The event was the Belgian Waffle Ride California, the last of the Tripel Crown Series. At it, Specialized Off-Road’s Matt Beers and Sofia Gomez Villafañe both sprinted away on long solo breaks to win.
Villafañe also easily won the $25,500 Tripel Crown series, which awards a prize fund divided equally among the top five men and top five women. She won the weighted points round in California and the waffle distance races in Arizona and Utah. Peter Stetina (Canyon Waffeleurs & Ale drinkeurs) came in fourth in the 119.7 mile (192km) Californian race. He won the men’s Tripel Crown since he finished first among competitors in the three-race series.
Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE/Q+M) won the men’s race at the Californian event. The course had 10,000 feet (3,048m) of climbing and included the iconic unpaved Double Peak, just a few kilometers from the finish. Petr Vakoč (Canyon Integray L27) finished about two minutes later in third place, while Beers (South Africa) was less than a minute behind him.
“Finally finished one of these big gravel races, I think it was 110km solo… “Pretty smoked right now,” Beers remarked in an Instagram interview. He spoke right after the final lap, showcasing his unwavering determination.
Witney Sherwell (Prova Cycles/QOM/Ekoi/Schwalbe/SRAM) continued her outstanding performance at her first block of US gravel racing, finishing second in the women’s race. She placed second in the Tripel Crown series by finishing second in California, three seconds ahead of Caroline Wreszin (Cinch Racing) in third place. Nevertheless, no one could even come close to the dominating Villafañe, who, although not having a flawless run, finished her maiden Belgian Waffle Ride California more than 15 minutes ahead of her closest competitor, a feat that truly underscores her exceptional talent.
“This is a savage course,” Villafañe declared, underlining the grueling nature of the race. “Out there, it was very enjoyable. I had a decent day; I got an early flat, but I was able to ride my insert all the way to a feed zone and receive a new wheel. After that, it was game on – try to expand my lead through the singletrack and protect my tyres a little bit more.”
With a couple of side loops, the out-and-back route offered thirty percent “unroad” terrain, which ranged from soft gravel to rough singletrack. The Triple Crown may end, but there are still more races in the series; BWR North Carolina is next in June.
