A Record-Setting Day At Gravel Worlds Sees Torbjørn Røed Sprint to the Win Ahead of Keegan Swenson

After overnight storms forced the Gravel Worlds organizers to switch to the wet course, we knew the day had the potential to be fast, but no one had any idea just how fast it would be. The one and only “MMR” (Minimum Maintenance Road) left on the course came with roughly 20 miles to go, and would prove to be the decider for the overall win in both the men’s and women’s races.

All of which set up some aggressive racing for the men, who saw a small group split off the front of the race early – Americans Brennan Wertz and Quinn Felton were joined by Canadian Julien Gagne, and those three were joined by Germany’s Paul Sandmann, along with another couple of Americans, Nathan Spratt and Henry Nelson.

Thanks to the fast conditions, the racing was much more akin to a road race than it wasn’t and, while the lead group was moving well, so too was the “peloton,” which left things wide open for well into the 150-mile race.

The group would eventually be caught, but Sandmann would join with Norway’s Tobias Mørch to create another two-man breakaway, only to have their efforts nullified when they got stopped by a train, bringing the entire group together again.

With a big bunch together with roughly 30 miles to go, it was that final MMR that set the stage for a three-man breakaway that would decide the medals. American Keegan Swenson would get clear, but Norwegian Torbjorn Roed and Gagne would mark the move. The three would work well together and open up a two-minute gap on the bunch, ensuring they could sort the medals out for themselves.

Which they did, and in record-setting fashion. The 6:05 finishing time shattered the previous record of 6:48:46 set by Simen Nordahl Svendsen in 2024.

We caught up with each of the three podium finishers to learn more about their races – here’s what they had to say:

Torbjørn Røed

It worked out great … the started off kinda conservative and I just didn’t do too many moves, I just kind of followed wheels and sat in the group and let the other guys play around and waste some energy.

I had a few spots in the course where I knew I wanted to be on the front because I knew there was a few chances where things could really split up. It wasn’t that technical, but there were some loose rock sections. Into checkpoint one you have that grass/ gravel section and some corners, and I was grabbing bottles at the checkpoint, so I had to stay up front, so I just took the lead to make sure nothing was gonna happen.

There were so many fast people, so many people that wanted to win … It was pretty “road racey” – I figured out quickly so there was no point in wasting too much energy.

At the end I was saving energy and I had thought about where I was gonna attack pretty much on that loose section after the last MMR, or first and last MMR. I then just stuck my move. And luckily I got some company with Keegan and Julian because I was a bit more cooked than I thought I was. But we all worked great together – I had to skip some pulls and take some gels. The other guys just rode really strong and I tried to contribute what I had to make sure we stayed away ’cause yeah, I just really wanted to stick that top three.

I think we all were pretty stoked just to get away from that 30-man group or so. I just really wanted to make it to the end, and at the end I was pretty confident in my sprint, so I am very happy with taking the win at the end.

Keegan Swenson

It was a bit of a tricky one. It was really fast, smooth – not a whole lot of selection out there. There was a break that went early. We were able to keep them somewhat in check … and eventually we brought them back with maybe 70 miles to go or something, and it was everyone together and moves would come and go. And then I just tried to keep a bit of constant pressure to try and keep the race somewhat together.

Near the end, Toby attacked and I was able to follow with Julien and looked back to see we had a gap, so we just rode flat out for a while. And we were able to extend that and hold it to the end. I went a bit early in the sprint ’cause I know Toby’s got a really good kick. He’s a big dude and my chances aren’t always great. So I went a bit early in the rocks and he nipped me right at the line. But … a good day out.

Julien Gagne

Ideally I was going to improve on last year’s result, which was seventh … for sure I’m happy with third. We were pretty much just trying to get a big gap and then we went more steady. I’d say Toby was skipping his pulls a bit, but we were working quite well. It felt like the day wasn’t really dynamic — there wasn’t stuff that was getting away for a long time.

I was in the front all day with five other guys, and then four. But we got caught 100 miles in, and then I was in the group and then nothing was going … I prefer to be in the break ’cause the effort is more smooth. It ended up being a good day.

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