Wilson and Wurtz continue winning streaks at Shasta Gravel Hugger

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Brennan Wurtz (Scuderia Pinarello) won the Open Men’s title and Moriah Wilson (Specialized/Meteor) took the Open Women’s victory at the Shasta Gravel Hugger on March 5 in Montague, California. Both riders won their respective divisions last weekend at the Huffmaster Hopper, part of the Grasshopper off-road series, while Wilson has gone three-for-three with the top prize at the Rock Cobbler as well.

The field for the third edition of the 100-mile Full Hug route was stacked with a number of competitors who are among the 60 elite athletes selected to compete in this year’s Life Time Grand Prix, including Wilson and three other women in the top six - Flavia Oliveira (Excel Sports), Rebecca Fahringer (Kona Maxxis Shimano) and Amber Neben (BaseCamp Cycling). 

On the men’s side, runner-up Adam Roberge and Peter Stetina (Let’s Privateer), who finished fourth, will also compete at the Life Time series, which begins April 9 at Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California.

For a third year in a row, riders faced chilly temperatures at the start, just above the freezing mark, and later rode through snow showers on a shaded gravel sector, all in the shadow of the snowcapped Mount Shasta that reaches 14,180 feet (4,322 metres) above sea level that is part of the Cascade Mountain range in northern California. The 100-mile route had two major climbs totaling 4,700 feet of climbing, with half of the distance providing gravel broken into 10 sections, the first 60 miles were on rolling terrain.  

Stetina, who returned to Shasta Gravel Hugger as the defending champion, arrived fresh off a victory at the grueling eight-day Transcordirellas Rally in Colombia. He was in chase mode all day, and was not able close the gap to Wurtz, Roberge, and third-place finisher Jonathan Baker (Lauf Racing p/b Groove Mazda).

Making the first gravel start in her long racing career was Amber Neben, two-time time trial World Champion and three-time Olympian for the US on the road. She had a solid start but was seen riding through ditches to avoid crashes across Shasta Valley.

Wilson moved up one step from last year’s second-place finish to secure the overall in the Open Women’s division. Her time of 5:09:40 was also good for 20th overall. Serena Bishop-Gordon (Liv Racing Collective) took second and Oliveira was third. Just missing the women’s podium was Fahringer in fourth, Cassie Nelson (Fount Cycling Guild) in fifth, and Neben in sixth.