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True Grit Epic & Gravel

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Caroline Dezendorf & Danny Van Wagoner Take Wins at True Grit Epic: While Allyson Sepp & Zach Calton Win the Stage Race

Written by: Shannon Boffeli

Even the reliably dry desert terrain of southern Utah has not been immune to the relentless weather systems that have pummeled the western US this winter. The night before the True Grit Epic rains fell for most of the night and riders awoke to some last minute changes to the course. The most critical of which being that the race start through Cove Wash was too muddy for riders to pass leading to a “neutral start” through town and onto the trails in Green Valley.

Racers on Zen trail with clouds in the background. Photo by Crawling Spider Photography

The course changes were a last minute decision by race director Cimarron Chacon and an overwhelming success. The changes did not affect the distance for the 50 mile riders but would impact the 100 mile racers making it impossible to complete their second lap and forcing them to simply repeat three full laps around the 6-mile Barrel Roll trail.

All categories and distances started at 8AM and the pack started hot with a mad dash through the streets of Santa Clara to the singletrack in Green Valley. After missing the trail turn off most the riders jumped off their bikes to run and tumble down a muddy bank to the trail. After the race 100 miler Gordon Wadsworth had this to say about the start, “That start was so manky. Our whole group was like a herd of buffalo diving off a cliff.”

Racer on course at True Grit Epic. Photo by Crawling Spider Photography

But once on course things settled down and trail conditions proved to be tacky despite patches of rainfall that continued to fall throughout the day.

Defending 50-mile champion Danny Van Wagoner (Johnson Elite Orthodontics) had gotten off to a good start and took an early lead into the infamously steep technical descent of the Waterfall. Van Wagoner saying later that, “Surprisingly, that didn’t seem all that sketchy despite the wet rock.”

Van Wagoner continued his solo lead until teammate Roger Arnell and Truman Glasgow (Imaginary Collective) caught him on the climb to Zen trail. The trio navigated the maze of slickrock that is the Zen trail together.

Danny Van Wagoner on is way to a repeat True Grit Epic title. Photo by Crawling Spider Photography

Meanwhile the women’s 50-mile leader Caroline Dezendorf (Easton/Cervelo), who was riding the demanding course of the True Grit Epic blind and on a hardtail, had told herself to, ‘expect the unexpected.’

A strong effort on the road start was paying dividends as she held the lead into the singletrack  with seconds in hand over her hard-charging competitors. “The trails were so fun,” Dezendorf would say after the finish, “I was kind of amazed how much of the slick rock I could ride blind.”

The Reno, Nevada, racer was indeed having an impressive day taking a lead through the unforgiving Zen trail. A couple of small mistakes including a crash opened the door for  Mya Graham (Waite Endurance) to close up on the leader making contact at the second feed zone just before climbing toward the Bearpaw Poppy trail.

Navigating the endless rock of Zen trail. Photo by Crawling Spider Photography

Not far behind the lead duo a group of ladies rode wheel to wheel at the halfway point including KC Holley (Kuhl), Lauren Zimmer (Carborocket Pro MTB), and Holly Haguewood.

At this time the lead men were still riding in formation with Van Wagoner, Arnell, and Glasgow out front. As the leaders began the climb up the Rim Reaper trail Van Wagoner could see the threatening figure of Zach Calton (Calton Coaching) and Carter Anderson (Kuhl)charging behind.

Van Wagoner pushed the pace up front splitting Roger Arnell before his final acceleration on the Barrell Roll climb unseated Truman Glasgow from his wheel opening a gap he would hold until the finish successfully defending his title as True Grit Epic champion.

Truman Glasgow dropped another spot to third by the finish losing in a sprint finish to Roger Arnell. Carter Anderson would cross the line two minutes later in fourth just one second in front of Zach Calton.

On the women’s side Caroline Dezendorf was doing her best to hold off a challenge from Graham. As the course dried up so did the mud that had collected in Dezendorf’s shoes and pedals at time making it impossible to clip in. “My cleats and pedals became cement,” She shared after the finish, “It made it so a lot of features that I should have been able to ride I had to run because I wasn’t clipped in.”

