Lauren De Crescenzo defends title at Gravel Worlds

Image 1 of 9

Lauren De Crescenzo soloed to victory at Gravel Worlds in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday. She covered the 150-mile route in a winning time of 7:33:03 beating runner-up Paige Onweller by 14:02 and third-placed Heather Jackson by 16:21.

De Crescenzo successfully defended her 2021 women’s title and beat last year’s time by just under four minutes. She finished 20th overall on the full course for all competitors.

"I have no words right now, just pure joy," De Crescenzo wrote on her Instagram feed following her Gravel Worlds victory. She came into the race as the favourite having won SBT GRVL for a second consecutive year the previous weekend.

At the first checkpoint 60.5 miles into the full course, De Crescenzo had a little over three minutes over the chasers, which included Onweller, Jackson, and Whitney Allison. By the next time check 47 miles later, Onweller and Jackson had dropped Allison and were in full chase mode, just three minutes behind the defending champion. 

Onweller, who came into Nebraska from a fourth-place overall at last weekend’s LeadBoat Challenge (eighth in Leadville and 13th in Steamboat Springs), opened a gap for sole possession of second with less than 25 miles to go and held the gap for the podium spot.

Of the 2,500 registered participants across four route options, Gravel Worlds was able to reach its goal of “1,000 Women of Gravel”, with one-third of rider registrations made by women. The initiative also raised $15,000 for the the Nebraska Interscholastic Cycling League.