Peter Stetina wins the elite men’s Ukiah Mendo Epic Gravel 2024(Image credit: Grasshopper Adventure Series)
Flavia Oliveira Parks after winning the elite women’s Ukiah Mendo Epic Gravel 2024(Image credit: Grasshopper Adventure Series)
Peter Stetina leads the elite men’s Ukiah Mendo Epic Gravel 2024(Image credit: Grasshopper Adventure Series)
Tiffany Cromwell and Valtteri Bottas line up to race the Ukiah Mendo Epic Gravel 2024(Image credit: Grasshopper Adventure Series)
Peter Stetina (Canyon) claimed victory at the Ukiah-Mendo Gravel Epic – the fourth and final pro men’s race in the Grasshopper Adventure Series – and also the overall, while Flavia Oliveira Parks (Specialized) won the pro women’s race and the women’s overall series standings.
The Californian event, which is also part of the Gravel Earth Series, covered 75 miles (120km) with 8,423 feet (2567m) of vertical ascent, utilising a private logging road through the redwood, fir and oak forests of western Mendocino County.
Stetina won the race in 3:58:48 and was the only rider to complete the course in sub-four hours. Tobin Ortenblad was second in 4:06:07 and Nick Spano was third in 4:14:54.
“The course was beautiful, and knowing that the last stretch was rough pavement, I ran a faster set-up that allowed me to make my move after the second feed zone with 50km to go. I went into a turbo-diesel mode,” Stetina said.
Oliveira Parks finished in 4:28:29, only 70 seconds ahead of Jennifer Tave. Leah Van der Linden, rounded out the podium with a finishing time of 4:54:45.
“It was a demanding course,” said Parks at the finish, also sharing that by using a hydration pack, she was able to stay hydrated and fed and push over the climbs to be conservative on the descents.
“It was one of those days that you had to ride your own pace. I knew the climbs would suit me, went hard over the climbs to have a buffer, to not be put under pressure on the descents or take unnecessary risks.”
Low Gap was the first event of the Grasshopper series, won by Kate Courtney and Christopher Blevins, then it was Huffmaster, where Brennan Wertz and Oliveira Parks claimed the top spot, while the third round, the Lake Sonoma MTB, was won by Matthew Marotto and Vida Lopez Deson Roman.
In the final overall standings, Oliveira secured the victory with a total of 175 points, while runner-up Jennifer Tave and third-placed Leslie Ethridge tied with 158 points each.
In the men’s standings, Stetina finished with a total of 170 points to take the win, while runner-up Ben Frederick finished with 143 points and third-placed Cassius Anderson had 133 points.
