all my chips on the table on that move at the end and it paid off.”

“I went all in with my setup. I took a couple risks. I went with a superfast setup, super slick tires, big road gears and I knew that the finish this year really suited me well. For me the goal was to just make it to that last two kilometers and then see what I could do from there. It was a big gamble, I really put all my chips on the table and went all on in that strategy,” Wertz said.p.

2024 US Gravel Nationals Top 10 Men

1. Brennan Wertz (Mosaic Cycles) 5:50:37
2. John Borstelmann (Goodlife Racing/Ventum/Voler) 5:50:43
3. Colby Simmons (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) 5:50:43
4. Russell Finsterwald (Trek Driftless) 5:50:43
5. Griffin EAster (OpiCure Foundation Gravel Team p/b Canyon Bicycles) 5:50:44
6. Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles/SRAM) 5:50:44
7. Lance Haidet (Specialized/SRAM/Velocio/FatTire) 5:50:44
8. Cobe Freeburn (Bear Gravel Team) 5:50:44
9. Ian Lopez de San Roman (Aevolo) 5:50:44
10. Innokenty Zavyalov (Mazda – Orange Seal) 5:50:45

Full results here