Utah’s Swenson has top American performance at Marathon Mountain Bike Worlds in Italy.
October 2, 2021 – ELBA ISLAND, Italy. – The 2021 Marathon Mountain Bike World Championships took place on the island of Elba in Tuscany. Almost every part of the course was demanding single track with challenging climbs. The men raced 71 miles with 14,000 feet of climbing. The women raced 50 miles with over 10,000 feet of climbing. It was a challenging day.
The race proved to be one of the hardest most have ever competed in. Fan favorites like Swiss rider Nino Schurter led the lead group for a while and eventually pulled out of the race for health issues. It was a struggle for most to even finish. Keegan Swenson (Park City Utah; Santa Cruz Bicycles) left it all out on the course. He had a 91st call-up and made it into the lead group early into Lap 1 of 3. On Lap 2, he had a hole in his tire that he was able to fix on course. By the end of the day, he was able to finish seventh after one of the hardest days he’s ever had on the bike.
Kyle Trudeau (Phoenix, Ariz.; Construction Zone Racing) and Kelly Catale (Pepperell, Mass.) were both able to manage a Top-40 in their respective races. Utah’s Jules Goguely was 67th.
Men’s Results
- Andreas Seewald (GER)
- Diego Alfonso Arias Cuervo (COL)
- Jose Dias (POR)
7. Keegan Swenson (USA)
Women’s Results
- Mona Mitterwallner (AUT)
- Maja Wloszczowska (POL)
- Natalia Fischer Equsquiza (ESP)
