USA Cycling has announced the wild cards for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium.

Keegan Swenson, a hotshot rider on the U.S. gravel scene after finishing in the top five in last year's Rainbow Jersey race, was offered a spot but declined to compete to focus on the final round of the Lifetime Grand Prix Series.

Instead, in addition to the new national champion, Vertz, the wildcards selected for the elite men's team were John Borstelmann, the experienced Ted King, Andrew Lydick, Justin McElree, and Ethan Overson, Colby Simmons, and seven others. If he accepts the wild card entry, Simmons, of Visma-Lease a Bike, would be the youngest elite rider in the U.S. delegation.

Wild card candidates for the women's elite team, led by Stevens, who finished sixth at last year's Worlds, include Lauren De Crescenzo, Whitney Allison, Laura King, Shayna Powles, Safia Shugar, Hannah Schell, and Kyleigh Spearing, Leah Van Der Linden, and Caroline Ulesin were selected. Like Swenson, de Crescenzo withdrew from the field to remain in the U.S. for the Ladd Dirt Fest (Life Time Grand Prix), the fifth of six rounds in the series, which will be held this Saturday in Colorado.

The federation had previously announced a new benefit, a wild card for the top five finishers in the Elite Gravel National Championship. Since this one-day race in Belgium is sandwiched between the Lifetime Grand Prix, many of the top riders declined to participate; Paige Onweller and Alexis Skarda, who finished in the top five at the US Gravel Nationals, declined to compete and entered the Gravel World Championships wild card entry to the World Championships. Matt Stevens and Todd Hageman were selected in their age groups, for a total of 19 wildcard entries from the 20 slots allocated to national federations.

For entry to the UCI World Championships, Gravel World Series races serve as qualifiers, and spots are also allocated to national gravel champions. Riders such as Chad Haga, Daxton Mock, Jenna Reinhart, Amity Rockwell, and Heidi Franz have gone through the Gravel World Series to earn spots to represent Elite USA.

Still, there are many examples of riders who have the option to participate in UCI World Championship events but choose not to because qualification and selection to the elite team does not equal financial support to race in Belgium.

USA Cycling states in this year's selection materials: “Athletes who receive an automatic invitation from the UCI or who are nominated through USA Cycling's athlete discretionary selection process are responsible for all expenses associated with this event. shall have no financial responsibility to any athlete.”

USA Cycling as well as AusCycling's announcement earlier this week that Australian national gravel champion Brendan Johnston did not receive an automatic berth.

The UCI Gravel World Championships will be held October 5-6 in Belgium, with Saturday's women's elite race on a 134km course that is more than half unpaved, and Sunday's men's elite race on a 181km course. 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships All Unlimited access to information. Breaking news and analysis from the elite women's and elite men's events by journalists on the ground. For more information.