Geerike Schreurs and Mads Wurtz Schmidt carried the red colours of Specialized Off-road across the line in Bouillon, Belgium Sunday to win The River by The Traka, the final instalment of the 2026 Gravel Earth Series (GES).
It was an inaugural edition for the Belgian race, which was run across 160 km and 2,550 metres of elevation gain across the Ardennes hills.
Schreurs rode solo to win in 5:23:13 for her fourth victory in six GES starts, leaving Larissa Hartog (Canyon x DT Swiss ATR), Axelle Dubau-Prevot (EF Education-Oatly) and Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) to battle for the rest of the podium spots. The trio sprinted across the line 5:34 back, Hartog taking second, Dubau-Prevot third and the former Unbound Gravel 200 winner in fourth.
Sweeping the final trio of events at Oregon Trail Gravel, CORE4 and The River, Schreurs won the pro women's title of the series with 210 points. Dubau-Prevot was 31 points back in second and Hartog another 19 points back in third. Migoń, who won the GES in 2024 and was second last year, settled for sixth this year.
This is the third time in four seasons that Schueurs has finished in the top 10, going fourth last year and fifth in 2023.
Würtz Schmidt completed a run of five wins in five races in his series appearances to wrap up the men's title. At The River, he got away for a solo victory, like his teammate in the women's race, but not by a large margin. After posting 4:36:43, a charge of five riders followed three minutes later, Célestin Guillon (Gravel Nation) getting a late gap to go second and Nils Brun (3T Privateer) taking third ahead of Petr Vakoc (SK Velo Praha), Joel Suter and Nortje Tristan.
The two-time European Gravel Champion carried an impenetrable lead into The River, just needing to finish to take the pro men's title. Among his wins in the series included The Traka 360 for a total haul of 220 points. Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) edged Petr Vakoč (SK Velo Praha), 146 points to 140, for second place.
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This year, GES offered 12 races in six countries for riders to collect points in the elite women's and elite men's categories, with the top 10 determined from best scores at The River and three other events, and then those athletes sharing in a €25,000 prize purse.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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