Now in its third year, the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder (OTGG) in unlike any other stage race you’ll have heard of. Part stage race, part summer camp, it became an instant favorite among amateur and pro off-road racers alike.
Taking place in the beautiful Cascade Mountains near Bend, Oregon, the five-day, four-night event offers a true glamp vibe. There are catered meals, hot showers, charging stations for electronics, people to carry your gear and set up your tents, massages, and plenty of post-race beers.
There’s also bike racing. Very. Hard. Racing. Over the course of five stages, the racers traversed across 361.7 miles (582 kms) of high desert trails with some 33,400 feet (10,180 metres) of climbing.
This year’s race drew some of the biggest names in gravel, cyclocross and XC mountain bike racing. Fresh off her Unbound win, Sofia Gomez Villafañe headed to Oregon to seek a new challenge against returning OTGG champion Sarah Sturm and the likes of Belgian Waffle Race Asheville winner Sarah Max, cyclocrosser Becca Fahringer, triathlete Heather Jackson and local pro Serena Bishop Gordon.
On the men’s side, WorldTour roadie turned gravel privateer Pete Stetina took up the challenge against pro cyclocrosser Kerry Werner, former off-road pro Barry Wicks, XC pros Christopher Blevins and Carl Decker, and off-road specialist Edward Anderson (Alpecin-Fenix).
After 5 days of hard racing and evenings spent cooling the legs in a river and singing songs by a campfire, it was Sofia Gomez Villafañe who took home the women’s title and Christopher Blevins the men’s.
But whether contesting the pro win or riding to finish, the unanimous experience for everyone was best described by Sofia Gomez Villafañe: “Suffered like a dog…and we had a blast!”
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