Five takeaways from Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona

The showdown in the desert has come and gone, with Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafane taking statement victories in Arizona. The singletrack heavy course presented plenty to talk about, and storylines are now in motion for the rest of the season.

Next up on the national calendar is Valley of Tears on March 8, which attracted a list of heavy hitters to Texas in its first edition last spring, before many riders head to The Mid South in Oklahoma.

Until then, here’s some takeaways from Arizona.

Keegan and Sofia aren’t slowing down

Nope. Despite their dominance, there are always questions of can they do it again?

The men’s race was a closer contest than the women’s race, with Russell Finsterwald going toe to toe with Swenson until the Santa Cruz HTSQD rider edged ahead in the sprint.

Finsty remains a rider who can challenge Swenson, and the 100-mile distance is sweet spot for him—see Big Sugar Gravel. The question remains who else will be up there this year? Valley of Tears (a ‘home’ race for Swenson in a sense due to a mutual sponsor) may have answers.

It’s clear that Gomez Villafane is a master of off-road racing, and especially so when there is a mass start. Although she has advocated for separate fields and starts (along with many others), Villafane knows how to take advantage of the chaos and race aggressively, opening time on her rivals throughout the race.

The international crew has arrived

Second to Villafane was Australia’s Courtney Sherwell, who was one of a collection of international riders at BWR. Every year, there are more and more overseas riders, but it feels like this is the year that non-American riders will factor in the results of all the major races.

Sherwell’s second place is a good sign to come for the Life Time Grand Prix, where the Australian will race Villafane as well as 3rd place Cecile Lejeune and 4th place Axelle Dubau-Prevot.

In the men’s field, Hugo Drechou placed 4th and will also contest the Grand Prix.

The people’s champs

A good mix of less(er) known athletes made the top 10, beginning with Utah’s Zach Calton—who’s done a great job of making a name for himself the past couple years while also working full time. I’m unsure what his work situation is this season, but we’ll get to see him mixing it up in the Grand Prix, too. Kyle Trudeau was the local’s favorite, and 19-year-old Luke Mosteller of Bear National Team also earned a great result.

In the women’s top 10, I’m also curious to learn more about Katja Verkerk and Chelsee Pummel.

Smith and Holcomb are women to watch

Two of the most interesting women to watch this year will be Haley Smith and Ruth Holcomb. Smith won the Life Time Grand Prix overall in 2022, and in recent years struggled with breathing issues. Her hard-fought 5th place at BWR suggest the issues may be solved.

HTSQD’s latest edition is also having a strong start to the season. Holcomb placed 7th this weekend after winning Rock Cobbler a couple weeks ago. Is Holcomb a future gravel hitter—more to come.

Crashes and DNFs

Alexis Skarda, also of the HTSQD was the most significant name in the women’s field to DNF. She had a hard crash in the early part of the race, according to her team, but is apparently okay. There were 11 DNFs in the men’s field, including Finn Gullickson and Jacob Huber.