Gravel Results: Iceland’s The Rift Bridges Continents with Gravel, Volcanoes

Iceland’s Lauf has been getting involved in gravel in a big way in recent years. The company launched its spring-leaf Lauf Grit fork and then added the fork to its True Grit gravel bike. Lauf employees have also been traveling the U.S. attending gravel events from Utah to Florida and other places in between.

After making a big investment in building its gravel brand in the States, Lauf invited folks to come ride some gravel in its backyard at The Rift gravel race in Iceland.

Lauf invited graveleurs to experience Iceland’s brand of gravel at The Rift. © Snorri Thor

Named for the continental rift that runs through Iceland, the race billed itself as an event to bring the continents together to share gravel, the beauty of Iceland and of course, beer. The True Grit comes with a bottle opener, after all.

The inaugural Rift was a 200km (125-mile) race that started and finished in Hvolsvöllur, which is located southeast of Reykjavik. The route looped around the active Hekla volcano and included sections organizers called the Serpent of Midgard and Gate to Valhalla.

The Rift featured a challenging route that went around an active volcano. © Snorri Thor

2019 Results

To help make the inaugural Rift an international event, Lauf invited a number of North Americans to come to Iceland to race.

Taking the 200km win for the Women was American Alison Tetrick (Specialized). Maria Ögn Guðmundsdóttir (Hvolsvöllur) finished second and Sami Suri (ENVE Racing) third. Ágústa Björnsdóttir (Kriakeppnis) and Peta Takai (La Grange) rounded out the Women’s wide-angle podium.

The Men’s top five featured several names familar to U.S. gravel fans. 2019 King of Kanza Colin Strickland (Meteor x Giordana x Allied) took the win, with rider cum race promoter Ted King (Cannondale / SRAM / Velocio / Vittoria) coming in second. Ingvar Ómarsson (Novator) took third and Christian Meier and Neil Shirley (ENVE) rounded out the wide-angle podium.

Results for the 200km Rift are below.

Women Results: 2019 The Rift Gravel Race

Men Results: 2019 The Rift Gravel Race