The best male graver in the U.S. is headed to the biggest one-day race for professional road cyclists.
heads to the in Wollongong, Australia this week as one of the most anticipated riders to watch in the men鈥檚 road race.
Swenson was a surprise call-up for Team USA to participate in the road race, even though he has been a dominant presence in the off-road scene this year. This year alone he has won the Sea Otter Classic mountain-bike race, Utah鈥檚 Crusher in the Tushar gravel event, as well as the U.S. national cross-country mountain-bike championships.
He was also a close second at Unbound Gravel, which he lost in a sprint to Dutch road cyclist Ivar Slik. In August, Swenson won the Leadville Trail 100 MTB and the 145-mile SBT GRVL events on back-to-back days.
USA Cycling, the sport鈥檚 national governing body, has never chosen a rider to represent the country at the UCI world road cycling championships based on his or her success in off-road events like gravel and mountain biking. Historically, the organization has chosen athletes for the road world championships based on their results from pro road races. Brendan Quirk, USA Cycling鈥檚 CEO, told聽VeloNews that a combination of scheduling problems and injuries to other American road racers opened the door for Swenson to join the team. Coaches with USA Cycling studied Swenson鈥檚 power data and decided to extend an invitation to him.
鈥淲e know he has a WorldTour engine, we know he鈥檚 not intimidated by anything or anyone. And we know that the most incredible phenomenon going on in road right now is crossover riders diving in from other disciplines,鈥 Quirk said. 鈥淭his is an amazing opportunity for Keegan to show how talented he really is.鈥
Swenson, 28, believes he has the legs and lungs to succeed in the 165-mile road race, held this coming Sunday, September 25. Swenson says it鈥檚 confirmation that the level of competition in the U.S. gravel scene is the best of any discipline in the country right now.
鈥淭here鈥檚 more talent in gravel right now and numbers with Strava are pretty transparent. Everyone can see what we鈥檙e doing and see that the numbers we鈥檙e doing aren鈥檛 that far off what they鈥檙e doing in the WorldTour,鈥 Swenson said. 鈥淭hey can see if a rider has the motor, so it鈥檚 just about whether they can do it on the road as well.鈥
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Indeed, the depth in gravel has grown massively in the last few years, with European road riders and high-profile domestic riders raising the standards of competition. Racing infrastructure and organization have also come on leaps and bounds, and in many ways, Swenson personifies the importance of gravel and off-road racing when it comes to finding talent and transferring it to the road.
鈥淚t鈥檚 super cool how in the U.S. the gravel scene has really developed in the last couple of years. I think, right now, it鈥檚 the most competitive form of racing in North America,鈥 he said.
鈥淭here are cross country races that are pretty big but in general I think that the gravel races have deeper talent and the demands of gravel racing is similar to road racing. Steamboat was more or less a road race with a fair bit of gravel. I raced small tires and it was bunch racing, so I think that simulates close to road racing, and there鈥檚 not a huge amount of racing in the U.S. right now.鈥
Road racing in the U.S. has taken a significant hit in recent years. Major events like the Amgen Tour of California, Tour of Utah, and Colorado Classic have disappeared from the calendar, and professional road teams have folded, leaving just a small crop of stage races, the Maryland Cycling Classic and a criterium scene.
Meanwhile, gravel cycling has surged in popularity, and it has attracted top riders from road cycling and mountain biking as well. USA Cycling has begun to take notice, even thought many of the gravel events are not sanctioned by the governing body.
Swenson鈥檚 experience in pro road cycling is limited, and Arizona鈥檚 Valley of the Sun road race as the biggest road event he鈥檚 participated in.聽 The road race at worlds will signify a huge step up in terms of quality, but it鈥檚 the tactical and positional sides where Swenson sees his biggest areas of improvement.
鈥淚 think it would be just racing in the bunch. We do that in gravel but we鈥檙e more spaced out. It would just be about getting used to that. In the mountain bike starts we鈥檙e packed in tight so I鈥檓 used to being in bunches. It would be just a matter of getting used to a different sort of bunch. I have the skills to figure it out pretty quick. On the road bike I can descend fast and I can corner well. It would be about learning to read the bunch, when to move up and those nuances that are really important in road racing,鈥 he said.
It鈥檚 still unclear what success would look like for Swenson regarding racing worlds. Neilson Powless is likely to lead the line for the men鈥檚 team after finishing fifth last year, while Magnus Sheffield will be hoping to make up for his crash in the individual time trial.
鈥淎t worlds I鈥檇 love to try and get in a breakaway and see how long that lasts. If I can finish in the lead bunch, that would be great. USAC would be extremely happy with that too and while I don鈥檛 have the tactics or maybe the punch to be with the lead guys, just making it over the climbs would be great,鈥 he added.