Timed Segments.
This Is the Race.
You don’t have
to win the race
to win your race.
These are the raced sections. Your solo or team time across each segment decides your place.
Everything in between is neutral. A chance to recover, regroup, and think about what’s next. When the segment begins, it’s full gas.
This is where strategy matters. Push too early and pay for it later. Wait too long and the time is gone. Teams can work together and trade pulls. Solo riders have to read it right.
Go for the podium or go for your best day. Race the clock. Race your friends. Race yourself.
SEGMENT 1
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7.4 miles • +631 ft / -334 ft • 7.8% max grade
Mixed terrain: smooth and fast in places, rutted, dusty, and a little chunky in others. Deep potholes, water in the shade.
Where to make up time: the 1.3-mile paved section is primed for a time trial effort. -
Segment 1 – Insider knowledge:
These roads have never seen an official race. Until now, the only times that mattered came from weekday shootouts between locals. Consider this your shot to leave a mark on what’s always been a locals-only segment.14E - known locally as “14E for Extreme” - is where it all starts. Chunky gravel, likely riddled with potholes. It rolls straight for a moment, then kicks up hard into a set of switchbacks that separate those who’ve done the work from those who haven’t.
Out of the switchbacks, it opens into a fast straight before a left onto 14B. This is your first taste of true Steamboat mag chloride gravel - fast, smooth, but with enough South Valley gut punches to keep the heart rate pinned. You’ll drop into Pleasant Valley with big views of conserved ranchland and Rabbit Ears Pass looming ahead.
A quick right turn - watch for loose gravel on pavement - leads into a straight where it’s heads down, diesel power. This is the kind of stretch where local shootouts have set the tone. Teams should be working here. Solos will start to feel the elevation creep in.
Then the course changes. The road tightens and runs alongside the Yampa River, climbing through one of the most beautiful stretches of dirt in Routt County. Short rollers. Punchy efforts. It keeps going longer than you want it to.
The final climb before the cattle guard is exposed and unforgiving in the morning sun. Cross it and you’ll see the finish - but it’s still uphill. From there, it’s everything you’ve got. Strategic or survival. Smooth or unraveling.
Get it done and you’ve just put your name on a segment that used to belong to the locals. The first aid station is waiting - cold drinks, a reset, and a reminder that the day is just getting started.
Solo or team?
It’s your day.
Show up solo or roll in as a team of 2 or 4. Co-ed, mixed ages, all welcome.
Ride the course. Race the segments. Fastest combined time wins.
Strategy matters. When to push. When to wait. When to work together.
You’re not just racing others out here. You’re racing your best day. Maybe your riding partner. Maybe yourself.
The strongest doesn’t always win. The smartest usually does.
SEGMENT 2
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3.3 miles • +126 ft / -268 ft • 4.1% max grade
Consistent terrain: smooth and fast - this is the gravel Steamboat is known for.Where to make up time: push it on the opening switchbacks. Time won’t be made on the lower section.
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Segment 2 – Insider Knowledge
Spirited shootouts have played out on this segment for years. It climbs gradually to the high point, but it’s always hard, with a few switchbacks along the way. Don’t hold back here - if you don’t push early, you won’t get that time back on what comes next.Over the top, it opens up quickly to massive views. Fast, slightly downhill into a big left, followed by a few steep punches that can split a group or crack a solo rider.
It flattens briefly before a hard right - make the turn or you’ll meet an irrigation ditch, a barbed wire fence, and whatever’s watching from the pasture.
From there it trends downhill, but you’ll still be on the gas chasing time. This is a section where strategy beats strength. Ride it smart and keep it smooth.
The segment ends hot, heart rate maxed, just before the course splits - short course heads west back to Olympian Hall, long course hangs a left toward the red schoolhouse.
SEGMENT 3
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Only the long course will see Segment 3.
3.3 miles • +455 ft / -10 ft • 5.6% max grade
Mixed terrain: Chunky. Rutted. Potholes. Cows on course. Cow pies guaranteed.Where to make up time: No letup here. It’s a steady push to the line. When the pitch eases, that’s your chance — keep pressing.
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Segment 3 – Insider Knowledge
Only the long course will see Segment 3.After the speed of Segment 2, the day starts to settle in. The stretch to get here is no free ride - nearly 20 miles and over 2,300 feet of climbing, with pitches over 9% that have already taken something out of your legs. You might be alone now, or doing what you can to hold your group together.
Routt County Road 45, better known as Cow Creek has been ridden hard for years, and it never shows the same face twice. Conditions change, and you won’t fully know what you’re getting until race day.
It typically starts rough. Rutted, chunky, teeth-chattering washboards, sometimes soft, with cows on course and cow pies included. You’ll need to stay light on the bike and pick your line early.
As it unfolds, the road begins to smooth out, but it doesn’t get easier. It rolls over small rises and into longer, gradual climbs that keep the pressure on. This is a segment where you can push the entire way, but only if you manage your effort. When the pitch eases, that’s your moment to press and take time.
Most of the road is shaded by old cottonwoods before it opens up to the afternoon sun near the end, where the effort starts to bite a little deeper.
Watch for potholes, loose gravel from spring runoff, and pockets of mud hiding in the shade.
Then Cow Creek proper opens up, and you’ll see the road ahead: your left-hand turn up da shitty hill. There’s not much more to say about this one. Put your head down and pedal. Nothing technical. Nothing flashy. Just 1.5 miles of gravel climbing built to make the legs burn more than they already do.This is where the segment asks one last question. Did you pace yourself, or did you spend too much too early? Strategy over strength matters here. The riders who managed their effort will still have something left. The ones who went too hard will feel every pedal stroke to the top.
A cold Coke, fresh tunes, water, snacks, and a few surprises wait for you at the top. Refuel there, then get ready for the final push to the finish line.
Race day — May 31, 2026
SEGMENT 4
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350 Feet • +0 ft / -1 ft • 0.0% grade
Consistent terrain: Gravel road. Occasional marble-like loose sections.Where to make up time: Adrenaline spikes here. Spectators, loud guitars, finish line in sight. Don’t burn it too soon. Time it right, then go.
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Segment 4 – Insider Knowledge
You’ve just come down River Road with big views of Steamboat Mountain and the Yampa River rolling off to your right, one of those stretches that leaves an imprint. Then the course turns, and for maybe the first time in local history, riders roll through the back arena of the historic rodeo grounds - where cowboys and cowgirls have warmed up, thrown down, and celebrated wins for over 100 years.
One last segment presented by The Mark Satkiewicz Legacy Fund.
Mark was a leader, mentor, and the kind of guy who got you going - on the bike, at the office, and in life. And at the end of a hard ride, on the pedal home, he’d look around and ask one thing: one more?
That’s what this is.
Segment 4 is short - it’s “One More.” Around 350 feet, give or take, but by now your legs are loaded and timing matters more than power. You’ll hear it before you see it - spectators, live music, energy pulling you in. It’s easy to go too early here, so hold it together, stay smooth, then commit.
Cross the line and you’re in. The finish opens into the post-race scene - locally made burritos, cold drinks, and hay bales to rest your butt on, with live music rolling and tired legs forgotten.
Stick around. You’ve earned it.
Podium or personal best. Race the clock.
Race your friends. Race yourself.
OUR VOLUNTEERS CRUSHED IT!
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