Marcis Shelton, 22, claimed the Elite Men’s Growler title at Levi’s Gran Fondo on Saturday 25 April 2026 in Windsor, California, edging Australian gravel powerhouse Brendan Johnston after nearly six hours of hard racing across one of North America’s most demanding one-day courses.
Shelton, a Californian riding for Team California pb Verge, crossed in 5:58:09 to hold off Johnston by a tire’s width with a final bike throw. The 21-year-old currently sits 1187th in the UCI rankings — making his win over one of gravel’s most decorated competitors all the more striking. His best road results include fifth at the US National Road Race Championships and ninth in the GC at the Tour of the Gila.
Johnston, 34, was the race’s marquee name. The Australian has won the national cross-country marathon championships six times, three rounds of the UCI Gravel World Series, and the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic — a career made more remarkable given he was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and missed two years before returning to competition.
Kent Ross (5:58:10), Logan Unger (5:58:10), and Brennan Wertz (5:58:10) completed the top five in a mass finish. Sixth place went to 39-year-old Canadian Michael Woods, whose presence in the results adds significant star power to the day. Woods retired from professional cycling at the end of 2025 after 11 WorldTour seasons, having won a Tour de France stage atop Puy de Dôme in 2023, taken bronze at the 2018 World Championships, and claimed multiple Ardennes Monument podiums. His sixth-place Growler finish, matching the pace of elite riders half his age, underlines why he remains a serious competitor in any race with climbing.
In the Elite Women’s Growler, Lauren Stephens, 39, made it back-to-back victories at Levi’s Gran Fondo, having won the 2025 edition with a solo ride to claim $25,000. This time the Texan finished in 7:20:05 — nearly eight minutes slower than her 2025 winning time — with a chase group arriving just 109 seconds later. A former Pan American Games and Pan American Championships road race champion, Stephens initially balanced a career as a high school mathematics teacher before turning fully professional in 2013. She remains one of American cycling’s most durable competitors at the elite level.
Second place went to Argentine-American gravel powerhouse Sofia Gomez Villafane, 31, in 7:21:54. Gomez Villafane honed her off-road skills on the XC World Cup circuit and at the Tokyo Olympics before committing fully to gravel in 2022, winning the Life Time Grand Prix — America’s premier gravel series — for three consecutive seasons.
That third spot went to Kate Courtney, 30, also at 7:21:54. The 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Champion and Stanford graduate was the first American in 17 years to take elite MTB world title when she won in Lenzerheide, and added a second world title in 2025, winning the marathon MTB world championship. Hayley Preen (7:21:56) and Alia Shafi (7:23:06) completed the top five.
2026 Levi’s Gran Fondo results HERE
Photo Credit: Levi’s Gran Fondo
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