'One-man-show' Michael Garrison mixes gravel and road in quest to capture second US time trial national title

Michael Garrison earned four podiums across four races this spring, including a win at Homegrown Gravel and third at Valley of Tears gravel, but the volume on these achievements is a bit lower than when he raced internationally with Hagens Berman Axeon (now Hagens Berman Jayco). These days, the entrepreneurial 23-year-old races mainly US-based road and gravel under the team name MGR pb +Speed l Studio, his own setup. 

The Decatur, Georgia native has been on the podium twice at US Road National Championships, once as the bronze medallist in the men's junior time trial and won the men's U23 time trial. Now he wants to land on the podium again, and this time with his own system to embrace the need for speed. 

"My big target is I want to be on the podium at US Pro and the time trial. And I know it's something that I can do," Garrison told Cyclingnews. 

"I was on the time trial bike for a week only before US Pro last year and rode a top five, so it's definitely motivating to focus on that. Being a non-WorldTour guy, that's what excites me to go against those guys, and I just love going fast."

In fact in Charleston, West Virginia last year at the US Pro Road Nationals, three of the four riders faster than Garrison were part of WorldTour or WorldTour development teams, including winner Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates).

"Last year was the first year of an independent program. I was just doing everything, from Unbound Gravel I went straight to Tulsa Tough [criterium]. I definitely learned what I need to do and what I do not need to do.

"My season this year is primarily built more around less gravel, just because for my programme it's a lot of investment to go to a lot of events for a couple days and fly. And I've had a lot of problems, like punctures and that can be a couple grand on a small budget. But with crits, it's a lot of opportunity, it's a lot of fun, it's a lot easier to get a result. And I just enjoy the adrenaline of crit racing."

He will line up as a favourite Saturday in the Sunny King Criterium in Alabama, a two-hour drive from his home on a good traffic day. Last year he was fourth in the same lead-off event for USA CRITS. 

Looking for his adrenaline rush on the pavement, Garrison will also focus in April on other USA CRITS and SpeedWeek one-day races in the southeast, including La Grange Cycling Classic and Athens Twilight Criterium, where last year he finished top five in both races. He will also debut at The Growler, part of Levi's Gran Fondo in California, and line up against riders like Luke Lamperti, Keegan Swenson, Alexey Vermeulen and Alex Howes.

Four years ago Garrison won the US men's 17-18 junior time trial championship and finished on the podium on a stage of the under-23 Giro d'Italia. The next season at the age of 20, he earned a bronze medal at the US U23 men's time trial national championship and looked set for stardom on the road.

It was in 2023 that he decided he needed a change, so he left the organised team environment of road racing "feeling like I could never put the pieces of the European racing puzzle together". He jumped into a solo racing career, mixing gravel and road races, and found his niche.

If his performances on gravel are any indication, he's on good form this year, thanks to what looks like a 'one-man-band' programme but is a team effort behind the scenes. He calls it a family more than a team, which includes +SpeedlStudio, a membership club which provides support and sponsors NICH Culture, Basso Bikes, Quoc shoes, Kask helmets, Cuore apparel, KOO eyewear, Skya Sports plus a trio of corporate partners - Apto Solutions, SnapCare, Smoke Dog's BBQ. He said there was interest in adding a nutrition sponsor. He'll unveil his new kit for 2025 at Sunny King Criterium on Saturday.

"I have the days on the gravel where the legs just feel good. I did not feel that [at Homegrown]. I was just hurting and I felt like I was behind on what I was eating. I knew I wanted it to come to a sprint," Garrison told Cyclingnews after catching his breath on a two-up sprint win against Andrew l'Esperance at Homegrown Gravel. 

"In all the crits I raced last year, I always had a really bad sprint. So I've been doing sprints all winter. And now I was like, 'now's the time to test it out, here we go. Don't fuck this up'."

He almost didn't even make it to the race, let alone the sprint. Garrison drove approximately 40 miles from his home the day before Homegrown Gravel to share accommodations with other racers and be ready for the 8 am start. But when he woke up early Saturday morning, he realised he had left his hydration pack and all his mix at his home back near Atlanta.

"I am a person that wakes up really early. And so I woke up, I realized I had left my pack and all my mix in Atlanta. I left at like 5:40 a.m. and drove to Atlanta and back, and then had 20 more minutes [to get to the start line]. So, yeah, made it. And then I thought Lespy had me. He's strong."

Once he's in a race, he's ready to light it up, be it on long-distance gravel or the short, fast-twitch criterium. The one event of the year at the top of his list? "May, the priority is US Pro, especially the TT."