Meet Geerike Schreurs: the WorldTour soigneur who’s now a dark horse favorite for the world's top gravel races

After spending years taking care of everyone else, Geerike Schreurs made the brave decision to finally do something for herself. In 2023, at age 34, she quit her job as a full-time WorldTour soigneur to chase some bike racing dreams of her own.

Just six months into her new role as Team SD Worx-Protime’s first – and only – full-time gravel racer, the results are coming in thick and fast. The lanky Dutchwoman burst onto the scene faster than it takes non-Dutch speakers to learn how to pronounce her name.

This spring, we've already seen her net a second place at the Traka 360, a win at the Scottish UCI Gralloch race, second also at the Austria Wortersee UCI Gravel Race, and fourth at the Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona.

Those who have been paying attention aren’t afraid to put her down as a dark horse pick for the win at the elite Unbound Gravel race this weekend, something she isn’t entirely comfortable with.

“Sure, I’ve had a good start to the season, but I also know that all the strongest gravel racers take to the start here at Unbound,” Schreurs tells Cycling Weekly. “And there are so many stories going around about Unbound. It’s the event of the season, and I have no idea what to expect.”

Her competitors likely don't know what to expect from her either, but it would be a mistake to underestimate her.

From roadie to swannie to gravel pro

UCI Women's WorldTour - Geerike Schreurs - YouTube

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Schreurs, with her height as an asset, began her athletic career playing volleyball at the national level. Her entry into cycling came later, inspired by none other than modern-day cycling legend Anna van der Breggen. The two have known each other since 2008 when Van der Breggen was still a promising junior racer. Schreurs enjoyed their rides together so much that she joined a local club and started dabbling in racing herself.

By 2011, Schreurs signed her first contract with the semi-pro team Dolmans Landscaping and later rode for Sengers Ladies team alongside Van der Breggen. However, Schreurs struggled with the lifestyle, setbacks and moments of doubt, leading to her decision to quit after just three seasons on the circuit—a decision she always regretted.

When she returned to the peloton in 2015, it was in the role of a soigneur, first for Hitec and Cylance, later for what is now Lidl-Trek, where she worked full-time between 2019 and 2023. At Lidl-Trek, team director Ina-Yoko Teutenberg got Schreurs back on the bike. WorldTour staff work long days on tour, but together, the two could regularly be found on Dawn Patrol, whether for a run or a short ride. 

While at home in Girona, Spain, Schreurs fell in love with exploring the region’s many unpaved roads, and soon started participating in some gravel races ‘just for fun’. But even in fun, her competitive nature was still very much alive. In 2023, while still working full-time, Schreurs racked up consistent performance to earn herself a fourth place overall in the Gravel Earth Series.

A second chance to chase dreams

Van der Breggen took note of Schreurs' enjoyment and success in the burgeoning UCI gravel series and encouraged Schreurs to give it a go.

“I already knew I wasn’t going to continue as a soigneur and wanted to do more gravel, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it all work,” Schreurs said.

Luckily, Van der Breggen, now a team director at SD Worx, knew how to get the ball rolling. Specialized had been pitching gravel opportunities to the SD Worx riders for a while now, but a full-time WorldTour season is already quite demanding of the team’s riders.

Eager to take a year for herself and fulfill the bike racing dreams she perhaps gave up on too soon back in her twenties, Schreurs eagerly took the opportunity to become SD Worx's gravel rider, re-joining the program she first raced for in 2011.

“[When she quit racing] I was really sad because she was already so strong as a road cyclist,” comments Van der Breggen. “When you see the qualities of Geerike, then [gravel] is really something that she can do well. The longer it takes, the better she gets.”

As part of the program’s first gravel rider, Schreurs isn’t eligible for the WorldTour salary, but she does get equipment and race support from Specialized, has access to the program's coaching staff and gets to join team camps.

She also has a full calendar of racing. Most are part of the UCI’s Gravel World Series and Gravel Earth Series, with the goal of contesting the UCI Gravel World Championships in the fall. The races are a mix of long-distance single-day events as well as gravel stage races such as the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder in Bend, Oregon, in June.

“Especially here at Unbound, with all the support from Specialized, I feel like I’m part of a team again even if I’m just one rider,” Schreurs commented.

Of course, the hope is that with her presence, the interest in gravel racing will grow among current road racers. And we’re certainly seeing some of that already. Star sprinter Lorena Wiebes is the reigning European gravel champion, and a contingent of SD Worx riders took to the start line at Schreurs' hometown race, The Traka, where they placed two riders on the podium: Schreurs in second place at the 360-kilometer race and Marie Schreiber winning the 100-kilometer race.

Making her mark stateside

It is often said that European gravel is much tamer than the unpaved and unmaintained roads of the Wild West. And indeed, the first UCI Gravel World Championships, held in Italy in 2022, was won on a road bike – a Canyon Ultimate CFR, in fact.

But Schreurs was quick to point out that beyond the white roads of Italy, many of the gravel courses in Europe, and Spain in particular, are quite ‘real’ indeed. Tougher than Unbound, she wagered, even on this year’s ‘most technical yet’ Northern course.

As the influx of international riders grows at Unbound, it’s clear that gravel is no longer an American sport. In the past two years, we’ve seen Dutchman Ivar Slik and German rider Caroline Schiff become the first non-American winners of this esteemed race, and after her success abroad, Schreurs is also keen to make her mark in the U.S.

When she lines up in a field of 63 pro riders on June 1st, she’ll be there with the determination of a woman who’s gotten a second chance to chase her dreams, and that’s tough to bet against.