Catching up with Keegan Swenson
Keegan Swenson isn’t an easy guy to catch. Last year he didn’t just take the top step for our SBT GRVL Men’s Pro race, he crushed it less than 24 hours after winning the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race. We’re excited he’ll be lining up again at SBT GRVL on August 20th and we had a few seconds to catch up with him in the off-season.
SBT: Thanks so much for taking a minute to pause and chat with us, our backup plan was to follow you with a Moto and get a few answers. Have you taken any time off the bike yet? You were absolutely on fire last season, and we’re curious to hear what you’re up to in the off-season; if you have one. What do you do when you’re not riding your bike?
KS: This off-season Sofia and I went to Mexico for a little beach time, and just to unplug a bit. Also, did a bit of camping, dirt bike riding and even raced Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships. It was a busy but super fun off-season! It's always a challenge to pack in all the activities....
SBT: We can imagine! You spent so much time on the road racing last year- what you’re looking forward to most in 2023 in terms of personal goals or events? It’s hard to imagine topping ’22!
KS: Honestly I am just looking forward to doing more of the same. I had a great time diving head first into my first season of racing gravel and I really enjoyed it. So, hopefully 2023 can be equally as fun!
SBT: You racked up some big wins on the mountain bike and on the gravel bike last year, what was the highlight of your 2022 race season?
KS: For me the highlight was winning the LeadBoat challenge by doubling up with wins at both the Leadville Trail MTB 100 and SBT GRVL. That was for sure one of the highlights from 2022, as well as my career in general.
SBT: That was so amazing to watch. On Saturday we heard that you’d won in Leadville and then all the whispers began: “Can Keegan win again tomorrow in Steamboat? Will he have anything left in his legs?” This year we’ve moved the race back one week, what are your thoughts on not having to race Leadville and SBT GRVL back to back days next year? Do you think that will change the race dynamic?
KS: To be honest I am pretty bummed they are not back to back again. It doesn’t change my approach to racing either of them, but I really enjoyed that LeadBoat format and wish we had more events like that. That said, maybe it will encourage a few more of the MTB focused athletes to jump in and race SBT, we'll see!
SBT: We hope so! And here we thought you’d be excited for the extra rest, we should have known. Although we are excited to have all o the MTB athletes out earlier this year and experience the full SBT GRVL weekend rather than rolling in after dark and lining up again at sunrise. Don’t worry though, we have a few surprises in store for 2023 to keep things interesting.
