Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder: the pros attend a summer camp unlike any other
Villafañe, Blevins win the five-day stage race in the Cascade Mountains
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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Results
Men’s Top 5
1. Christopher Blevins (Specialized Off-Road)
2. Pete Stetina (Summercamp, Canyon)
3. Howard Grotts (Specialized Off-Road)
4. Russel Finsterwald (Specialized Off-Road)
5. Edward Anderson (Alpecin-Fenix)
Women’s Top 5
1. Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-Road)
2. Sarah Max (Argonaut Cycles)
3. Sarah Sturm (Specialized Rapha Sram Velocio)
4. Heather Jackson (Waterfall Bank.)
5. Caroline Dezendorf (Easton Overland // Cervelo)
Scenes from the OTGG: pros living their best gavel lives
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Cycling Weekly's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.
Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a cycling journalist for 11 years.
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