Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless) gained the elite ladies’s division of 2025 Stetina’s Paydirt on Saturday, unseating two-time champion Heather Jackson, whereas 22-year-old Justin Peck defended his males’s division title with a late move of Lachlan Morton (EF Training-Easypost).
Shimano sponsored the Ladies’s Paydirt Problem, offering a $10,000 prize purse solely for the elite ladies’s area, which occasion founder Peter Stetina mentioned was a method he might put ladies on “heart stage”.
“As a professional male, I’ve a singular place to leverage my connections and my viewers to advertise my feminine colleagues. I believe we had our strongest ladies’s area ever this 12 months,” he informed Cyclingnews.
“It is simply my means of making true parity in gravel. You already know, gravel is the equal self-discipline, however actually, the lads have all the time sort of been the principle focus. With the large prize, and most of our media focuses on them, the ladies are the celebs of the present.”
The occasion continued as a showcase for climbing in addition to rewarding technical abilities on rugged roads in Nevada’s Pine Nut Mountain vary close to Carson Metropolis, east of Lake Tahoe in California. There are three timed segments on the lengthy course used to tabulate an general tally throughout the 69-mile (111.3km) course with 4,900 toes (1,500 metres) of elevation achieve.
Onweller was dominant from the beginning and put in three minutes to Jackson on the opening section, the longest at 18 miles. As soon as throughout the highest of the climb, the bronze medal finisher from 2024 Unbound Gravel 200 powered via robust headwinds on the downhill to carve out the majority of her lead.
Jackson matched pedal strokes with Onweller on the second section and solely misplaced one second. Nonetheless, the defending ladies’s champion couldn’t make any dents with the time hole on the ultimate section, a climb from Jacks Valley Highway and easy single-track on Clear Creek Path, Onweller taking one other 38 seconds to safe the victory.
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In April on the Sea Otter Basic Gravel, Peck completed fourth general among the many U23 Life Time Grand Prix area and later that month gained the fourth spherical of the Grasshopper Journey Collection, Ukiah Mendo Gravel Epic. The College of California-Berkley senior carried his type into one other a part of his dwelling state this time, going backwards and forwards with Unbound winner Morton, who was third at Paydirt final 12 months.
Morton gained the primary section for the elite males, closing a giant hole he created when he was late for the mass begin, having been busy serving samples of his instantaneous espresso. He was capable of shut a niche to Peck and Wiebe and put in 10 seconds to Peck and 29 seconds to Wiebe. Peck countered with a 39-second benefit on the second section.
On the third section, Morton overshot a nook along with his bike falling down an embankment whereas the Australian made an acrobatic transfer to stay on his toes. Having to climb all the way down to recuperate his bike and proceed the experience, Morton’s delay of practically a minute gave Peck the benefit he wanted to lock up back-to-back wins.
Separate divisions for junior riders have been launched and greater than 50 younger women and men took benefit of free registration to compete in opposition to the elite fields.
“We had 50 juniors in a devoted area. They raced free of charge of their class, I put up money for them, and had a podium with glowing cider. We gave them an area the place they have been welcome and supported, and we had a large turnout,” Stetina mentioned.
“It was an amazing day on two wheels. Timed segments foster a singular ambiance, and one time a 12 months it’s actually enjoyable. It brings an entire new dynamic to the race techniques.”
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Occasion founder Peter Stetina introduces the elite ladies’s area (Picture credit score: Wil Matthews)
Paige Onweller was aggressive on technical descents to provide her the sting on general time segments forward of defending champion Heather Jackson(Picture credit score: Wil Matthews)
Elite males’s podium (L to R) with second-placed Lachlan Morton, winner Justin Peck and third-placed Matthew Wiebe(Picture credit score: Wil Matthews)
22-year-old Justin Peck makes use of his mountain bike abilities to win 2025 Stetina’s Paydirt(Picture credit score: Linda Guerrette)
For a second time, Lachlan Morton completed runner-up within the elite males’s area at Stetina’s Paydirt(Picture credit score: Linda Guerrette)
Mass begin was unfold out as soon as riders started to climb within the Sierra mountains south of Carson Metropolis, Nevada(Picture credit score: Wil Matthews)
Lachlan Morton palms out samples(Picture credit score: Wil Matthews)
