Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz htSQD) and Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) each made it three-for-three at Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona with victories on Saturday in elite divisions. They started 2025 where they left off last season, in another victory lane, last October taking repeat titles in the Life Time Grand Prix series.
Swenson outlasted Russell Finsterwald (Trek Driftless) in an all-day battle and out-kicked his rival on the pavement in Cave Creek to earn the victory in 5:21:56, three seconds ahead of the 2023 BWR California winner.
Andrew l'Esperance, the reigning Canadian marathon mountain bike champion, used a final sprint in a three-rider chase group to secure third place, riding 7 seconds ahead of Hugo Drechou (Niumbero 31 par Cafe du Cyucliste) and another 7 seconds away from Zach Calton (Ventum). Last year's podium finishers Lance Haidet (Specialized-SRAM) and Torbjørn Andre Røed (Trek Driftless) finished sixth and eighth, respectively.
Villafañe dominated the women's race in 6:04:39 and rode almost 21 minutes ahead of runner-up Courtney Sherwell (Santa Cruz-SRAM), who improved from eighth last year. Cecile Lejeune (CCB p/b LLG) trailed another 1:13 behind the Australian gravel champion for third.
A total of seven elite women's riders completed the 103-mile (166km) course in under 7 hours, Axelle Dubau-Prevot (Numero 31 par Cafe du Cycliste) and Haley Smith (Trek Driftless) rounding out the top five, followed by Hannah Shell (Vantage Racing) in sixth and Ruth Holcomb (Santa Cruz htSQD) in seventh.
A "killer day of racing in the Arizona desert" is how Swenson described the race. All Waffle riders took of in a mass start from Cave Creek and headed into the Sonoran Desert for more than 7,000 feet of elevation gain, littered with sandy washes, exposed climbs and lots of twisting single-track through the southern-most section in McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
This is the first instalment of the 2025 Quad-Tripel Crown of Gravel series, a points-based omnium scored using finishes from three of four BWR events - Arizona, California, Utah and Montana. The longest course is BWR California at 193km and provides additional weighted points.
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Last season Villafañe won the Tripel Crown of Gravel across a trio of BWR events, with Sherwell second. On the men's side, Peter Stetina (Canyon) was the most consistent in the men's field and earned the Tripel Crown in a tight battle with Røed and Haidet.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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