Peter Stetina won the opening round of the Queen's Stage Race at Rebecca's Private Idaho gravel race, taking a 2:36 advantage over two-time defending champion Joshua Berry. In third place for the men was Colin Strickland, who was the 2019 champion of the one-day Baked Potato gravel event. Stetina completed the 43.3-mile course at Sun Valley in 2:40:47.
In the women's division, Rose Grant, the two-time Leadville 100 MTB champion, took top honours on stage 1. In second place was Moriah Wilson, 4:29 back, and Serena Gordon in third, 9:19 back. Grant covered the course in just under three hours, 2:59:27, giving it high marks on her Instagram feed as, "it really was a mountain bikers dream with 16 miles of single track!"
Now in its ninth year, RPI Queen's Stage race is set in the Ketchum and Sun Valley, Idaho area, with three stages over four days for a total of 196 miles and 12,464 feet of elevation gain.
Stage 1 began at the iconic Galena Lodge, with athletes wondering if the race would take place at all. Recent wildfires in the western United States caused smoke to fill the air in the Ketchum area, but soon cleared for the competition to begin.
"It was an eerie scene of devastation from recent fires, blanketed in a layer of brown smoke from current fires blowing in from other regions," Strickland posted on his Instagram feed.
Stage 2 will take place Friday with a 20-mile neutral roll-out from start, then there will be a 4.5-mile uphill time trial. Then the top 10 riders in each category will ride the TT, spaced at 30-second intervals. Organisers will have the rest of each field "line up and start when they wish at 15-second intervals."
| Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rose Grant (Juliana / SRAM Pro Team) | 2:59:27 |
| 2 | Moriah Wilson (FAFL p/b Sportful) | 0:04:29 |
| 3 | Serena Gordon (Liv Racing Collective) | 0:09:19 |
| 4 | Lauren Cantwell (Velocio // Exploro) | 0:11:42 |
| 5 | Austin Killips (Pratt Racing) | 0:19:24 |
| 6 | Courtenay McFadden (Pivot Cycles, Easton Cycling, Borah) | 0:19:56 |
| 7 | Sarah Jarvis (Idaho Cycle/Wyn Republic) | 0:20:33 |
| 8 | Kaysee Armstrong (Liv Factory) | 0:21:16 |
| 9 | Sarah Max (Argonaut Cycles) | 0:22:23 |
| 10 | Amity Rockwell (Pinarello/Easton) | 0:23:14 |
| Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Stetina (Just here for the gelande quaffing) | 2:40:47 |
| 2 | Joshua Berry (Giant Factory Off-Road) | 0:02:36 |
| 3 | Colin Strickland (Meteor X Allied Racing) | 0:03:38 |
| 4 | Tristan Uhl (Giant factory off road team) | 0:04:01 |
| 5 | Jake Wells (FORM p/b IRC Tires) | 0:12:29 |
| 6 | John Borstelmann (ABUS Pro Gravel) | 0:13:10 |
| 7 | Carl Decker (Giant Factory | 0:14:01 |
| 8 | Jiri Senkyrik | 0:18:26 |
| 9 | Jackson Long (in the flow nutrition) | 0:18:48 |
| 10 | Matthew Lieto (Easton Overland/Cervelo) | 0:25:25 |
-
Marion Norbert Riberolle disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct after a crash in elite women's race at UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
Belgian champion strikes Czechia champion after the two collide on second half of race, then Norbert Riberolle later taken to hospital -
'Mad at myself' for crashing in elite women's Cyclo-cross Worlds race, Brand stays calm to hold off Dutch rival for second title
World Cup leader finds strength this winter after personal tragedy, 'I'm not really distraught from the things that happen around me' -
'I think I can be really proud' – Puck Pieterse recovers from mid-race crash to win another bronze medal at the Cyclo-cross World Championships
23-year-old rounds out 'cross season strongly as part of Dutch podium sweep on home ground in Hulst -
Thibau Nys departs team hotel to avoid sickness that caused four Belgian teammates to withdraw from Cyclo-cross World Championships on Saturday
Kay De Bruyckere misses U23 men's race in Hulst as Belgian rider at hospital with severe illness
