Event celebrates every finishing rider, from first to last
LINCOLN, Nebraska (August 24, 2024) — After a long, hot day of racing, Garmin Gravel Worlds announces the winners of its cycling events. Held Saturday, August 24, the event attracted more than 1,400 participants in the 50k, 75-mile, 150-mile and 300-mile races.
The Women’s Pro race was won for the second consecutive year by Lauren Stephens of Dallas, TX. She finished the 150-mile course in 7:57:46, edging out second place Karolina Migon of Great Britian by 22 seconds. Emily Newsom of Fort Worth, TX finished third.
In the Men’s Pro race, Simen Nordhal Svendsen of Hokkisund, Norway took top honors with a finish time of 6:48:46. Two seconds later, Innokenty Zavyalov of Minneapolis, MN crossed the line for second. Adam Roberge of Prevost QC, Canada finished third less than a minute back.
Thanks to expanded sponsorship from Goodlife Brands, the event added $10,000 to its Women’s Pro prize purse, while adding a fresh twist to the racing. The first twenty Pro Women that arrived at the second race checkpoint ahead of riders from the general race field, which started 25 minutes later, received $500, regardless of where they finished the race.
To facilitate this ‘race within a race’, organizers revised the start schedule to separate the Men’s and Women’s Pro fields in the 150-mile cycling event. Men’s Pro riders started at 5:55am, with Women’s Pro riders starting 10 minutes later, at 6:05am. The rest of the 150-mile field started at 6:30am.
The additional prize money for the Women’s Pro field is in addition to the $30,000 prize pool, which was evenly split between the Women’s and Men’s Pro fields, paid five places deep.
The Garmin Gravel Worlds celebration continues into Saturday night thanks to the event’s “First to Last” initiative, which celebrates each participant’s unique journey, while also reinforcing the event’s commitment to philanthropy. This includes a new First to Last party –– sponsored by All Bodies on Bikes and Ride With GPS –– to celebrate the perseverance and determination of the final finisher.
Garmin Gravel Worlds also committed $30,000 in donations to causes aligned with the gravel cycling community and its values. A portion of the donations came from $200 donations made to a charity of choice by each professional cyclist participating in the event. Each professional racer carried the name of their selected charity on their number plate during the event.
