SBT GRVL: Melisa Rollins and Brennan Wertz wrangle wind and late attacks for top honours on new course at Steamboat Springs gravel race

Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) and Brennan Wertz (Scott Sport) emerged from small lead groups to claim their first victories at SBT GRVL presented by Wahoo in Hayden, Colorado on Sunday.

Rollins outsprinted two-time SBT winner Lauren De Crescenzo (Factor Racing Wahoo) for the elite women's win, making her move in the final right-hand turn less than 200 metres before the line to complete the 116.9-mile Black course in 5 hours, 36 minutes, 55 seconds.

"I won! I've been working so hard on my sprint too, but I knew getting steam first in the last turn was going to be really, really important. I think the pavement to dirt there can have a lot of crashes and I wanted to not crash," Rollins told Cyclingnews after the technical turn.

"I've been trying to be a little more patient and not use all my matches at once. I actually took a lot of inspiration from Lauren Stephens, because I know she's been doing this a long time, and she's always really smart, so I tried to sort of watch and mimic what she was doing. I think it paid off."

The 2024 Leadville Trail 100 winner was indeed patient, and not only outsprinted De Crescenzo, but also held off defending women's champion Stephens (Aegis Cycling Foundation), who took third at 31 seconds back. Wearing the stars-and-stripes as the reigning US gravel national champion, Stephens held off Sarah Lange (Pivot Cycles-Velocio) by four seconds. The five-rider podium was completed by Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless), who repeated a fifth-place finish from a year ago.

"There was a lot of road at the end. So it kind of became a road race as the last six or seven miles were pavement. Melisa sat on and then she outsmarted me," De Crescenzo said about the finish.

Last year De Crescenzo crashed and suffered a broken collarbone. While she aimed for a third title, she was happy to end on the podium in a close battle.

"I'm way happier than last year. So now I've been first, first and second, and seventh [in 2023]. So yeah, I'm stoked I'm not in the hospital."

In the men's race Wertz, the US gravel national champion, emerged from a five-rider group with a solo move in the final 2 miles. He pushed through a relentless headwind to cross the line in 4 hours, 56 minutes, 19 seconds. Three-time SBT winner Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles) took up the chase and in the end had to hold off a charging 23-year-old Cobe Freeburn (MAAP) to earn second with the duo finishing seven seconds behind Wertz.

"This is my favorite race every year. It's really one of my favorite places to ride a gravel bike. This is a race I've wanted to win since 2021 when I first came so it's a huge honor to take this one. To do it in the stars and stripes makes it all the more beautiful," Wertz told Cyclingnews at the finish before accepting a $5,000 top cash prize and the coveted Stetson cowboy hat.

"I knew with that last corner I didn't want it to come down to a sprint. And I also knew with this finish, the last 2k was more or less downhill, pretty fast. I'm a bigger guy, I've got gravity on my side. I put a 54 tooth chainring on my bike at the last minute to give a little extra gear for that final and yeah, it paid off in the end."

Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE Composites) and Peter Stetina (Canyon) completed the five-rider podium, with Vermeulen just 3 seconds behind the Swenson-Freeburn battle. With fifth place at 47 seconds off the pace, Stetina now has four top-five's since 2021. Last year's runner-up Torbjørn Røed (Trek Bikes-MAAP) was sixth.

"There were a bunch of attacks the last lap of those two steep climbs in the middle, and the rest of the way there was just too much wind on the descent to really do anything. So it kind of just stayed together. We just rotated," Swenson told Cyclingnews.

"Then Brennan put in a bunch of attacks on the descent, on the pavement. Big guys could roll on the flats, and on the descents. So we kind of knew it was coming but there's just not a whole lot you can do about it other than try and cover and do the best you can.

"I put in the best effort I could at the last climb, but the wind just didn't play in the favor. Brennan was able to get a small gap and that was it. And then I won the sprint for second."

For the veterans in the breakaway, and later the podium, it was no surprise that Freeburn found a spot in the group. The young Durango rider came into the event fresh off a victory at Bighorn Gravel and a second victory at Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, both events in Colorado.

