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Snow, mud, hail, sunshine and freezing temperatures had been a part of the menu for the 2023 Shasta Gravel Hugger in northern California on March 4. Brennan Wertz returned to recapture one other total males’s title on the 100-mile Full Hug race, whereas Nadia Gontova claimed the title within the Open Girls’s division.
Due to chilly climate and snow in northern California in a forecast every week earlier than the occasion, race organisers moved the beginning time on Saturday from 9 a.m. native time to 11 a.m., and two grime sections, East Louis Jeep Path and Townsend Street had been faraway from the principle course. By race day, the thermometer would barely rise above the freezing mark.
All three programs, 100-mile Full Hug, 62-mile ‘Half Hug and a 34-mile ‘Handshake’, had been marked, giving riders a bonus since a recent layer of snow did fall from heavy skies in Montague initially, making circumstances slippery on the gravel sectors however leaving the pavement simply moist.
Now in its fourth version, the Shasta Gravel Hugger has gained traction for breathtaking views and a difficult route that navigates across the Shasta Valley on a mixture of surfaces round Mount Shasta. The 100-mile route offered 10 gravel sectors comprising half the course, together with two main climbs totalling 4,700 ft.
Gontova, the British Columbia resident and final yr’s Provincial highway champion, didn’t discover a lot sunshine in her journey to California, however a victory in her first race of the season was a vivid begin.
She completed in a time of 4:25:20, good for nineteenth total within the 100-mile race. Sarah Flamm put within the additional kick for second within the girls’s division, holding off third-placed Rebecca Fahringer by 15 seconds. The pair completed 9 minutes behind Gontova.
“The course had every part from deep snow and dirt to sunshine and hail. I had such a enjoyable day racing on the rolling gravel hills and having fun with the distinctive snowy surroundings. After a protracted solo effort, it felt good to get on the highest step. I can’t look ahead to extra gravel occasions to combine it up this season,” she famous on her Instagram feed. Gontova started her first full highway racing season in 2022 after switching from rowing.
Regardless of feeling sick within the days main as much as his defence, Wertz held off a number of costs by Max Ritzow to distance the Eugene, Oregon rider by two and a half minutes for the solo victory in a time of three:57:37. Nolan McPeek-Bechtold, a triathlete competing in his first gravel race, trailed Ritzow by 28 seconds on the end to earn the ultimate spot on the rostrum.
After the end, Wertz saluted the reminiscence of Moriah Wilson, who gained the ladies’s occasion final yr, “This one’s for you Mo”.
