Who to watch at Bighorn Gravel: Field includes multiple Olympians as well as Unbound Gravel, Leadville 100 and U.S. national champions

As of Thursday morning, almost 500 participants had registered for Bighorn Gravel, including 214 for the signature ‘Ram’s Horn Escape. The 85-mile ride, which includes approximately 10,000 feet of climb, begins at 7 a.m on Sunday, with the Little Bighorn (50 miles) and Gravel Curious (20 miles) races starting at 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., respectively.

Athletes to keep an eye on

• Howard Grotts – The 2016 Olympian and three-time Leadville 100 champion won the 2023 Bighorn Gravel by two minutes.
• Eric Brunner – Brunner won the GoPro Mountain Games cross-country mountain bike race two weeks ago, denying Grotts an eighth title. Brunner also had the lead in the 2022 Bighorn Gravel before a flat tire derailed his podium chances. He finished second to Grotts last year.
• Scott Funston – Funston was second in 2022 and seventh in 2023.
• Jack Odron – The 21-year-old just missed the podium last year, finishing fourth.
• Ethan Overson – The Boulder-based rider won the 2022 Unbound Gravel 100-mile race.
• Sam Brown – The Eagle cyclist was 17th in 2022 and 12th last year, but has tailored his training toward his hometown event.
• Andy Lydic – The Boulder cyclist was one of two Americans on the Girona Racing Academy development team in 2022 — the other being Vail’s Mack Dorf. He was the first U23 across the line at the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships last October.
• Landon Stovall – The Eagle Valley High School graduate and Bear National Team rider could be the youngest podium placer ever. He looked sharp in the Eagle Ranch Classic and is having the best UCI mountain bike season of his career this spring and summer.
• Sami Inkinen – The Aspen cyclist might not be in the mix for the win, but his resume is certainly interesting. He co-founded Trulia (and later sold it for $3.5 billion), has an 8 hour, 24 minute Ironman Triathlon to his name and rowed with his wife from California to Hawaii in an unsupported world record time of 45 days, 3 hours.
• Mat Stephens – He won the Unbound Gravel 200-mile race in 2017, the year local Jake Wells was second.
• Lauren Stephens – The 37-year-old has won three Unbound Grave 100-mile titles and is a Pan American Games and U.S. national road race champion as well. In 2023, she finished sixth overall at the UCI Gravel World Championships.
• Leah Van der Linden – The 30-year-old Boulder rider finished second overall at Bighorn Gravel in 2022.
• Alexis Skarda – Skarda won the inaugural Bighorn event by 13 minutes but finished second to fellow Durango cyclist Michela Thompson last year.
• Caroline Tory – The Aspen cyclist was third place in the 2022 Bighorn Gravel event. Her credentials include winning the 2018 Power of Four triple crown and finishing 12th overall in the LifeTime Grand Prix season standings. Off the bike, she is the managing director of a nonprofit called Aspen Words, which brings literary arts programs to readers and writers of all ages.
• Jessica Yeaton – the 2018 and 2022 Australian Olympic cross-country skier finished seventh overall last year.
• Haley Dumke – A relatively new cyclist — she got her first mountain bike for her 27th birthday — the 31-year-old Minturn resident won the Davos Dash earlier this month. She was one place behind Yeaton in 2023.
• Erinn Hobann – The Eagle single-speed specialist won the first two Ram’s Horn Escape women’s single-speed titles. This year, however, she’s opted for the Little Bighorn event.
• Mark Nesline – The Minturn rider is back to defend his single-speed title.

Bighorn Gravel podium history

2022

Ram’s Horn Escape (men)

1. Zach Calton (4:59:33)
2. Scott Funston (5:05:12)
3. Josiah Middaugh (5:10:35)

Ram’s Horn Escape (women)

1. Alexis Skarda (5:59:10)
2. Leah Van der Linden (6:11:59)
3. Caroline Tory (6:18:03)

Single-speed

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• Men: Michael Potter (6:21:03)
• Women: Erinn Hoban (8:01:56)

Little Bighorn (men)

1. Peter Davis (3:45:06)
2. Patrick Nagle (3:47:03)
3. Jack Diemar (3:59:40)

Little Bighorn (women)

1. Lorna Campbell (4:34:15)
2. Turner Ramsay (4:54:35)
3. Melanie Watson (4:58:08)

Gravel Curious (men)

1. Thomas Hayles (1:21:26)
2. Greg Krause (1:39:29)
3. Brian Tyler (1:46:07)

Gravel Curious (women)

1. Abbey Shepard (1:27:55)
2. Lindsay Krause (1:39:28)
3. Rebecca Aliber (1:45:47)

2023

Ram’s Horn Escape (men)

1. Howard Grotts (4:26:00)
2. Eric Brunner (4:28:02)
3. Dylan Johnson (4:31:23)

Ram’s Horn Escape (women)

1. Michela Thompson (5:23:59)
2. Alexis Skarda (5:26:46)
3. Erin Huck (5:32:05)

Single-speed

• Men: Mark Nesline (6:03:21)
• Women: Erinn Hoban (7:26:56)

Little Bighorn (men)

1. Ryan Koster (3:09:02)
2. Mike Bromberg (3:09:14)
3. Jason Russell (3:09:30)

Little Bighorn (women)

1. Tam Donelson (3:37:22)
2. Samantha Fanion (3:50:13)
3. Julia Walsh (3:52:25)

Gravel Curious (men)

1. Thomas Hayles (1:20:45)
2. Al Huck (1:27:55)
3. Matias Olivera (1:37:47)

Gravel Curious (women)

1. Elizabeth Lenell (1:31:12)
2. Elisabeth Reed (1:36:58)
3. Mindi DePaola (1:37:46)