Yuri Hauswald

Yuri Hauswald grew up on a farm in rural Petaluma, CA without a TV, which meant he spent plenty of time outdoors roaming the hills looking for adventure when he wasn’t doing chores.

After a successful collegiate career playing lacrosse for UC Berkeley, and armed with a degree in American Literature, Yuri discovered the joys of mountain biking while teaching English at a prep school in Pennsylvania and hasn’t looked back since.

A former two-time solo winner of the 24-Hours of Adrenaline and 9th place finisher at the 2006 24-Hour World Championships, Yuri’s crisscrossed the country seeking out his next two-wheeled adventure. He turned pro at the tender age of 36 and discovered the joys of gravel in 2013, when he completed his first Dirty Kanza 200.

In 2015, at the age of 45, he won the dirtiest/muddiest of the Dirty Kanza’s, in a two up sprint, and in 2018 finished second in the DKXL, a 350 mile self-supported ride through the Flint Hills of KS that he completed in 25 hours and 51 minutes. When he’s not riding his bike, he spends as much time as possible road tripping with his wife Vanessa and their new puppy, Angus.

Fun Fact: Yuri taught elementary school for 11 years while chasing the dream of being a pro bike racer. He’s still chasing the dream but now works in the bike industry for GU Energy Labs, one of his long-time sponsors, as their Elite Athlete Manager.

"There’s something really rewarding knowing that you’ve trained/prepared to the best of your ability in the pursuit of a physical goal/challenge. Also, now that I’ve become the #aarpgravelpro, I try to be more of a mentor, or sounding board, for up and coming athletes who are looking to make careers for themselves in the cycling world." - Yuri a.k.a The Diesel.