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
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

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!”
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
Riders start to line up for the first of 5 stages
Pete Stetina reviewing the route one last time, no doubt scooping out the best places to attack his competition.
Gordon and Sturm all smiles at the start. These smiles would turn to grimaces and 100-mile stares before long.
Edward Anderson smiling his way through a beautiful day in Oregon's high desert country
Pack riding, breakaways, solo attacks. There was plenty of fierce racing.
Mountain bike pro Sofia Gomez Villafañe found her rhythm halfway through the first stage and took control of the race.
Sturm grinding up yet another climb
Up high in the Cascade Mountains
There was even some snow still
And obstacles of all kinds
That post-race 100-mile stare
That post-race face
It got hot out there
Riders sought relief any way they could
Cooling down with a view
Camp vibes
Edward Anderson serenading the camp post-stage
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
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.
-
-
No turns, giving up and learning from mistakes: dissecting a curious stage three of the Volta a Catalunya
Why did the chase group give up? What was Primož Roglič playing at?
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Carbon vs steel for bikepacking: which frame material is best for multi-day adventures?
We put a carbon and steel gravel bike to the test on a four-day loop around Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains
By Stefan Abram • Published
-
Gravel riders of note: as gravel racing defines itself, these folks are leading the charge
As gravel racing moves to define itself amid worldwide popularity, these early adopters are now carving out a unique professional cycling career. Meet gravel racing's biggest stars.
By Marshall Opel • Published
-
True Grit: Inside the gravel national championships
Cycling Weekly meets the muddy mavericks pushing the envelope of Britain’s burgeoning gravel scene.
By James Shrubsall • Published
-
Meet the cast of the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix
Watch as a cast of 60 handpicked WorldTour roadies, track world champions and MTB Olympians compete for the $250,000 prize purse
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
More events, more riders, more doping control and a $250,000 prize purse: the Life Time Grand Prix returns in 2023
Applications to compete open December 1st
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
Team or Privateering? How to make a living as a gravel racer
How do you pay the bills as a gravel racer? Do you join a team or go it alone? Both directions have benefits and down sides.
By Emily Schaldach • Last updated
-
FNLD GRVL announces debut date, €20K pro prize purse
Debut FNLD GRVL gravel race to take place in Lahti, Finland on June 10, 2023
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
Meet the shop assistant set to race Mathieu van der Poel at the Gravel World Championships
“I’m very excited, but also petrified,” says Metheven Bond, who started racing just over a year ago
By Tom Davidson • Last updated
-
How to watch the 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships: Live stream the events in Italy
Here's how to catch all of the action over the weekend
By Adam Becket • Published