Cam Jones Smashes Keegan Swenson’s Five-Year White Rim Record

Cam Jones has continued his run of Strava sidequests as he has smashed the Fastest Known Time on the famous White Rim Loop.

Jones knocked almost five minutes off the previous record set by Keegan Swenson on March 3, 2021. The White Rim is a 100-mile off-road loop that connects rough jeep roads through Canyonlands National Park in Southern Utah, meaning Jones averaged 18.7 miles per hour over the 5:23:27 that set the record.

The 25-year-old from New Zealand now joins Hannah Otto as White Rim FKT record holders after Otto set the benchmark for women on May 2, 2025.

“I remember listening to the Trainer Road podcast that had Keegan on after his record ride five years ago,” Jones told Velo about his inspiration for the ride. “It didn’t mean anything to me until I came to the US two years ago, when I learned who he was, and I was told about the trail as a cool adventure ride to do.

“Then I remembered about the podcast, and I looked into the rich history of hitters going back and forth with the record. I was keen to be part of that story on what I now know is such an Iconic loop.”

With a road trip across the country planned as Jones went from his US-base in Virginia to Oklahoma for Mid South, Kansas for Unbound Testing, and ultimately California for Sea Otter, the loop in Utah was soon in his cross-hairs. Yet, to say it was on a lark is a bit of an oversimplification. Jones was able to get a special bike for the route and brought along long-time collaborator and filmmaker Danny Awang to capture the record attempt.

Speaking of the bike, to secure the record on the unorthodox route that is similar to the Leadville MTB 100 in its characteristics as a mountain bike route without any real single-track trail, Jones used a drop-bar full suspension bike.

His bike of choice was a Scott Spark World Cup RC, with a very short, very negative stem to make his drop-bar position work on his mountain bike. For tech fanatics, the White Rim FKT also hinted at what could have been if Life Time had not banned drop bars from the ‘Race Across the Sky.’

Not Jones’ first, or last, Strava sidequests

While the White Rim is a vaunted route that many professional riders have chased, this is not the first time the 2025 Unbound Gravel and Life Time Grand Prix champion has dug into it since his breakout season last year. The Kiwi seems to be making it a habit to target these sidequests in the time between his big races.

The first one we found was the FKT of the notorious Massanutten Ring in Virginia this past November. The Ring, as it is known among locals, is a savage 69-mile backcountry singletrack lap in the Blue Ridge mountains. Despite that route’s 30 fewer miles, it took Jones twice as long as he dealt with technical hike-a-bike sections and dry leaves covering constant traps and pitfalls.

“Mentally and physically, the most savage bike ride I’ve done. Only the dozen badasses who have completed this loop,” Jones said on Strava at the time. “You can’t truly comprehend how savage it is. But just imagine the jankiest rock garden you’ve ridden, then extend it for 100km, and then bury it in dried leaves.

“[I] think I need therapy after that one.”

Nevertheless, that didn’t deter the Unbound champion as he followed that effort up in December with a massive one-day effort to finish the Rapha Festive 500 in a mere 13 hours of riding. Since he did the effort in New Zealand, Jones actually finished the Strava challenge before riders in California could even start it, wrapping up the ride in time for a late family dinner during the holidays.

“With how competitive the racing is, I am hesitant to do anything too silly mid-season,” Jones told Cycling Weekly about his fascination with these challenges in December. “It is more of an end-of-season or early-season thing to do.”

Well, that means the White Rim FKT was either: a) Jones changing his policy, or b) nothing too silly.

While we don’t know the watts as we did for the previous efforts, Jones has his power hidden on Strava as he has begun his competitive season with Mid South last month. Given the leaderboard behind Jones on the White Rim FKT list, the Kiwi looks set to start his Life Time Grand Prix title defense in flying form.

The Life Time Grand Prix kicks off on April 16th at the Sea Otter Classic. You can also watch the film on Jones’ effort on Scott Bikes’ social channels, and you can check out more details on the effort through his Strava ride.