‘I’ve been nursing a few different injuries after getting smoked by a car door’ – Unbound Gravel and Leadville champion Keegan Swenson ‘gutted to miss Cape Epic’ due to fractured pelvis

Five-time Leadville Trail 100 MTB champion Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road) has been diagnosed with a fractured pelvis and confirmed he has pulled out of next month’s Cape Epic stage race.

The 32-year-old US gravel rider sustained “a few different injuries” when he collided with the door of an automobile in Spain two weeks ago ahead of his gravel season opener at Santa Vall, where he finished 53rd overall.

He received results of an MRI a few days ago while on a training ride in Cape Town with teammate and Cape Epic partner Matt Beers, and posted to Instagram that continued pain was due to a fracture in his iliac crest, the upper ridge of the pelvis which serves as the attachment point for major muscles.

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“It turns out my Illiac Crest is indeed fractured (along with some other complications). I was optimistic things were okay after that collision with the car door but after racing Santa Vall with quite a bit of pain (and still struggling to walk ) I had a feeling something might actually be wrong so we decided to get it checked out,” Swenson wrote on Instagram Sunday en route from Cape Town back to his winter home in Arizona.

“Gutted to miss the opportunity to race Cape Epic in the rainbow jersey with Matt but [shit] happens. For now I am headed back to Tucson for some more scans and to figure out what’s next. Watch out for those doors, they are quite sturdy.”

As the reigning Cross-country Marathon Mountain Bike World Champion, Swenson was due to wear the rainbow jersey at Cape Epic with teammate Matt Beers, who has won the stage race three times with other partners. Swenson and Beers were to wear bibs number one in the men’s division at Cape Epic, taking place March 15-22 in South Africa.

“This partnership has danger written all over it and they are undoubtedly a favourite for the win in 2026”, organisers had stated on social when the duo was first announced to return for a second time.

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Santa Vall was a much-anticipated start to the 2026 season, Swenson having moved to Specialized Off-road when his long-time Santa Cruz htSQD programme closed. He completed the two-day race, part of the Gravel Earth Series, though nowhere near the front of the field.

“I was optimistic the body would play ball today but it just was not happening,” he wrote on Instagram after falling outside the top 60 on stage 1 at Santa Vall.

“I’ve been nursing a few different injuries after getting smoked by a car door earlier this week so frankly I’m stoked I was able to toe the line and give it a crack. Hopefully today’s stage helped blow some inflammation out of the system and get the body back online. Tomorrow we try again.”

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He finished more than 19 minutes off the overall time posted by his teammates who finished on the podium, Mads Würtz Schmidt the GC winner and Matt Beers in third. Sofia Gomez Villafañe made it a team sweep by winning the women’s division.

Cyclingnews reached out to his new Specialized Off-road team, which said, “Keegan has shared news of a fractured iliac crest. The focus has shifted to recovery, and we’re by his side to help with a strong and safe return to sport once he’s cleared by medical professionals.”

Swenson hopes the recovery process is short so he can return to training and take part in all six events in the Life Time Grand Prix, the first at Sea Otter Classic Gravel in California on April 9. He has won the overall Grand Prix title three of the last four seasons, winning Unbound Gravel 200 in 2023 and Leadville five consecutive times.

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