Torbjorn Lord burst onto the American road racing scene in 2022 with a number of results with the Canadian Continental level team and university program. The following year he emerged on the gravel scene, winning the Belgian Waffle Ride Kansas and the Big Sugar Gravel, and now his name is well known for its pronunciation.

Roed won a stage at the Tour of the Gila two years ago as part of the small Yoeleo test team p/b 4MindProject, finishing third overall. He then competed in the U.S. Collegiate Championships in 2022 as an athlete at Colorado Mesa University, winning five gold medals in three events, including a national road race title. He also placed fifth overall in the UCI 2.2 Jo Martin stage race.

In 2023, Roed was third overall at the Tour of the Gila and third in the mountains class at the Tour of Norway as part of the Norwegian national team. His name began to appear in gravel results, including 3rd in the Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona and 13th in the FNCL GRVL.

Who is the Norwegian rider nicknamed Toby because of his easy English pronunciation? He answered that question emphatically by winning BWR Kansas and Big Sugar and getting noticed in the Lifetime Grand Prix.

"I think that one win [Big Sugar Gravel] did the trick," he said, earning him an invitation to the 2024 Grand Prix Off-Road Series.

"I think the biggest thing for me was definitely the gravel race. Before last year, I had never done a single gravel race, and I had never done a single marathon mountain bike race.

"I think it's very important just to have done some of the disciplines, even though I had skills in both. They seem to look at the results of their events first. And of course, winning even one of their events is very, very helpful."

To kick off this year's gravel schedule, Roedo finished third at the Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona and won the Mid-South Gravel Race by winning a sprint from a lead group of six after a 100-mile ride in Oklahoma's Red Dirt With his fifth-place finish at BWR Utah, he now sits second in the men's standings, eight points behind Tripel Crown leader Peter Stetina. Round 3 of the Triple Crown will be held on Sunday at BWR California, where the top waffle-length riders will battle for the $25,500 prize money.

"It's certainly one of my goals for the spring, hopefully to finish in the top three overall," he told Cycling News.

Roedo returned to road racing for a week at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, where he had two top-10 finishes as a guest rider for the Above and Beyond Cancer Cycling Team.

His teammates on the Trek Driftless Off-Road team are Russell Finsterwald, Haley Smith, and Paige Onweller. The team aspect of Gravel Racing had created momentum from the previous "privateer" only days, and Roed was looking forward to the new adventure, especially since all four had participated in the Lifetime Grand Prix.

"I think it's really good that Russell is here. I think it's really good that Russell is here. I think it's really good to have Russell there, but he knows most of the races we'll be competing in this year, gravel races, mountain bike races, etc. It's really good to have the experience of the two of them combined, so we can have a really good plan," he said. It's really nice to have the experience of two riders combined, and that will be a really good plan.

The Norwegian rider followed his older brother Eyvind Andreas Roed (who enrolled at Colorado Mesa to race mountain bikes) to the United States at age 20. Visiting his brother in the small town of Grand Junction was his first trip to the U.S. and made a big impression on him. He is now based in Colorado, where the elevation is key to his success in gravel.

"It was where I wanted to be. I wanted mountains; I wanted a place where I could run 365 days a year. It's a beautiful area to do anything out there. You can go skiing in the winter and ride in the city on the same day," says Røed, who grew up racing MTB cross-country as a boy in Norway. He took up track and some cyclocross while still in college.

"I like the adventure aspect, and I can ride both road and trail. I know I'll get through it."

"I'm sure I'll get through it.

Once this weekend's Tripel Crown of Gravel is set, Roed turns his attention to the Lifetime Grand Prix. In the series opener at the Sea Otter Classic's Fuego XL 100k, he endured a crash and a late puncture to finish 14th overall and 11th among series competitors. His full attention is now focused on the June 1 Unbound Gravel 200.

"I was invited to the Tour of Norway by the national team at the end of May, but I ended up turning it down because it was too close to Unbound. It's a big goal for me."