Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) conquered harsh weather conditions and made it two-for-two in the elite women's race at Valley of Tears gravel race in Turkey, Texas on Saturday. In the elite men's race, Daxton Mock (Bear National Team) took the victory from a three-rider lead group on a mud-caked course shortened to 47 miles (75.6km).
In just its second edition, Valley of Tears made impressions beyond the rich prize purse of $26,0000 shared by the two elite fields. Elite men and women had their own starts but shared equally in the formidable weather conditions that turned the sandy washes and punchy climbs of the Tampico Tundra into sticky, claret-coloured clay.
The swing in weather conditions was drastic for two days of racing at the gravel event, with warm spring temperatures of 76°F on hand for the inaugural dirt criterium on Friday. A day later, the thermometer plummeted 40 degrees, winds gusted to over 30 mph and rain transitioned from sleet to snow as the temperatures hovered around the freezing mark.
Organisers made the call to shorten the long 97-mile course for safety reasons, first taking off 30 miles on a northern section and then another 20 miles eliminated because of thick mud for a final distance of 47 miles for the west Texas gravel stampede.
Villafañe dominated the distinctly different courses, and weather conditions, first winning the inaugural Valley of Tears dirt criterium on Friday when she took flight on the opening lap and dusted the field across the 20-lap race for the victory. Using a similar scheme on Saturday, the Argentina native broke away early and rode solo the rest of the way for a second consecutive win at the gravel endurance contest.
Coming off a victory on dusty singletrack at Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona, Villafañe showed her versatility in the wet conditions, completing the shortened route in 2:39:35. Emily Newsom (PAS Racing) was 4:55 back in second and another six minutes later was Crystal Anthony in third.
"I made a solo move 6 miles in after the now infamous gravel limestone pit and it stuck until the end. Questioned my choice a bit in the massive headwind sections but we finally had a race where it was separate start and no drafting between fields which was very sick," Villafañe posted on her social media.
Mock had planned to make BWR Arizona his first gravel race of the season, but pulled out due to illness, so Valley of Tears marked his opening instead. The 24-year-old from Wisconsin had plenty in reserve once across the finish line, as the trio of leaders had not received communications that another 20 miles had been cut from the route, so the initial pass under the finish banner did not signal a second loop but the end of the race.
French rider Hugo Drechou (Numéro 31 par Café du Cycliste) finished second and USA's Michael Garrison (MGR p/b NICH SpeedClub) was third.
"Got in a good break, and as I was rolling into town, I guess I got a bit excited through the finish line and thought, ‘Why not sprint to the line, just in case?’ Turns out it worked when they shortened the original course due to weather," Mock explained on Instagram.
"Would’ve loved to battle it out more with the guys, but a win’s a win and I’m loving it!"
It's been a busy early gravel season for Drechou, who won La Bescanonina Gravel in Spain in early February and was fourth at BWR Arizona last week. Garrison, who won HomeGrown Gravel in an uphill sprint in mid February, said the trio did not know the course had been shortened a second time, so accepted his third-place finish as "frustating" but "happy with the form".
Last year's men's champion Keegan Swenson was one spot short of getting a share of the prize purse on Saturday, finishing 11th. He came away with a small cheque on Friday, however, with a victory in the criterium as a consolation prize.
Junior Gravel National Series opener
Valley of Tears also served as the opening round of USA Cycling's Junior Gravel National Series, a group of five existing races across the US with scoring available in four categories: 15-16 Men, 15-16 Women, 17-18 Men, and 17-18 Women.
Carter Lembke won the men's 17-18 junior division in 2:03:38, a half-second better than Alex Snider, who won the men's 15-16 division.
Sara Shannon took the victory for the women's 17-18 junior division in 2:30:52, while Kate Elwell was under a minute back and the top finisher in the women's 15-16 junior division.
Full results from Valley of Tears are available online.
Standings in the Junior Gravel National Series rank top riders with best overall score from three of their best finishes, with a minimum of three events to be completed. Top-ranked riders from the series will be invited to a USA Cycling Junior Talent Identification Camp in October 2025.
Life Time Sea Otter Classic Gravel is the next event, held April 11 in Monterey, California. The other three contests on the calendar include Life Time Unbound Gravel 50 on May 31, SBT GRVL p/b Wahoo on June 29 and USA Cycling Gravel National Championships on September 20. The national championships will be held in La Crescent, Minnesota for the first time.
