Gravel Explorer XLT Showcases the South Okanagan Gravel Scene and the Spirit of Gravel Adventuring
Gravel Explorer XLT Showcases the South Okanagan Gravel Scene and the Spirit of Gravel Adventuring
Sore bodies and spent bikes enjoyed the fifth and final stage of the Gravel Explorer XLT, starting and finishing near the historic Kettle Valley Steam Train in Summerland this Thursday. Easton Overland athletes Amity Rockwell and Rob Britton crushed out another week of racing in the Okanagan on the heels of Overall podiums at the BCBR mountain bike stage race. Joining them was Easton-supported athlete Andrew L’Esperance, who may have missed the MTB action, but wasn’t about to leave all the stage racing to Rob and Cory Wallace.
An Okanagan Secret
Easton Cycling Stage 4 showcased one of the South Okanagan’s unexpected hidden gems; a winding gravel adventure through a forest of green. Anyone who thought the Okanagan is all dry, all dusty, and mostly brown was in for a surprise!
Everybody in the Gravel Explorer XLT is now accustomed to starting the day with a major climb. What starts down in the valley of the South Okanagan must go up. The unrelenting climb forced racers to choose their line carefully in sections.
From the high point, racers were treated with rolling forest service roads in the mountains above Twin Lakes. One participant went so far as to call it a “pump track for gravel bikes.”
Rockwell takes BCBRG Second Overall after 12 races in 14 days
It was clear that Cynthia Frazier came to race. She capped her Gravel Explorer XLT with another victory, making it a clean sweep for stage wins.
Amity Rockwell wasn’t far behind and remained in high spirits, rolling across the line in second place with more than a few cheers from the crowd.
Rachel Wills finished what she called “the best five days of gravel ever” for third place, mirroring the final overall GC standings of Frazier in first, Rockwell in second, and Wills in third.
After 5 days of racing across an epic South Okanagan route, the entire Open Women’s field is ready for a well-deserved rest, but none more ready than Amity Rockwell. She was one of the few brave souls to tackle the Iron Lung achievement of both the BCBR MTB Race and Gravel Explorer XLT back-to-back, completing 12 stages of racing in just 14 days.
Britton nabs stage victory, L’Esperance takes the overall
The duo of Andrew L’Esperance and Rob Britton spent much of the day at the front of the race again with Cory Wallace not far behind.
“Once those guys start working together, it’s game over for me,” Wallace said about the day.
Britton’s road experience played in his favour to take a sprint finish victory over L’Esperance, but it wasn’t enough to unseat the overall standings.
“Rob just has too much experience on the road for me to get him in a sprint like that,” L’Esperance said.
The overall GC in the Men’s race ended with L’Esperance on the top step, Britton in second, and Wallace in third. Britton also completed the Iron Lung achievement of the BCBR MTB and BCBBR Gravel XLT. An impressive doubleheader over 14 days.
New zone impresses racers on Easton Cycling Stage
Through a mix of creative connections between decommissioned and active forest service roads, Course Director, Jessy Hoffman, really pulled out all the stops in putting together something unique not only to the Gravel Explorer XLT but to the usual gravel riding routes in the South Okanagan too.
To get up to the mossy forests, racers had to climb on a mix of smooth and rugged, adventurous gravel. “It was like an uphill time trial at points,” Andrew Schmidt, from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania said of Stage 4. “The climb was hard, but after that, there was one descent that really felt like a gravel pump track. This course was awesome!”
Kevin Willis, from Ottawa, Ontario, agreed. “The downhills were INSANE! We don’t have anything like this back home. The route was different from everything else we’ve done in the race too!”
The spirit of gravel starts with this community
Although the racing at the front was fast and furious, the best experiences at the Gravel Explorer XLT happened regardless of speed. From first to last, and every rider in between, the spirit of adventuring on gravel—riding anywhere a gravel bike can go in the South Okanagan—was alive and well.
After five days of the Gravel Explorer XLT, racers covered 368 kilometers of some of the most diverse, epic, adventurous gravel the South Okanagan has on tap. Across those 368 kilometers, racers climbed 7,378 meters, nearing the equivalent of Mount Everest!
For many of those kilometers, riders climbed mountainous gravel roads, hike-a-biked through rugged connectors, railed some of the fastest gravel descents around, had near-misses with livestock, and forged some new friendships, all while experiencing the spirit of gravel at the Gravel Explorer XLT.
“Racing here is so fun… the community around this event is unmatched!” Corey Wallis said (not to be confused with Cory Wallace).
Carolyn Russel, the winner of the 40+ Women’s category, agreed. “The camaraderie is definitely the best part. Everybody here is just so nice and you end up making new friends along the way.”
Even the pros enjoy the atmosphere of an event like this. “The Gravel Explorer is a great way to cap off a long season. It’s a laid-back atmosphere everybody is here just to have a good time,” Cory Wallace said shortly after crossing the finish line.
