Gravel Race: With Peto Snowed Out, Truckee Dirt Fondo Welcomes Riders in June

Last year, then road world champion Peter Sagan (Bora – Hansgrohe) made his U.S. gravel debut at the Sagan Dirt Fondo in Truckee, California.

Sagan was set to return in 2019, but “an unexpectedly hardcore winter” prevented the race from occurring in conjunction with the Tour of California. Organizers called an audible and held the race last weekend as the Truckee Dirt Fondo.

“The race was rescheduled due to the snowpocalypse,” Nick Haig-Arack of event organizer Bike Monkey said. “We rescheduled the race for summer, which proved to still have its own set of challenges. The weather continued to be unpredictable.”

One upshot of the move to June was the race was able to feature a battle between the winners of the Dirty Kanza 200 and Lost and Found Gravel Grinder held the week before.

The Truckee Dirt Fondo featured routes of 67 (Long), 58 (Medium) and 28 (Non-Timed) miles. The routes made liberal use of Tahoe National Forest.

“The Truckee Dirt Fondo hits high marks on a trifecta of criteria,” Haig-Arack said about the routes. “First off, we’re racing in Tahoe National Forest, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Second, this is a Bike Monkey event—we’re perfectionists when it comes to grassroots bike racing. Finally, gravel racing is still growing and continues to attract mountain bikers, cyclocross riders and roadies alike. It’s a great day on a bike, no matter your chosen discipline.”

The focal point of the 67-mile Long route was the climb up to Sardine Peak, which tops out above 8,000 feet. Along the way, there were beautiful views and a route that organizers claimed favored wide gravel tires and perhaps even a cyclocross bike.

“This year’s long route was over 65 miles of remote, rough, technical climbs, smooth tree-lined dirt descents, long stretches of remote country road, and rowdy doubletrack,” Haig-Arack said. “A hardtail XC bike would’ve been just as good a choice as a modern gravel bike, although you’ll notice that our podiums were full of folks who selected drop bar bikes with 35mm-plus tires.”

The event also helped support a good cause, with the King Ridge Foundation, a non-profit related to Bike Monkey, sponsoring a fundraising auction to benefit Adventure Risk Challenge, a California non-profit that serves at-risk youth.

“ARC inspires youth to become life-long learners, stewards of the environment and leaders in their schools and community,” Haig-Arack said. “Through our innovative integration of outdoor and academic education, they learn valuable social skills and increase their self-esteem, to support them in their academic, personal, and professional pursuits. High-quality summer learning programs and year-round adult ally relationships are essential to the success of today’s youth.”

Race Results

We teased it at the start, but the Truckee Dirt Fondo hosted a race inside the race between DK200 winner Amity Rockwell and Lost and Found winner Katerina Nash.

Nash got the best of the battle—although she did ride 100 fewer miles last weekend—taking the win in the process. Claire Walton finished second and Rockwell third. Sian Crespo and Samantha Shields rounded out the wide-angle podium.

Jonathan Baker took the Men’s win. He was joined by Jeremy Benson, Brennan Wertz, Brian Schaning and Dillon Osleger on the wide-angle podium.

Results for the 67-mile Long race are below.

Women's Results: 2019 Truckee Dirt Fondo

Men's Results: 2019 Truckee Dirt Fondo