Life Time Grand Prix star Cecily Decker wins third-straight Bighorn Gravel title
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
She can call it a last-minute change of plans, but something tells me Cecily Decker just can’t resist the Ram’s Horn Escape route.
“I wasn’t actually planning on coming. I’m heading up to Steamboat next week, so I’m here again,” Decker said. “I really like this race.”
The former U.S. Ski Team athlete turned Life Time Grand Prix off-road endurance cycling star ripped through the 85-mile route on Saturday morning in a time of 5 hours, 32 minutes and 14 seconds — 10 minutes faster than her winning time from last year — to claim the women’s title at Bighorn Gravel for a third-straight year.
“It was good,” Decker said. “I never had any idea of where anyone was, so, it’s always kind of stressful. I was looking back a lot.”
Sarah Lange (5:42:33) took runner-up honors, followed by 2022 champion and 2023 runner-up Alexis Skarda (5:53:58). In 2024, Decker won by 16 minutes. Last year’s gap was double-digits, too. Saturday’s playbook wasn’t much different.
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“Kind of a big ride by myself,” she aptly stated.
While Decker was unchallenged, the field wasn’t unqualified. Falvia Oliveria Parks, a Brazilian cyclist who finished seventh at the 2016 Olympic Games, was fourth, five minutes behind Skarda. Meanwhile, 2021 Unbound Gravel champion Lauren De Crescenzo (6:02:33) and Snowmass cyclist Caroline Tory (6:03:07) battled for fifth and sixth, respectively. But none could match Decker, who jammed out to a random hits from T-Pain and Grateful Dead during her solo effort.
“There’s not a lot of cell service out there, so it has to be your offline. So there were some funny surprises in there,” she said of the Spotify playlist she tapped into during the ride. “A really weird mix of stuff. It’s nice to have something to make you laugh when you’re out there suffering.”
Decker, who was second at Unbound Gravel — arguably the world’s most prestigious gravel race — in 2025, said she picked up a bug at this year’s edition of the 200-mile race outside of Emporia, Kansas. After what she described as “a slow build” the last three weeks, Saturday’s victory was confidence-building. Coming off a campaign which saw her finish second in the overall Life Time Grand Prix standings, the goal this summer is to dethrone three-time defending champion Sofia Gomez Villafane and claim the $50,000 winner’s prize. Currently, Villafane’s 60 points top the standings through two of the circuit’s six events. Decker sits 12 points back in second.
“I just have a season-long goal of being consistent all year,” Decker stated. “I would love to get a win as well.”
Bighorn Gravel may have served as her tune-up for Steamboat Gravel next weekend, but it was also excellent prep for Decker’s biggest target: The Leadville 100. The 28-year-old was third last year in the Cloud City as Kate Courtney obliterated the course record in her debut at the marquee century ride.
“I think for Leadville, it’s more about focusing on your individual effort. You’re kind of not racing other people. It’s more just a race against yourself,” Decker said before adding, “kind of similar to this, actually.”