The Gravel Explorer was designed to showcase a sampling of everything the Okanagan has to offer, and after a challenging, rough-and-tumble Stage 1 and 2, racers were treated to some smooth gravel classics in Stages 3, 4 and 5.
Sore bodies and spent bikes enjoyed the fifth and final stage of the Gravel Explorer XLT, starting and finishing near the historic Kettle Valley Steam Train in Summerland this Thursday. Easton Overland athletes Amity Rockwell and Rob Britton crushed out another week of racing in the Okanagan on the heels of Overall podiums at the BCBR mountain bike stage race. Joining them was Easton-supported athlete Andrew L’Esperance, who may have missed the MTB action, but wasn’t about to leave all the stage racing to Rob and Cory Wallace.
An Okanagan Secret
Easton Cycling Stage 4 showcased one of the South Okanagan’s unexpected hidden gems; a winding gravel adventure through a forest of green. Anyone who thought the Okanagan is all dry, all dusty, and mostly brown was in for a surprise!
Everybody in the Gravel Explorer XLT is now accustomed to starting the day with a major climb. What starts down in the valley of the South Okanagan must go up. The unrelenting climb forced racers to choose their line carefully in sections.
From the high point, racers were treated with rolling forest service roads in the mountains above Twin Lakes. One participant went so far as to call it a “pump track for gravel bikes.”
Rockwell takes BCBRG Second Overall after 12 races in 14 days
It was clear that Cynthia Frazier came to race. She capped her Gravel Explorer XLT with another victory, making it a clean sweep for stage wins.
Amity Rockwell wasn’t far behind and remained in high spirits, rolling across the line in second place with more than a few cheers from the crowd.
Rachel Wills finished what she called “the best five days of gravel ever” for third place, mirroring the final overall GC standings of Frazier in first, Rockwell in second, and Wills in third.
After 5 days of racing across an epic South Okanagan route, the entire Open Women’s field is ready for a well-deserved rest, but none more ready than Amity Rockwell. She was one of the few brave souls to tackle the Iron Lung achievement of both the BCBR MTB Race and Gravel Explorer XLT back-to-back, completing 12 stages of racing in just 14 days.
Britton nabs stage victory, L’Esperance takes the overall
The duo of Andrew L’Esperance and Rob Britton spent much of the day at the front of the race again with Cory Wallace not far behind.
“Once those guys start working together, it’s game over for me,” Wallace said about the day.
Britton’s road experience played in his favour to take a sprint finish victory over L’Esperance, but it wasn’t enough to unseat the overall standings.
“Rob just has too much experience on the road for me to get him in a sprint like that,” L’Esperance said.
The overall GC in the Men’s race ended with L’Esperance on the top step, Britton in second, and Wallace in third. Britton also completed the Iron Lung achievement of the BCBR MTB and BCBBR Gravel XLT. An impressive doubleheader over 14 days.
New zone impresses racers on Easton Cycling Stage
Through a mix of creative connections between decommissioned and active forest service roads, Course Director, Jessy Hoffman, really pulled out all the stops in putting together something unique not only to the Gravel Explorer XLT but to the usual gravel riding routes in the South Okanagan too.
To get up to the mossy forests, racers had to climb on a mix of smooth and rugged, adventurous gravel. “It was like an uphill time trial at points,” Andrew Schmidt, from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania said of Stage 4. “The climb was hard, but after that, there was one descent that really felt like a gravel pump track. This course was awesome!”
Kevin Willis, from Ottawa, Ontario, agreed. “The downhills were INSANE! We don’t have anything like this back home. The route was different from everything else we’ve done in the race too!”
The spirit of gravel starts with this community
Although the racing at the front was fast and furious, the best experiences at the Gravel Explorer XLT happened regardless of speed. From first to last, and every rider in between, the spirit of adventuring on gravel—riding anywhere a gravel bike can go in the South Okanagan—was alive and well.
After five days of the Gravel Explorer XLT, racers covered 368 kilometers of some of the most diverse, epic, adventurous gravel the South Okanagan has on tap. Across those 368 kilometers, racers climbed 7,378 meters, nearing the equivalent of Mount Everest!
For many of those kilometers, riders climbed mountainous gravel roads, hike-a-biked through rugged connectors, railed some of the fastest gravel descents around, had near-misses with livestock, and forged some new friendships, all while experiencing the spirit of gravel at the Gravel Explorer XLT.
“Racing here is so fun… the community around this event is unmatched!” Corey Wallis said (not to be confused with Cory Wallace).
Carolyn Russel, the winner of the 40+ Women’s category, agreed. “The camaraderie is definitely the best part. Everybody here is just so nice and you end up making new friends along the way.”
Even the pros enjoy the atmosphere of an event like this. “The Gravel Explorer is a great way to cap off a long season. It’s a laid-back atmosphere everybody is here just to have a good time,” Cory Wallace said shortly after crossing the finish line.
The Gravel Explorer was designed to showcase a sampling of everything the Okanagan has to offer, and after a challenging, rough-and-tumble Stage 1 and 2, racers were treated to some smooth gravel classics in Stages 3, 4 and 5.