Photo by Crawling Spider Photography

But Dezendorf kept her cool and focused on staying calm and pedaling forward. She again opened the gap to second place and kept stretching her lead until the finish. Undeterred by a less than perfect day she indeed stayed calm and took the True Grit win by a margin of over 10 minutes.

18 year-old Mya Graham came home in second.

The final steps of the podium came down to a back and forth battle with Lauren Zimmer eventually taking third just seconds in front of Holly Haguewood in fourth and KC Holley in fifth.

Riders in the rain-shortened 100-mile event event completed one full lap and two additional 6-mile laps of the Barrel Roll trail for a full distance of 62 miles.

It was hometown teenager Gwendolyn Sepp (Artemesia Cycling) taking top honors. She was followed by Suzanne Jensen (Roaring Mouse) and Bigfoot Endurance racer Julia Thumel in third.

The men’s race went to Samuel Brehm (Cyclery Bike Shop) in a time of 4:15:41. Gordon Wadsworth (Blue Ridge Cyclery p/b Revel Bikes) took runner up honors almost 10 minutes in front of Ryan Bennett (No Ride Around) in third.

 

True Grit Gravel

In past years the True Grit Epic has featured a multi-day stage race competition that includes the Epic mountain bike race followed by a 84-mile gravel race the following day. For the first time in 2023 the gravel race would happen one week after the mountain bike stage.

Weather conditions proved to be much drier for the gravel event but a winter of heavy precipitation left the gravel roads in rough condition with ruts and washboard bumps challenging riders and their equipment.

Allyson Sepp during the True Grit Epic. Photo by Crawling Spider Photography

St. George’s own Allyson Sepp (Artemisia Cycling) won the race of attrition in this year’s True Grit Gravel taking first place and taking the stage race title after her 6th place finish in the Epic mountain bike race.

Zach Calton out front in True Grit gravel. Photo by Crawling Spider Photography

The men’s gravel event win went to Zach Calton who separated from Bjorn Larson (TNE & Associates LLP) and Carter Anderson (Kuhl) to take the top step of the podium and the stage race title. Calton will also be participating in this year’s Life Time Grand Prix.

Click Here for Full Results from True Grit Epic MTB Race

Click Here for Full Results from True Grit Epic Gravel Race

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Click for our report from True Grit Epic 2022

True Grit Epic 50 Mile

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This year’s True Grit 50 miler started an hour after the 100 milers allowing the trail a bit more time to soak up the previous day’s rain and the 100 milers to disperse some of the standing water.

The trip out of Santa Clara was warmer than the last several years and the racing heated up quickly too.

Utah powerhouse Evelyn Dong (Pivot/Stan’s Notubes) surged into the lead of the women’s open race early on. Being known as one of the most talented technical riders in the US Dong was near unstoppable in the rocks and ledges of the True Grit course.

Riders navigate the loved and hated rocks of the Zen trail

After sailing through burly sections like the Waterfall and Zen trail Dong spent the day challenging many of the top open male riders out on course. Even a crash out on course couldn’t stop Evelyn Dong from taking a win in the NUE series opener. After the race she had this to say about her first True Grit experience.

“2019 was my first time racing True Grit, which is a bit shameful having lived in Utah for years now. The Green Valley and Santa Clara trails are some of my favorite trails to ride so I figured I had no excuses not to race this year.

I was pretty excited to race and just to ride on dirt because the winter has been pretty brutal this year. My race experience included going back and forth with a few men for the entire race which made it fun, and one crash which fortunately bang me or my bike up too much. Favorite part? Zen is always a sweet spot and going down Barrel Roll is a good reward near the end.”

After the lone leader it was local legend Lynda Wallenfels (LW Coaching) putting together a stellar effort on her home course proving she’s back on form after a few years away from racing. Her second place finish was a welcomed upgrade from her 2018 True Grit experience which saw her suffer a catastrophic mechanical. Ride back to her house for a fix and then return to complete the 50-mile course.

Behind Wallenfels, Nicole Tittensor (Scott) and Jen Hanks (Pearl Izumi/Pivot) battled for third with Tittensor opening a lead on the early climbs and holding pace for the first 30-plus miles of the race.

Hanks stayed close and late in the race closed the gap on the Rim Reaper trail and moved into third before the final singletrack on Barrel Roll.

Ami Stuart (Upcycle) took the final podium spot in fifth.

