2025 Bighorn Gravel elite preview: Colorado contenders discuss deep fields, course changes and how the 85-mile race could unfold

Haley Dumke has improved her placing at Bighorn Gravel in each of its first three editions. But besting her fourth-place result from a year ago in the Ram’s Horn Escape this Sunday is going to be a tall task.

“This women’s field is insane,” Dumke said after winning her second-straight Davos Dash on Wednesday night in Vail.

Leading the way is defending Bighorn Gravel champion Cecily Decker. The former U.S. Ski Team Alpine athlete placed first amongst Life Time Grand Prix riders at Unbound Gravel and is currently second in the overall standings. She isn’t the only contender coming to Gypsum from the iconic off-road race series, which features 50 of the world’s best cyclists and pays out a $380,000 purse.

Lauren De Crescenzo, Sarah Lange and Erin Huck — currently fourth, seventh and 20th, respectively, in the Grand Prix standings — also plan to line up for the 85-mile event, which starts at 7 a.m. Of course, Dumke is a Grand Prix athlete, too. The 32-year-old earned a wildcard spot for the remaining races after her 20th-place Unbound Gravel finish on May 30. A lingering illness forced her to sit out both Mountain Games events earlier this month, but the Minturn athlete said she’s getting back into the groove now.

“It’s been good. It was good to get some time off the bike and prioritize some rest,” she said. “Just kind of getting a little bit of a reset because I’ve really been going since the beginning of March.”

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The men’s field has also deepened in the last few days thanks to a few notable late entries. New Zealand World Cup racer Caleb Bottcher and Life Time Grand Prix rider Finn Gullickson both registered Friday. Zach Calton, who won the inaugural event, also signed up this past week. Perhaps the hungriest elite, however, is Cobe Freeburn. The Durango cyclist finished second last year but has ridden well in Eagle County this summer.

“Last year’s result, along with my recent performances, gives me confidence for this weekend,” said Freeburn, who swept the Mountain Games short-track and cross-country mountain bike races earlier this month. The 23-year-old also won the famed Iron Horse Bicycle Classic for the second-straight year back in May.

“I feel finishing second last year helped me learn a lot about how the race will play out and what to expect,” he continued, adding that his only recon was analyzing a course map and elevation profile. “So now I feel like I know how to measure my effort for what is coming up much better.”

The top local threat on the men’s side is Sam Brown, who finished fourth overall in 2024. On Tuesday, the Eagle cyclist road pieces of the course, reacquainting himself with his home trails.

“And the legs were feeling good,” he said. “Bike setup is dialed.”

Brown mounted a “mullet” drivetrain setup — with road bike shifters up front and mountain bike derailleur and cassette out back — onto his Ibis gravel steed and installed new wireless XTR electronic shifting. His fitness is even sharper than his tech: In addition to placing second at the Eagle Ranch Classic and winning the Davos Dash within the Vail town series, he also placed 10th in the elite men’s 100-mile race at Unbound Gravel.

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One potentially podium-altering wrinkle is the revised long-course ending. Instead of going up Cottonwood Pass and swinging down Red Hill Road into the finish, riders will go up the gravel and down the pavement.

“Going up the pavement can be hotter than the surface of the sun and coming down the dirt can be a little rowdy,” explained co-race founder Mike Brumbaugh.

“Because we’re switching that portion of the course, I think that is actually going to make it more strategic,” added co-race founder Jake Wells.

“I also think having some new guys in the race this year will change the dynamic a bit along with the slight course change,” said Freeburn, who felt last year’s course was “already difficult at the end.”

“But now, having the last loop reversed will be much harder,” he added. “It makes me think more about my bike set up to optimize it for the last loop.”

Brown suspects the men’s field will break up earlier, perhaps on the way up to the Peter Estin Hut. But he anticipates the finishing climb will be the toughest part of the course.

“Going down Gypsum Creek (Road), you want to be with someone,” he said. “And then going up Red Hill is just going to be brutal.”

“Red Hill is going to challenge us at the end with the climb,” Dumke added. “We’ll just look forward to that fast Cottonwood descent and send it home from there. Just got to try and not overheat.”

Dumke said the storyline of the women’s race is harder to predict since leaders often draft off the elite men and escape from the rest of the peloton. Thus, one of the most important tactical elements will be identifying competitors’ jersey colors — and then remembering them as exhaustion sets in.

“Last year, I think I was with one other woman at Brush Creek and we were in third and fourth and I had literally no idea where everyone else was,” she said. “It’s different for the women’s race because we get mixed up with the men’s.”

No matter the outcome, Dumke said she’s amped up to compete in her backyard.

“I think it will be good,” she said. “It’s really nice to race here at home and see everybody.”