ELKINS -- Ethan Overson of Boulder, Colo., took home the overall top spot in a time of 3 hours, 34 minutes and 7 seconds, on a hot and rugged course at the second Highlands Gravel Classic on Saturday.
The small farm course was a large piece to the puzzle that will finish at the world championships in Veneto, Italy, for some of the participants at the event .
Gravel cyclists from 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico competed for the chance of representing Team USA at the UCI Gravel World Championships. The course was a unique trek as it is the only true gravel course in the U.S.
Overson said he found the course to be difficult but rewarding.
"It was super chunky, lots of steep kickers, and it all kind of just adds up with elevation," Overson said. "You know, you end up doing a little over 6,000 feet of elevation in 60-something miles, so it's a lot in that time frame."
Bentonville cyclist Crystal Anthony took home the top prize in the women's bracket with a time of 4:09:13.
"This is my first UCI gravel win though, so that was exciting," she said. "I'm glad that we have one here in my home state."
Anthony said she and another rider were challenging each other for the lead for most of the race .
"Early on I was with one other woman, Raelynn Moss, who ended up finishing second," Anthony said. "We rode probably a good two-thirds of the race together. Then kind of went back and forth. Each of us got a little gap here and there and then I was able to pull away in the last third of the race. It was on one of the climbs in the second half of the race.
"I didn't really attack. I just kind of rode my own pace and ended up getting a gap. Then I didn't see her again. So I was kind of road scared. I didn't know where she was."
Most of the cyclists noted the start of the race was pretty fast. Local participant Johnny Purvis of Fayetteville, who finished fifth overall, said he felt like it played into his strategy.
"I was up there in it kind of from the start," Purvis said. "I kind of like it when it's faster just to separate or just kind of figure out who wants to ride, and with the hills [that] can happen pretty fast."
Spain was well=represented in the event as Freddy Ovett finished strong in the first group of three with a time of 3:34:21 14 seconds behind Overson.
"Yeah, Ethan just committed fully once we entered the grass, and that was that, really," Ovett said after the race. "He really went all in, and I just kind of accepted my fate as a finishing third. Three and a half hours of bloody hard racing. We're competitive guys, we always want to win"
The top 25% of finishers in 10 men's and 10 women's age groups qualified for the world championships in early October.
"This is an incredible opportunity for age group athletes to compete side-by-side with some of the best gravel racers in the world on courses that boast 95% gravel surfaces, which is very rare in this sport," said Bruce Dunn, the race promoter.
Oakley Griffin of Fayetteville watches other racers finish after he crossed the finish line at the Highlands Gravel Classic held on Northwest Arkansas rural roads, with the start and finish area near Goshen. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Mark Myles of Kentucky nears the finish line Saturday at the Highlands Gravel Classic cycling race held on rural roads in Northwest Arkansas. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)