Riders wind through a wash in the early morning sun

The men charged off the start line with Cannondale rider Alex Grant looking to improve on his third place finish the last two years.

Defending champion Justin Lindine wasn’t on hand to defend his title as a water leak at his home forced him to return home instead of riding the trails in Santa Clara.

Grant got off to a good start joined by local contenders Drew Free (Kuhl), Chris Holley (Kuhl), Bryson Perry (Rouleur Devo), and Clayton Otto (Pivot, TRP, Rotor).

Grant shed his competition once and for all in the red rock maze of Zen trail and powered solo to the finish line. He had this to say after the race.

“I was able to break away from the front group on the climb up to the waterfall descent, and then hold the gap in to Zen where I increased it to a couple minutes. 

From there is was steady eddy all the way and I rode solo for the rest of the race.  I rode the Cannondale Scalpel-Si with the Lefty Ocho and it was the perfect setup for the course. 

I was really happy to take the win and want to say thanks to the promoters, volunteers and city of Santa Clara for putting on another awesome event!”

Chris Holley stayed close to the loan leader but not close enough to challenge. A gifted rider in the rocks, Holley used his skills to hold off a strong challenge from Clayton Otto.

Drew Free crossed the line in fourth barely a minute in front of Bryson Perry.

The two closest races of the day came from the singlespeed  and 50-plus riders. Both coming down to sprint finishes deciding the race winners.

In singlespeed, Preston Edwards (Zone Five Racing) took the early lead cresting the opening climbs in first place. But after being forced to dismount on the Waterfall drop he lost his spot to Shannon Boffeli (Pearl Izumi/Pivot) and defending champion Christopher Heinrich (The Path Bike Shop).

Boffeli took the lead into Zen and holding Heinrich off throughout the remaining course. The gap never reached more than a handful of seconds with Boffeli pulling away on the climbs and Heinrich closing it down on descents.

“I did everything I could to drop Chris once I knew he was back there,” Boffeli said after the finish. “I thought I had gotten clear but as soon as we popped back onto the road just a mile from the finish he was right there.”

“I hit the pavement with maybe 10 seconds in hand and I felt pretty confident. I lowered my dropper post a tiny bit to make it easier to spin on the flats back to the finish and right when I did that both legs completely cramped.”

“I was lucky enough to get my legs moving again but by that time Chris was right on my wheel and he timed his sprint perfectly to pip me just before the line. It was a great race on an exceptional course and Chris fought hard for the win.”

Both riders collapsed at the finish with a very happy defending champion in Christopher Heinrich.

Past race winner Corey Larrabee finished in third in front of early leader Preston Edwards.

Brent Cannon took fifth.

The 50-plus men’s group saw Jeff Jacobson (UCC/JW Floors) taking an early lead pulling away through the Waterfall drop and Zen trail before Matt Crowley (LW Coaching) bridged up to the leader around the halfway point.

From Stucki Springs on, the lead duo matched each other move for move surging back and forth through the Rim Reaper and Barrel Roll trails before entering the final stretch into Santa Clara wheel to wheel.

Just feet from the line both riders unleashed their sprint with Crowley only just getting the better of Jacobson at the line.

Andy Compas (VeloLove) was thrilled with his third place finish after crashing on his face over the Waterfall drop in 2018. His sub-4 hour time was a big improvement over the previous year.

Mike Hileman navigated his way through a successful True Grit finishing fourth in front of fellow Nevada racer Richard DeYoung.

The 2019 True Grit Epic saw the addition of a completely new category to the NUE series. The women’s 50-plus category put forward a strong showing in their first event as an official NUE category with seven riders taking the start and all but one completing the gnarly 50-mile course.

Joanne LaBelle (Peaked Sports) was the winner in the inaugural True Grit for 50-plus women. The Driggs, Idaho, rider logged a time of just over five hours.

Gayle Olpin took second as Laura Shaw and Jennifer Kruleski duked it out for third with Shaw crossing the line just seconds in front of Kruleski.

Danita Ritter (WomenMTB) took the final podium spot in fifth.

Next the NUE series moves east to the traditional east coast opener, the Cohutta Classic in Ducktown, Tennessee on April 27th.

Click Here for full results from all categories