"Cobe's been riding super well, he's super strong. So yeah, it's cool to see him have a good ride today at one of the bigger gravel races we have," Swenson added.

How it unfolded

A new Black Course took centre stage on Sunday's race on a 37-mile circuit covered three times by the pros for 116.9 miles (188km). Three major climbs on each lap from Hayden, 25 miles west from Steamboat Springs, added up to 8,245 feet (2,500m) of elevation gain.

The rolling terrain featured fast descents between the climbs and remote expanses of ranch lands on mixed surfaces of packed gravel and tarmac in rural Routt County, the elevation never falling below 6,585 feet above sea level. There were few places to escape the bright sunshine and windy conditions on the high-altitude endurance test in the Rocky Mountains, with temperatures tipping at 82°F (28°C).

The Elite Men began at 8:15 a.m. with the Elite Women taking the course five minutes later. Alex Howes (Cannondale-Velocio) was the first rider to try an escape, just five miles into the contest. He was reeled back as the first climb approached, then Swenson attacked.

Swenson opened a gap with Stetina, Freeburn and Wertz, with Røed and Vermeulen tagging on across the ensuing downhill. Once the second lap began with 89 miles to go, the group of six hammered away with a one-minute gap to chasers. It became the break of the day.

In the chase were Chad Haga, Adam Roberge, Finn Gullickson, Caleb Bottcher, George Kasch and Ethan Orverson, with another six riders another 1:30 behind, including Nathan Haas, John Borstelmann, Julien Gagne, Stefano Barberi, Mason Schofield and Tom Danielson.

With 62 miles to go, Røed lost touch at the front. Later in the second lap he fell into a chase group with Bottcher, Haga, Kasch and Roberge, the group losing momentum and trailing by 4:30 as they began the third and final lap. The leading group of five traded pulls and continued to pull away.

"There was really good collaboration and by the time we started that third lap, it's like the heat really seemed to ratchet up, and everyone kind of lost that top gear. And in addition, the wind flipped 180 degrees, so it became a headwind on all the climbs on the last lap, making it impossible to basically get away," Stetina recounted.

"Brennan was able to really play his strengths on those false flat downhills, especially once the pavement started. Kudos to him. I just did what I could on a not super-selective day, but it was super fun to race and be aggressive and still get on the podium."

Wertz powered through the final rollers and continued solo to the finish for his first victory at SBT GRVL.

The Elite Women started five minutes after the men and stayed together until the start of the second lap when 14 riders made separation at the front. Emily Newsom (PAS Racing) took a flyer but was soon back in the group.

With 67 miles to go, half of the group pushed the pace to create the main breakaway - Rollins, Lange, Onweller, De Crescenzo, Stephens, Haley Smith (Trek Driftless) and Emma Grant (Ventum Racing). Trailing the group by 3:14 in solo eighth was Whitney Allison (Bike Sports-ENVE), and Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) in ninth, and Anna Gibson and Hayley Wickstrom trying to stay in the top 10.

With 26 miles to go, Grant disconnected completely to leave six at the front. Next off the back went Onweller and Smith to leave Rollins, De Crescenzo, Stephens and Lange taking turns on the final climbs.

"I think when we were a group of seven, we did work together pretty cohesively. Then it was four of us coming in at the end, and we were rotating on the road. No one was making moves out there until the very last climb. Melisa attacked. I bridged," De Crescenzo said of the final dozen miles leading to a two-rider showdown, won by Rollins.

A total of 2,500 riders participated in two days of rides and races at SBT GRVL presented by Wahoo this year. Following three non-competitive ride routes on Saturday, races followed on Sunday for the new format using a new circuit. The pro fields completed three circuits while amateur divisions and the new GRVL Femmes Team Challenge participants departed from the same start/finish for two full laps, a total of 79 miles.

In the GRVL Femmes Team Challenge, the World Bicycle Relief team came away with the fastest overall time while Adventure Femmes won the Team Unity Challenge. The challenge programme was one of several initiatives which organisers said raised the number of women to 32% of all registered riders and racers.

Results