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So, with endurance and tactics under control, what does that leave for Swenson to work on? I ask about his mental game. “So I think I’m pretty well prepared for that.”Ī post shared by Santa Cruz Bicycles status?

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“The Shootout has been good to practice different techniques and tactics and how to read a bunch - the way the pack moves and those things,” he said. Swenson is currently living in Tucson where he’s a regular at the (very fast) weekly Shootout group ride.

When you get into a bunch with curvy drop bars it’s easier or less stressful.” Even World Cup short track, you’re pretty bunched up and it’s even harder with wide bars, you get caught and tangled up. “I haven’t done a ton of road racing but a fair bit.

“I’m pretty comfortable riding in bunches,” Swenson said. To dispel any doubt that Swenson knows his way around the peloton and the dynamics of road racing, there’s that. In late 2020, he won Belgian Waffle Ride Cedar City without a front brake, in a sprint. He’s found his niche, much more so than he did in shorter-format events, and his ability to go hard, over long periods of time has naturally translated well in gravel.Īlthough he hasn’t lined up for that many gravel races, he’s done well when he has. I think the longer the better for me, if it’s long it’s gonna come down to who’s strongest and who has the best endurance engine.”Ī post shared by Keegan Swenson has been tuning his endurance engine for a few years now, making the transition away from World Cup XCO racing to focus on marathon distance mountain bike events. I’m not worried about the distance, if anything it helps me. Think about it - a lot of the mountain bike races are really long - Leadville, Telluride, and then obviously 24HOP, that ended up being some 360-miles. “It seems like a lot of people doubt the mountain bikers on the distance thing. “I actually think that’s one of my strengths,” he said. For the people that put the Life Time Grand Prix riders into two boxes - ‘gravel rider’ or ‘mountain biker’ - and assume that the mountain bikers don’t have the endurance for the long gravel events, Swenson is here to correct that. Of course, Swenson also has the motor to match. “Before, I didn’t have the confidence of ‘oh this move won’t work,’ or ‘it’s too early.’ I’ve worked on that with my coach - he says ‘if you feel like it’s time to go, go.'” “Listening to my instincts, not hesitating,” he said. ‘I’m not worried about the distance, if anything it helps me.’Ĭonfidence - versus overthinking or guessing - has been one of Swenson’s recent revelations. So, what would it take for Swenson to win Unbound Gravel in Emporia, Kansas is exactly one month? He seems to be well along the yellow brick road. I guess I’ve just started to figure out what it takes for me to win.” I’ve started to figure out what works for me and how to race more to my strengths versus racing to other people’s.

At all of them there’s been good competition, but a lot has to be aligned pretty well to make it happen. “Every race is a new challenge, it’s not like you go into every race thinking you’re going to win,” Swenson said.

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He’s at the top of the Life Time Grand Prix series standings after his win at Sea Otter, and on the last day of April he won the Epic Rides Whiskey Off-Road.Īnd so I have to ask - what’s it like to keep winning everything? This year, Swenson set a record at 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, lapping the 16-mile course 21 times in 24 hours. After that, he crushed the field at the Leadville Trail 100 and followed that up with a win at the week-long Breck Epic. Then, he won the notoriously difficult Telluride 100. It started last summer when the 28-year-old won a double header in Winter Park, Colorado, becoming the national champion in cross-country and short track. Keegan Swenson has been winning a lot lately. Don't miss a moment from Paris-Roubaix and Unbound Gravel, to the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, Vuelta a España, and everything in between when you

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