Start List + Preview: CORE4 Iowa
CORE4 rolls into Iowa City this weekend (August 15) as the tenth round of the Gravel Earth Series, and the timing works against it: the race lands on the same day as the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, round three of the Life Time Grand Prix. With Life Time's off-road stars occupied in Colorado, both the men's and women's fields here are lean, but punctuated with gravel star power.
2025 Results:
Check the ORI Results Page for full results.
Women's Field: Small but Top-Heavy
Just 13 women are on the start list, one of the thinnest fields of the Gravel Earth Series season.
Gee Schreurs (Specialized-Off Road) is the headliner and the class of the field. The Dutch rider has been one of the stars of the Gravel Earth Series season, having already taken a dominant five-stage sweep at Oregon Trail Gravel and a solo win at Gravel Desert by The Traka in Spain, results that have her firmly atop the series standings. Barring a bad day, she starts as the heavy favorite.
Behind her, Gabrielle (Gabby) Traxler (Basso x Assos) and Flavia Oliveira Parks (Excel Sports p/b Specialized) give the race additional depth. Traxler and Parks are both regular fixtures near the front of elite gravel fields, and either would be a threat to win. Notably, Flavia has been racing the shorter distances of many North American gravel races, but has historically not had any trouble with events of this length. Last year's 3rd place finisher, Emily Newsom will be toeing the line as another favorite for a podium spot.
Also worth watching: Sophie Vitzthum Von Eckstaedt (10th place, Traka 360), and Peta Mullens, a veteran with a long résumé across gravel and mountain bike racing, including dozens of Aussie National Champs in various disciplines over the years.
Men's Field: The Contenders
The men's list runs only 34 deep, and while there's no single runaway favorite, several names stand out.
Tobias Mørch Kongstad (PAS Racing) travels from Copenhagen and brings international pedigree to the front of the race. With a podium at this year’s UNBOUND and last years’s Traka win to his name, he’s our favorite. Michael Garrison (SpeedStudio p/b Basso) and teammate Cole Davis give that program a two-pronged attack. Garrison is always a wildcard and could win in almost any field when he’s on a good day. Dylan Johnson (Felt UN1TD) is a known quantity in American gravel but hasn’t quite gotten back to form following his 2025 injury; Daxton Mock (Trek Driftless) and Benjamin Perry (Guava x Castelli S.O.G) round out the group of likely contenders. Daxton is fresh off a win at Ore to Shore in Michigan and Perry is one of the most consistent gravel racers on the circuit, seemingly never outside of the top-10. Jordy Bouts is another critical name to watch, fresh off the win at Megre Gravel (GES race #9).
Keep an eye also on Adam Roberge (Felt UN1TD) and the Project Echelon Vanguard duo of Peter Olejniczak and Tim Savre — all capable of forcing the pace on Iowa's gravel B-roads.
Also to Watch
CORE4's junior race counts toward the USA Junior Gravel Series, giving the weekend a development storyline alongside the elite fields. And with Leadville pulling focus from the broader off-road community on the same day, this is a chance for CORE4's smaller fields to still produce a genuinely competitive race at the front.
Start List — Men
**Start list as of 12:00 PM CT, 8/10/26