Sofia Gomez Villafañe solos to victory at Big Sugar Gravel and locks in overall women's title in Life Time Grand Prix
Melisa Rollins second, Cecily Decker third from three-rider breakaway group
Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized) sprinted away from Melisa Rollins (Virginia's Blue Ridge-TWENTY24) in the final two miles of the 104-mile Big Sugar Gravel elite women's contest and rode solo across the line for the victory in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Rollins trailed 15 seconds to take second place, while Cecily Decker (Scuderia-Pinarello) secured third place, another 24 seconds back. 2022 Big Sugar champion Paige Onweller had chased the three breakaway riders in the final 10 miles and settled for fourth. Lauren De Crescenzo completed the top five.
Villafañe, Onweller and Rollins entered the seventh and final race of the Life Time Grand Prix off-road series in the top four, with Villafañe holding an usurmountable lead. With win, Villafañe confirmed her second overall Grand Prix title, having won three of the six races in which she competed.
How it unfolded
With a separate start 10 minutes after the elite men, 26 of 48 riders in the elite women's field remained together at the front through the first time check at mile marker 20.
Once passing through the bluff's section outside Pineville with one-third of the distance behind them, the front group had whittled down to 13 riders. The chaser group, 2:03 back, included Lauren De Crescenzo, Jenna Rinehart, Crystal Anthony, Deanna Mayles, Whitney Allison and Maude Farrell.
Falling off the pace was Sarah Lange, riding alone five minutes behind the leaders. Lange entered the event tied for seventh overall (with Sarah Sturm) in the Grand Prix.
At the halfway point and the race headed on the northern-most section in Missouri, nine US riders remained in the front group - Sturm, Alexis Skarda, Melisa Rollins, Flavia Oliveira Parks, Erin Huck, Sofia Gomez Villafañe, Cecily Decker, Paige Onweller, and Stella Hobbs.
Just one minute back with 48 miles to ride, De Crescenzo was closing down the gap in a solo effort. She had Michaela Thompson just in front of her, and another 22 seconds back were a trio of Allison, Rinehart and Farrell hammeringin the chase.
Passing across the longest sustained climb of the race, a five-mile ascent in the Flag Spring Conservation Area of Missouri, De Crescenzo and Thompson made contact with the leaders, now 11 strong three-and-a-half hours into the race and 38 miles to go.
Huck attacked as the race re-entered Arkansas with 24 miles to go, but was soon rejoined by seven others, the lead group including Onweller, Rollins, Villafañe, Decker, De Crescenzo, Skarka and Hobbs. Thompson dangled 30 seconds back and other contenders were scattered another 15 seconds back, including Rinehart and Sturm.
Over the next 12 miles with a lot of descending, the trio of Villafañe, Rollins and Decker broke free as they gained 40 seconds over Onweller. It proved to be decisive, as the rest of the previous lead group began to fade, trailing Onweller by 1:14 and only 8 miles to go.
Two sharp, uphill kickers left the lead trio to decide who had the legs remaining at the finish line in Bentonville. Decker was the first to resign and then Villafañe took the final sprint to secure the race win and series victory.
Results
Rank | Rider | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Sofia Gomez Villafane | 5:32:20 |
2 | Melisa Rollins | 5:32:35 |
3 | Cecily Decker | 5:32:59 |
4 | Paige Onweller | 5:33:36 |
5 | Lauren De Crescenzo | 5:35:54 |
6 | Erin Huck | 5:36:44 |
7 | Stella Hobbs | 5:37:18 |
8 | Michaela Thompson | 5:38:57 |
9 | Maude Farrell | 5:39:18 |
10 | Jenna Rinehart | 5:39:19 |
11 | Alexis Skarda | 5:39:27 |
12 | Flavia Oliveira Parks | 5:40:41 |
13 | Sarah Sturm | 5:41:25 |
14 | Whitney Allison | 5:45:45 |
15 | Emily Newsom | 5:48:31 |
16 | Crystal Anthony | 5:48:49 |
17 | Sarah Lange | 5:48:49 |
18 | Deanna Mayles | 5:52:26 |
19 | Hannah Otto | 5:52:54 |
20 | Peta Mullens | 5:53:41 |
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
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