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Kate Courtney (She Sends Racing) and Brennan Wertz won on home roads of northern California at Huffmaster Classic, the second stop of the five-event Grasshopper Adventure Series.
In her first appearance at the 90-mile Huffmaster, the two-time US mountain bike champion and U23 silver medallist at MTB Worlds set a new course record for elite women in 4:17:25. She beat Anna Yamauchi by just under four minutes. Anna Gibson was another 12 minutes back for third.
In January Courtney debuted a team setup as She Sends Racing, her non-profit to “get more girls on bikes”, and new equipment with Allied CycleWorks, scoring the victory at the Grasshopper opener at Low Gap. She then travelled to South Africa for training and to compete in the Tankwa Trek mountain bike stage race, which she won.
Wertz, the reigning US Gravel national champion, launched his 2025 season in Maxwell, California with the victory, adding a second consecutive win at Huffmaster. He put in a gap to his closest rivals on the final miles of the downhill gravel to finish solo in 4:04:20. The fight for the final two podium spots went to Lance Haidet, who was fifth last year, as he out-sprinted Tim McBirney at the line for second, finishing 49 seconds back.
Huffmaster’s mixed-surface, punchy course offered 4,866 feet of elevation gain. While the climbing was not as significant as other Hopper events, the majority of the dirt sections were packed into the final half of the large loop east of the Snow Mountain Wilderness area in Colusa County, known for its technical descents.
The men’s and women’s pro fields started together, with group tactics playing out for the first 40 miles and then the…
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