USA Cycling has announced its wildcard selections for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium and while it is no surprise that national champions Brennan Wertz and Lauren Stephens are among the squad, there is a notable absence.
Keegan Swenson – the rider to beat on the US gravel scene and top five finisher at last year’s rainbow jersey race – was not on the list. There was no explanation offered in the release.
Instead, joining new national champion Wertz among the list of seven wild card entries for the elite men’s squad is John Borstelmann, the experienced Ted King, Andrew Lydic, Justin McQuerry, Ethan Overson and Colby Simmons, with the Visma-Lease a Bike rider being the youngest wildcard member of the USA squad.
The wild card entries for the women’s-elite team spearheaded by Stephens – who came sixth at the event last year – went to Lauren De Crescenzo, Whitney Allison, Laura King, Shayna Powless, Safia Schugar, Hannah Shell, Kyleigh Spearing, Leah Van Der Linden and Caroline Wresszin.
Age group athletes selected were Mat Stephens and Todd Hageman, with that making 19 wildcard entries, accounting for 20 of those wild card spots the national federation is entitled to.
There are also other pathways to entry to the UCI World Championships, with the Gravel World Series races acting as qualifiers plus national gravel champions being allocated a spot. This means the list of elite riders who have gained the right to race extends beyond those given wild cards, with riders like Chad Haga and Heidi Franz among those who have qualified via the Gravel World Series.
Still, there are many examples of those that have the option to go to the UCI World Championships event but chose not to, as qualification or selection to the elite teams doesn’t equate to financial support to make it to the race in Belgium.
USA Cycling said in its selection document this year that :”Athletes who receive automatic invitations from the UCI or are nominated by the USA Cycling Athlete Discretionary Selection procedures are responsible for the full expense associated with this event. USA Cycling will not assume financial responsibility for any athletes.”
The federation had earlier announced its intention to set aside spots for the top five finishers in the Elite Gravel National Championships, though it appears not all were taken up. Top five finishers Easter Griffin, Paige Onweller, Alexis Skarda and Cecily Decker ware among the top five placed riders but were not on the list of wild card entries or elite riders that had qualified via the Gravel World Series.
USA Cycling isn’t alone in missing leading gravel figures from its team, with AusCycling’s announcement earlier this week also noting that Australian national gravel champion Brendan Johnston wouldn’t be taking up his automatic qualification spot.
The UCI Gravel World Championships will take place in Belgium on October 5-6, with the elite women’s race taking place on a 134km course, which is more than half unpaved, on the Saturday while Sunday’s men’s elite race will unfold over 181km.
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