Julien Gagné 7th at Gravel Worlds

Gravel Worlds: Julien Gagné Battles Mud, Wind, and Pain for a Top-10 Finish

What a weekend for Julien Gagné at the legendary Gravel Worlds in Lincoln, Nebraska. The week leading up to the race was anything but smooth: a lingering knee issue after last Saturday’s core4 race had him worried he might not even start. “The physio told me: as long as pain stays below 8/10 and the knee still bends, give it a go.”

The start? Pure chaos. Pitch dark, loose gravel, high-speed pack riding. Then came the nightmare: cement-like mud, clogging wheels instantly, forcing riders to run long stretches and scrape mud off by hand. “We took a beating,” Julien recalls. These brutal sections created an early and brutal selection.

Once clear, the pace up front was full gas. Crosswinds ripped the peloton apart, making every move costly. Around 190 km in, another mud stretch triggered a crash in the lead group. Julien was caught behind, losing contact with the four riders who would go on to contest the win. He chased hard with two Norwegians – one being last year’s winner – but they never made it back. In the final sprint, Julien crossed the line 7th, after 244 km of relentless effort.

“The knee held up, and it was worth lining up,” he says. A gritty ride that cements his status among the world’s gravel elite.