Kate Courtney sets women's course record, Brennan Wertz repeats with solo men's win at Huffmaster Hopper

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Kate Courtney (She Sends Racing) and Brennan Wertz won on home roads of northern California at Huffmaster Classic, the second stop of the five-event Grasshopper Adventure Series. 

In her first appearance at the 90-mile Huffmaster, the 2018 World Champion in mountain bike cross-country set a new course record for elite women in 4:17:25, surpassing the former mark set by Moriah Wilson in 2022 by 2 minutes, 21 seconds. She beat Anna Yamauchi by just under four minutes. Anna Gibson was another 12 minutes back for third.

In January Courtney debuted a team setup as She Sends Racing, her non-profit to "get more girls on bikes", and new equipment with Allied CycleWorks, scoring the victory at the Grasshopper opener at Low Gap. She then travelled to South Africa for training and to compete in the Tankwa Trek mountain bike stage race, which she won. She dominated the women's Huffmaster after the first big climb to the finish.

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"This year we start World Cups in April so it kinda worked out perfectly to be able to hit these two [Grasshopper] races. Actually, I got home from South Africa on Tuesday, so it was a little touch and go if I'd be able to race this one. I'm so glad I did," Courtney told organisers. 

"It's one of my favourite parts of California. We had great groups out there. I'm super pumped to be able to start with the pro men and work on our bunch skills a little bit. There wasn't enough [head wind] for people to try to get away, but there was enough that made the group roll together until the first feed zone. Then there was some fireworks."

Wertz, the reigning US Gravel national champion, launched his 2025 season in Maxwell, California with the victory, adding a second consecutive win at Huffmaster. He put in a gap to his closest rivals on the final miles of the downhill gravel to finish solo in 4:04:20. The fight for the final two podium spots went to Lance Haidet, who was fifth last year, as he out-sprinted Tim McBirney at the line for second, finishing 49 seconds back.

Huffmaster's mixed-surface, punchy course offered 4,866 feet of elevation gain. While the climbing was not as significant as other Hopper events, the majority of the dirt sections were packed into the final half of the large loop east of the Snow Mountain Wilderness area in Colusa County, known for its technical descents. 

The men's and women's pro fields started together, with group tactics playing out for the first 40 miles and then the first gravel climb blowing the field apart. With fast, mostly dry conditions this year, Wertz tried to break free multiple times, but didn't succeed until a move late on the final dirt sector with 8km to the finish. His pre-race recon of the final dirt section paid off.

"I knew there was one final selective mud section with about 7km to the finish that could be leveraged. I knew there was a clean line about four inches wide in the middle of the mud pit that was rideable. The rest was pretty slick, deep, and not as rideable," Wertz told Cyclingnews.

"I attacked going into the mud pit and was the first to enter it. I was able to take the clean middle line while the others took alternate lines and struggled to get through cleanly. I knew this was my chance and I put my head down and rode the last 7km solo to the line, ultimately holding off the chasing group of five and taking the win. 

"I'm super happy to start the year off with a win here in NorCal and look forward to building off of this momentum in the coming weeks and months. Next up for me is Midsouth Gravel."

Prior to race day, Wertz told Grasshopper founder Miguel Crawford that he would just look for an opportunity to put his rivals in trouble, and he did just that.

"Last year the biggest strategy was to avoid the mud. In the grand scheme of things, it's a relatively straightforward course.[It's]  super fast, flowing, tacky dirt this time of year, is so optimal for the slicks. A fast setup and super grippy if you get the pressure right," he told Crawford and proved his point with a solo victory on Saturday, returning with Rene Herse tyres that made a difference again.

"There's opportunities for someone like me to make it really hard for a lot of other people in the race. I'm always looking for moments to make it harder for everyone else." 

Wertz has included Huffmaster as part of his early-season test since 2021, now adding a third win and never finishing lower than fourth place. Last year in muddy conditions, Wertz won ahead of Peter Stetina and Sean Bennett, with Lance Haidet in fifth and Lachlan Morton in eighth. 

The two courses at Huffmaster saw registrations near the 500-rider mark this year. Proceeds from the Huffmaster Grasshopper support Adventure Therapy Foundation, which serves families living with cancer. 

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