Bighorn Gravel 2026: Off-road cycling event emphasizes rider experience and community connection in fifth edition

Entering year five, Bighorn Gravel founder and organizer Jake Wells said Eagle County’s premiere off-road cycling event is emphasizing “the overall experience.”

“I want people to say, ‘this race, event, ride was just really well run, well supported, it was challenging and beautiful — I had a blast,'” Wells said. “‘And I want to do it again next year.'”

Festivities kick off Friday in Gypsum with a pair of shakeout rides starting at the brand-new Vail Brewing Club, which hosts the packet pickup and mandatory racer meeting for the first time. Saturday’s races start and finish at the Gypsum Town Hall.

The flagship 85-mile Ram’s Horn Escape pulls out for its neutral two-mile rollout at 7 a.m., followed by the 50-mile Little Bighorn at 8 a.m. and the 20-mile Gravel Curious at 8:30 a.m. The expo opens at 10 a.m., just as the first “Gravel Curious” athletes are expected to return. Top finishers from the longer courses will likely roll in between 10:30 and 11 a.m. with an awards ceremony to follow at 2 p.m.

Wells said hitting the five-year mark “feels like a bit of a milestone.”

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“What we set out initially to achieve was showcasing this beautiful landscape we have here in Eagle County and creating an event that allows people to test themselves and explore the backcountry a little more than they would on a given weekend,” he said. “And I feel like we’re checking that box.”

Perhaps the most unique element of Bighorn Gravel is just how many different boxes it checks. First off, it’s simultaneously accessible and unapologetically punishing.

Some will ride the Gravel Curious as fast as they can, Wells noted, while most use it as an entry point to the sport. The Ram’s Horn Escape has evolved into a stepping stone to the longer course for some and a competitive launch pad for aspiring juniors like Jack Diemar. The Eagle cyclist placed fourth here in 2022 and now rides for the Kelly Benefits Cycling Team. And while the long course, with over 10,000 feet of climb, might require a post-race massage, it’s approachable enough for this humble correspondent to cross the finish line intact.

“So, we really get a broad range of participants and their reason of why they’re doing the event,” Wells said.

Though it lacks the depth of Unbound Gravel or Leadville 100, Life Time Grand Prix stars like Howard Grotts and two-time winner Cecily Decker still show up to chase the $10,500 purse. Wells believes part of preserving the experience has been making sure world-class pros line up with everyday joes.

“Then, you get a chance to see where you stand,” he said.

For elites, the route’s strategic topography allows different riders to exploit specific tactical strengths. For mere mortals, the loop — which intentionally links local backcountry “gems,” as Wells puts it — is a person vs. self battle only achievable through the high-quality support from the volunteers.

“The community is so incredible — the volunteers and everyone else,” Wells continued, praising the support of the Town of Gypsum, its police force, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and product partners in particular. Wells acknowledged and is sensitive to the impact of his event, but also happy to see it “consistently considered an asset to the valley.”

“We’re asking a lot of the community. We’re asking a lot of the general public to put up with us on these weekends of riding bikes out in the backcountry,” he said. “It’s super humbling to see these people who donate their time and come out and spend the day at an aid station or managing traffic. We couldn’t put on the event without it.”

While previous editions attracted around 500 participants or so, organizers capped the event at 300 this year. About 50% of the current registrants are locals, Wells said. Along with moving pre-race meetings to the new Vail Brewing Company location, the 2026 edition introduces a dedicated ceremony for the 50-mile podium. One organizational shift: co-founder Mike Brumbaugh stepped back this summer into a behind-the-scenes support role through his business, Venture Sports.

“Jake and I are not getting a divorce,” the always-quotable Brumbaugh assured Eagle County’s close-knit cycling community. A year after riding the Tour de France route, Brumbaugh plans to follow La Vuelta a España in September — which coincides with Bighorn Road, the organization’s spin-off tarmac event. Since a recent back surgery put him on injured reserve for this Bighorn Gravel, and with outside commitments taking him away next summer, Brumbaugh felt it was “just kind of the right time,” to make a change.

“It’s a lot of work,” Brumbaugh said. “Where I am with my life right now, I just don’t have the bandwidth with my business to do it — and Jake does.”

The pointy end of the peloton

Defending champion Cobe Freeburn, who was also second in 2024, headlines the men’s field, while 2022 third-placer Caroline Tory is back to contend for the women’s crown. Locally, Sam Brown will be looking to better his back-to-back fourth-place results. Brown and fellow Eagle rider Haley Dumke — who won the combined Bighorn Gravel and Road titles last year — are entered for the fifth time. Josiah Middaugh, the only Eagle County cyclist to make a long-distance podium at the event (he was third overall in 2022), will be another elite to watch.

Even though providing equal pay to men and women was a given for Wells and Brumbaugh from the start, Bighorn Gravel hasn’t implemented separate starts for each gender.

“I think we’re a little more unique than some of the other ones where there is a lot of drafting,” Wells explained. “No matter which direction we decide to go — counterclockwise or clockwise — the draft effect goes away after about mile 2.5. You’re climbing stuff so steep and you’re in the backcountry — you’re not really able to draft anyway.”

While he’s weighed the pros and cons of different options, acknowledged money is on the line and knows starts can be hectic, Wells prefers everyone “be in the same boat, rely on the same aid stations, on the same course, and you all start together.”

“If anything, (separate starts) goes away from what we’re really hoping – the community side of it,” he explained. “‘Hey, we’re all in this together.’ Whether you’re male or female, we’re all suffering at the same time.”

With each edition, Wells said his crew gets “a little more dialed with systems.” Heading into the weekend, logistics are set, the clockwise course is locked in and numbers are about right. Even so, as Brumbaugh put it, the profit margins won’t fund his retirement account.

“It’s still a labor of love,” he said.

As the saturated gravel market continues to pump out new races, it’s worth wondering which element — a challenging local course, profitable pro payout or grassroots vibes — Bighorn Gravel will lean into. Then again, does it really need a narrow niche to survive?

“I think that’s a great question,” Brumbaugh said. “We cast a wide net because we’ve been fortunate enough that we can be all things to all people. We can appeal to Cecily Decker and the person stepping out of their comfort zone to do Gravel Curious — and everyone in between — and they both have an awesome time.”

As for the perennial debate over bike selection on the rowdy terrain?

“It’s really your call,” Wells said before adding that there’s “really no right or wrong.” The same philosophy applies to why riders pull their wheel up to the start in the first place. At the pointy end of the peloton, it might be performance related.

“But mostly, it’s about having fun,” Wells aptly summarized. “It’s about enjoying the backcountry and getting out for a fun ride with your friends.”