Just 10 days after winning the brutal 1,045km eight-stage Transcordilleras Rally Colombia, Griffin Easter (OpiCure Foundation Gravel Team) found little time for “tranquilo” as he embarked on his next season goal to triumph in the Tripel Crown of Gravel with the Belgian Waffle Ride (BWR) series.
BWR Arizona is the kick-off event on Saturday, March 2 for the collection of the three races, created and operated by Monuments of Cycling, that comprise an omnium format for the Tripel (yes that’s how the organisers spell it) Crown. BWR Utah will be held in Cedar City on April 6 and BWR California will complete the set on April 28, with the top pro men and women sharing equally from the minimum prize purse set at $30,000.
“It will be officially our first team event of the year. That’s definitely one of my goals for the season, to do well within the series in the Tripel Crown,” Griffin told Cyclingnews. Along with his younger brother, Cullen Easter, the two comprise the OpiCure Foundation team with support from Canyon.
“Definitely, California is the biggest one out of all three. So, hopefully the series goes well, but if not, then I have to try to have a good ride down in San Diego.”
Last year Griffin had top 10s at BWR California and BWR North Carolina, and with 15th in the inaugural BWR Arizona he finished third overall in the BWR series, which comprised the best scores from four of seven events in three countries.
He will square off with a well-rounded men’s field, led by defending champion Keegan Swenson, third-placed Torbjørn Røed, BWR California winner Alexey Vermeulen, Quadrupel series runner-up Andrew Dillman and multi-time BWR winner Peter Stetina.
Sofia Gomez Villafañe, who won the women’s inaugural BWR Arizona, returns and will face off against BWR stars Whitney Allison, Heather Jackson, Hannah Shell and Nordic Gravel series winner Geerike Schreurs.
“There’s a lot of sectors at a Belgium Waffle Ride, it’s their heritage based on the Belgian Classics, and that’s the feeling you get while you’re racing,” Griffin said about what makes these races special.
“So when a section comes up of importance, there’s a surge, a scrum, to get towards the front. Then you exit and maybe there’s a little transfer, not relaxation, where you can kind of regroup, see who’s around. And then boom, a sector. It is one after the other, all day. It could be single track, dirt, a road, a semi-’cross course.
“They are long races,…
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