Dennis's story: Gravel Worlds

BaseCamp athlete Dennis Wojcik shared his experience at the 2026 Gravel Worlds bike race in Nebraska.

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I did a very short warmup, because I didn’t think it would last, given the amount of time I would be in the pen. I did line up with a bunch of BaseCampers, and we had fun talking.

The start was good, not too hectic. It was a fast start for sure. I stayed with a very large lead group for 15 min or so, then it started to break up. I could not sustain 300W going on the hills, so I started to adjust to my pace plan. I was able to stay with harder groups for the first hour and was at the first rest stop in an hour -- surprising.

I jumped groups for the next hour and a half, which took me to the second rest stop in the SAC museum. We had to ride through a park on a trail, which was odd and had a few people on it who didn’t know it was a race. We also had to ride behind the museum in rain runoff, which was sloppy. It made the tires slick going through the museum and the speeds down. The museum was cool, lots of unique airplanes.

As far a fueling, I did down two full flasks of SiS gels (5 gels) but was lighter on the chews at two bags and a bit. 3 would have been better. As far as fluid, emptied most but not all the hydration pack, filled it back up with another bottle at the second test stop. I did finish one bottle as well and two Cokes. Maybe needed a bit more with the heat.

Some fit notes: my crotch was numb after the ride for a while, hence the fit appt with Lorri. Hips felt good, but hamstrings felt like they were working harder.

4:28:26. Over 30 minutes faster than last year. It was a fast course, but I think I raced it better this year.

Was up at 0520 for breakfast. Not my normal overnight oats but what I could get. Prep was done mostly last night, so easy morning. Made it to the venue around 0620.