Sofia Gomez Villafañe holds up three fingers, noting she has won BWR Tripel Crown of Gravel in 2024 with victory at BWR California on April 27
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Matthew Beers rode solo across the line to win 2024 BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Heather Jackson finishes fourth for elite women, and rides across the BWR California finish line with Alejandro Valverde, 45th for men
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Sofia Gomez Villafañe rides on section of 'unroad' during BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Sofia Gomez Villafañe overcame a puncture early in the race and went on to win by more than 15 minutes
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Alexey Vermeulen rode to second at 2024 BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Women's 2024 podium for Tripel Crown of Gravel, who on Sofia Gomez Villafañe
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Men's podium at 2024 Tripel Crown of Gravel, won by Peter Stetina
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD)
Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) won all three Tripel Crown races
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
Matthew Beers (Specialized Off-road) at the front of the lead men on early miles at 2024 BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
Matthew Beers (Specialized Off-road) on the attack at the front of the race
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
A puncture left Alejandro Valverde out of contention at BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) competing at 2024 BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
Connor Sens (Ekoi Cervelo) was one of the few Australians to ride 2024 BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost) finished eighth at 2024 BWR California
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
Lance Haidet (Specialized/SRAM/Velocio) leads Peter Stetina (Canyon) through water crossing
(Image credit: Unroad UNLTD with Dan Hughes, Rob Wessels, Kris Hull)
Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road) and Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-Road) both surged away on long solo breaks to claim victory at Belgian Waffle Ride California, the final round of the Tripel Crown Series.
Villafañe was also the clear cut winner of the Tripel Crown series – which has a $25,500 prize purse split evenly between the top five men and top five women –
taking a sweep of the waffle distance races at Arizona, Utah and also the weighted points round of California. Peter Stetina (Canyon Waffeleurs & Ale drinkeurs) claimed the men's Tripel Crown, finishing fourth in the 119.7 miles (192km) Californian race but he was the first of those competing across the three race series over the line.
In the Californian event, with its 10,000 feet (3,048m) of climbing and the signature unpaved Double Peak just a few miles from the finish, it was Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE/Q+M) who crossed the line second in the men's race. He was less than a minute behind South Africa's Beers while Petr Vakoč (Canyon Integray L27) finished almost two minutes further back in third.
"Eventually got one of these big gravel races under my belt, I think it was 110km solo ... pretty smoked right now," said Beers in an interview on Instagram straight after finishing.
Courtney Sherwell (Prova Cycles/QOM/Ekoi/Schwalbe/SRAM) continued her impressive run at her first block of US gravel racing, as the Australian was second over the line in the women's race. She claimed the runner up spot in California, three seconds ahead of third placed Caroline Wreszin (Cinch Racing), to also take second in the Tripel Crown series. Still, no one could get even close to the dominant Villafañe, who finished her first Belgian Waffle Ride California with a gap of more than 15 minutes ahead of her nearest rival, despite not having a completely smooth run.
"This course is savage," said Villafañe. "It was so fun out there. I had a good day, I had a flat early on, but I was able to ride my insert all the way to a feed zone and get a new wheel and after that it was kind of game on – try to increase my lead through the single-track and protect my tyres a little bit more."
The out-and-back course, with a few side loops, served up 30% ‘unroad’ terrain ranging from light gravel to rough singletrack. It may be the last race in the Tripel Crown but there are still more events to come in the series, with BWR North Carolina up next in June.
Results
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BWR California – top 5 Elite Women
Position
Rider
Time
1
Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-Road)
06:15:29
2
Courtney Sherwell (Prova Cycles/QOM/Ekoi/Schwalbe/SRAM)
00:15:16
3
Caroline Wreszin (CINCH Cycling)
00:15:19
4
Heather Jackson (Canyon CLLCTV GRVL)
00:16:54
5
Isabel King (Scott/Shimano)
00:28:49
Swipe to scroll horizontally
BWR California – top 5 Elite Men
Position
Rider
Time
1
Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road)
05:28:38
2
Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE/Q+M)
00:00:37
3
Petr Vakoč (Canyon Integray L27)
00:02:30
4
Peter Stetina (Canyon Waffeleurs & Ale drinkeurs)
00:04:10
5
Brendan Johnston (Giant Off Road)
00:05:30
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Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
