'That’s kind of the story of my life': Geerike Schreurs settles for second again at Unbound Gravel

Specialized Off Road's Sofia Gomez Villafane and Geerike Schreurs — (Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)

In the three times Geerike Schreurs has raced Unbound Gravel, the race has ended in a sprint finish twice.

Both times, she finished second.

Saturday’s runner-up finish left the Dutch rider visibly emotional after another near-miss at gravel racing’s marquee event. Despite strong results throughout the season — including success in the UCI Gravel Series and a podium at The Gralloch — Schreurs is still chasing a breakthrough victory at the sport’s biggest races.

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"The dream is to win this race someday," Schreurs said after helping the Specialized Off-Road team secure a one-two finish behind teammate Sophia Gomez Villafañe. "But yeah, two times second place. That’s kind of the story of my life."

Like her second-place finish in 2024, Schreurs again found herself in a reduced group sprint at the end of one of gravel racing’s most demanding events. And like last year, victory narrowly slipped away.

The 2026 edition was made even harder by brutal muddy sectors that turned the race into an attritional battle long before the finish in Emporia.

"It was so hard," Schreurs said. "We encountered mud for the first time about 30 kilometers in and after that it was relentlessly hard. But I was always well positioned near the front, and at the moments where it mattered most."

Schreurs spent much of the day in the breakaway and eventually took matters into her own hands when cooperation in the front group began to fade.

"At one point we were riding with a big group, and then half the group didn't work. That’s super annoying," she said. "So then I thought, well, I’m just going to push the pace."

It proved to be one of the defining moves of the race, reducing the front group to a smaller and more committed selection that stayed clear into the finishing chute.

But once the riders made the final left-hand turn onto the finishing straight, the outcome felt almost inevitable.

"Of course I wanted to win," Schreurs said. "But this was agreed beforehand, that the finish would be for Sophia [Gomez Villafañe], and I’m happy she was able to finish it off, and I’m happy I could complete the podium with one, two."

Schreurs attempted to attack before the sprint but could not make the move stick.

"I was going to try to attack," she said. "But yeah, unfortunately it didn’t work. Looking back, I think I should have started the sprint a bit earlier, but I got boxed in a little."

Even with another near-miss, Schreurs said she was proud of the team result after Specialized dominated the women’s race — and swept the men’s podium aboard the new S-Works Crux.

"It was a super good weekend for the Specialized team," she said. "And I’m incredibly proud to be part of it and involved in it."

Still, Schreurs acknowledged that finally turning second place into victory may require another step mentally as much as physically.

"I’ve worked a lot on the mental side," she said. "But I think I still need to believe in myself a bit more."

Asked whether she would return to Unbound to chase victory again next year, Schreurs was unsure.

"Who knows," she said. "Maybe I’ll come back next year. Who knows."

Cycling Weekly's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.

Originally from the Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon, she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a journalist for two decades, including 14 years in cycling.