It was a summer of ups and downs for American Lauren Stevens (open in new tab). It began with the disappointing news that she was not an Olympic finalist for the U.S. road cycling team. But two days later, she repeated her victory with a bright performance in the 100-mile Unbounded Gravel race.

The TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank (open in new tab) rider chose the shorter of the two pro races in Emporia, Kansas, to prepare for the National Pro Road Championships two weeks later. It worked, as Stevens attacked on the final Sherrod Road climb in Knoxville, Tennessee, and rode solo for over 10 km to take the title.

Stevens will be looking for physical ups and downs this Sunday on the challenging black course of the SBT GRVL (open in new tab), where 2019 women's winner, Australian Brody Chapman, will be looking for her FDJ Neuve with her Le Aquitaine Futuroscope Road Team in the Ladies Tour of Norway, so there is already a chance for her to climb to the top step of the podium and grab the champion's cowboy hat. She has a new equipment strategy this time around and is hoping for the advantage of not having a lead boat challenge. [In the last SBT, I was second behind my teammate Brody Chapman. When I slashed my tire, the only ones left in the lead pack were the women," Stevens told Cycling News. I did get the cumulative QOM award, I did get the QOM award, I did get the QOM award, I did get the QOM award." [In the previous SBT, she rode on 40mm slick tires. This year I'm going to run Vittoria Terreno Zero 38mm tires. These tires have a smooth center tread and are fast on the road, but they have knobs on the sides and bite better on gravel. It has the best of both worlds.

At the last Steamboat Springs race, Chapman and Stevens, both from TIBCO-SVB, finished in the top 25 overall. Stevens finished less than 3 minutes behind the Aussie and 20 seconds behind her husband, Matt Stevens.

This time, Matt will compete in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB on Saturday and Lauren will compete in the SBT GRVL on Sunday.

"Leadboat is a challenge in itself. I don't think most of the girls expect to be in the lead group on Sunday. But I think some will surprise themselves," Stevens said of the 24 girls competing in both events this year.

"In 2019 Matt did the double, racing Gravel Worlds in Nebraska on Saturday and then jumping in his car and driving to Steamboat to race SBT GRVL on Sunday. In the past, I have accompanied Matt (from Rauf/Vohler), who has made gravel racing his primary focus for the past few years. Now Matt is the gravel director for Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank."

She wears the Stars & Stripes jersey in gravel, but says that "it's pretty fair to wear the national kit" because there are not many rules in the dirt scene. She just renewed her contract with TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank for two seasons starting in 2013.

"I am very excited to be a part of Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank for two more seasons," Stevens said. 'This team continues to be a perfect fit, as it has been for over a decade.'

This season, she competed in eight European one-day races on the road, winning the Unbound Gravel 100, including a 10th place finish in Ghent-Wevelgem. After winning the national road crown, she returned to gravel, finishing third at The Rift Gravel in Iceland and second at the 82-mile Roots Vermont.

Over the past few days, Stevens has been training in the high country near Leadville, while Lauren has been taking in the beautiful scenery from above Turquoise Lake. She is in great shape and heading high into the Rocky Mountains.

"For me, gravel is where I can get serious on the bike, but once the race is over, it doesn't matter how it went. It's a time to relax and enjoy the company of other participants." The best part of gravel is that there are essentially no rules."