Belgian Waffle Ride: Matt Beers and Sofia Gomez Villafañe win in California

Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road) and Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-Road) each surged away on lengthy solo breaks to assert victory at Belgian Waffle Ride California, the ultimate spherical of the Tripel Crown Series.

Villafañe was additionally the clear reduce winner of the Tripel Crown sequence – which has a $25,500 prize purse cut up evenly between the highest 5 males and prime 5 girls –
taking a sweep of the waffle distance races at Arizona, Utah and in addition the weighted factors spherical of California. Peter Stetina (Canyon Waffeleurs & Ale drinkeurs) claimed the boys’s Tripel Crown, ending fourth within the 119.7 miles (192km) Californian race however he was the primary of these competing throughout the three race sequence over the road.

In the Californian occasion, with its 10,000 toes (3,048m) of climbing and the signature unpaved Double Peak just some miles from the end, it was Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE/Q+M) who crossed the road second within the males’s race. He was lower than a minute behind South Africa’s Beers whereas Petr Vakoč (Canyon Integray L27) completed nearly two minutes additional again in third.

“Eventually received certainly one of these huge gravel races below my belt, I believe it was 110km solo … fairly smoked proper now,” stated Beers in an interview on Instagram straight after ending. 

Courtney Sherwell (Prova Cycles/QOM/Ekoi/Schwalbe/SRAM) continued her spectacular run at her first block of US gravel racing, because the Australian was second over the road within the girls’s race. She claimed the runner up spot in California, three seconds forward of third positioned Caroline Wreszin (Cinch Racing), to additionally take second within the Tripel Crown sequence. Still, nobody may get even near the dominant Villafañe, who completed her first Belgian Waffle Ride California with a spot of greater than quarter-hour forward of her nearest rival, regardless of not having a totally clean run.

“This course is savage,” stated Villafañe. “It was so enjoyable on the market. I had day, I had a flat early on, however I used to be in a position to trip my insert all the way in which to a feed zone and get a brand new wheel and after that it was type of sport on – attempt to improve my lead by means of the single-track and shield my tyres just a little bit extra.”  

The out-and-back course, with a couple of aspect loops, served up 30% ‘unroad’ terrain starting from gentle gravel to tough singletrack. It would be the final race within the Tripel Crown however there are nonetheless extra occasions to return within the sequence, with BWR North Carolina up subsequent in June. 

More to return ….

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