Results: Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Keegan Swenson Win Chequamegon MTB Festival

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Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Keegan Swenson won the Chequamegon cross-country mountain bike race in Cable, Wisconsin on Saturday. The race is the fourth of six in the Life Time Grand Prix series.

During the past three years, Gomez Villafañe and Swenson, both of Midway, Utah have won all of the mountain bike races in the series, with both winning the Sea Otter Classic this year.

However, until this weekend, neither had been the champions of the ‘northwoods drag race.’

“I’m stoked to finally pull this one off,” Gomez Villafañe said. “On paper, I’ve always thought this is one of the races that suits me the most, but up until today I’ve never been able to get things together here. I always thought ‘I’ve won Sea Otter, Unbound, Leadville and Crusher, and not Chequamegon’, so I’m very excited to have ticked this one off the list.”

On Saturday, both the women’s and men’s elite races were decided in sprint finishes. In the women’s race, Gomez Villafañe, Alexis Skarda, and Savilia Blunk broke away from the lead group on the Firetower Climb, and Gomez Villafañe kicked across the line ahead the other two women.

“This summer I’ve kept things a little more chilled in order to have more freshness coming into the last third of 2024, and today was a really good sign that I’m fit and motivated,” she said. “I’m really excited for the rest of the season.”

In the men’s race, Swenson sat on the wheels of a five-man chase group for most of the 39.1-mile race after his teammate Tobin Ortenblad launched an early solo attack. Although Ortenblad was eventually brought back in the closing stages, he was still able to lead Swenson out in what proved to be another lightning-fast finale.

“It was one of our plans for him [Ortenblad] to slip away and the other guys hesitated a bit, allowing him to build up a lead of around two minutes at one point,” Swenson said. “That was a good place for me to be in as it meant I could sit in, and if the other guys wanted to chase, I’d let them chase, or if not, he’d win. That was a great situation for us to be in, and while it doesn’t always work out that way, if you keep trying, and keep pushing, eventually it works.

Swenson outsprinted Alex Wild, Sean Fincham, Payson McElveen, and Matt Beers, with Ortenblad hanging on for sixth place.

The Chequamegon win solidifies Swenson’s lead in the Grand Prix series. He is currently sitting four points ahead of Lachlan Morton (who is currently racing around Australia), with Cole Paton and Payson McElveen tied for third place.

In the women’s Grand Prix, Gomez Villafañe’s win at Chequamegon also strengthened her lead in the series. She is four points ahead of Paige Onweller, who was sixth on the day at Chequamegon. Haley Smith, who didn’t compete in Wisconsin, dropped to third overall in the series.

Gravel racing is next on deck in the Life Time Grand Prix. In two weeks, riders will tackle The Life Time Rad Dirt Fest, a 110-mile race in Trinidad, Colorado. The season wraps up with Big Sugar Gravel in Bentonville, Arkansas on October 19.

2024 Chequamegon 40 Women’s Top 10

1. Sofia Gomez Villafañe, 2:16:22
2. Alexis Skarda, 2:16:22
3. Savilia Blunk, 2:16:22
4. Gabriela Guerra, 2:20:16
5. Madigan Munro, 2:20:18
6. Paige Onweller, 2:20:40
7. Deanna Mayles, 2:20:40
8. Anna Hicks, 2:20:40
9. Melisa Rollins, 2:20:41
10. Samara Sheppard, 2:20:42

2024 Chequamegon 40 Men’s Top 10

1. Keegan Swenson, 2:00:01
2. Alex Wild, 2:00:01
3. Sean Fincham, 2:00:02
4. Payson McElveen, 2:00:02
5. Matthew Beers, 2:00:02
6. Tobin Ortenblad, 2:00:03
7. John Borstelmann, 2:00:56
8. Bradyn Lange, 2:01:53
9, Jaedon Terlouw, 2:01:53
10. Russell Finsterwald, 2:01:53

Full results here