We're fresh off the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder and back in Bend, still buzzing from the five-day odyssey that is OTGG. The dust has settled—literally—but the memories burn bright. This wasn't just another gravel race. It was a full-blown adventure, elevated in prestige as one of the rare +20% points races in the Gravel Earth Series. Riders from across the world descended on Central Oregon to take on 350 miles of demanding terrain that would test both machine and spirit.
By day, pros and amateurs battled for position across moondusty climbs and technical descents. By night, they shared war stories over glass-bottle Cokes and catered meals that tasted like victory, regardless of where they'd finished.
Set against the backdrop of the towering Cascade Mountains, the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder blends high-stakes gravel racing with the spirit of summer camp. From anxious strangers sizing each other up at the start line to belly-laughing friends beside the McKenzie River, this event delivers more than results—it offers transformation.
We were honored to sponsor this year’s edition, deepening our commitment not only to the Central Oregon cycling community but to the global gravel racing scene by supporting one of the premier events in the world. But before we dive into the day-by-day drama, let's talk tech.
Rigs of Oregon Trail: Argonaut Factory Racing Edition
Every Argonaut athlete lined up with their GR3 custom-tailored for the rigors of the OTGG course. These weren't showroom bikes—they were weapons, each one fine-tuned to match its rider's racing style and the unforgiving demands of Central Oregon terrain. Here's what our crew raced, and why every choice mattered.
Cassius Anderson: The Pilot
Wheels: ENVE SES 4.5
Tires: Schwalbe RX Pro F, Schwalbe RS Pro R
Drivetrain: SRAM RED and XX1 mullet
Cockpit & Post: ENVE one-piece barstem + seatpost
Extras: CeramicSpeed OSPW + BB, Arundel cages
Built for high-speed efficiency and stability in unpredictable terrain, Cassius's setup was light, stiff, and nimble—perfect for those long accelerations through deep moondust that would swallow lesser bikes whole.
Matthew Wiebe: The Architect
Wheels: Duke Racing Wheels
Tires: Schwalbe RX Pro F and R
Drivetrain: SRAM RED XPLR 13-speed with UDH
Cockpit & Post: ENVE one-piece barstem + seatpost
Extras: CeramicSpeed OSPW + BB, Arundel cages
Matt's bike was all about durability and confidence. The SRAM 13-speed drivetrain gave him the range to tackle steep, rutted climbs with surgical precision, with plenty of cushion for bombing descents at mach 5 on the way back down.
Cassia Boglio: The Dark Horse
Wheels: Argonaut D33 with Carbon-Ti hubs
Tires: Pirelli Cinturato M up front and Pirelli Cinturato RC on the rear
Drivetrain: SRAM RED XPLR 13-speed with UDH
Cockpit & Post: ENVE one-piece barstem + seatpost
Extras: CeramicSpeed OSPW + BB, Arundel cages
Cassia's GR3 was the lightest of the three, focused on pure responsiveness and explosive acceleration in the women's elite field. Matched with her aggressive racing style and tactical mind, it was built to surprise. And it almost did—before disaster struck.
Stage One: Bend to Gilchrist — Chaos in the Dust
Picture this: riding a bucking bronco through a sandstorm at a rave, surrounded by 250 of your closest friends doing the exact same thing. That's what Stage One felt like for our racers.
This course isn't part of the typical Bend gravel canon, the roads locals know by heart. Instead, it served up a crash course in what makes Central Oregon so thrilling and brutal in equal measure. Loose, dry, unpredictable moondust blanketed the roads like talcum powder, reducing visibility to mere feet ahead. You couldn't see the rider in front of you until you were practically kissing their rear wheel.
The race detonated from the gun. The elite field wasted no time forcing selections, and by mile ten, the real racing had begun.
Cassius Anderson thrived in the chaos. Reading moves with laser precision, he surfed wheels like a seasoned pro and trusted his Schwalbe tires to hook up through blind corners that claimed lesser riders. His GR3 delivered confidence when visibility was zero and speed when gaps opened. The result? A hard-fought top-5 finish in the day's general classification.
Matt faced a different kind of battle. Despite running a similar setup, a rear derailleur issue struck at the worst possible moment—just as the field fractured on the final descent. What followed was a 30-mile solo grind into a punishing headwind. No draft, no company, just dust, willpower, and the kind of suffering that builds character. Still, he crossed the line with a hard-earned top-10 finish in one of the deepest men's fields we've ever seen.
Cassia's race nearly ended before it truly began. After her breakthrough performance at Traka was cut short by illness, she'd come to Oregon with laser focus and career-best form. She was flying—literally—when disaster struck. Following a move from none other than Sofia Gomez Villafañe, she hit a perfect storm: a low-hanging branch, a tangle of ruts, and a split-second decision that ended in a high-speed crash.
The camp thought she'd broken her arm. Medics were on scene fast, and fortunately scans ruled out serious injury. But pulling from the course meant Cassia was now out of GC contention, her Oregon Trail dreams seemingly over.
Still, she wasn't done yet. You'll hear more about her resilience in the next chapter of this story.
The Unsung Heroes: Ryan and Ben Go Full Pioneer
Our Factory Racing athletes weren't the only ones putting rubber to trail. CEO Ben Farver and Head of Sales Ryan Taylor lined up in the open categories, choosing different distances but the same race-bred GR3 platform that had carried our pros through the dust.
With local knowledge flowing through their veins and gravel bikes literally shaped by the land beneath them, both men raced like the podium was the only acceptable outcome. They didn't just represent the brand—they embodied it, grinding through the same moondusty hell as everyone else.
Both walked away with category wins.
This was personal. This was performance. This was Oregon Trail the Argonaut Way.
Why We Love the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder
There's no other week quite like this in the gravel racing calendar. Five days of hard racing, yes—but also five days of complete disconnection, recalibration, and pure, unfiltered joy.
Cell service fades to nothing. Daily routines dissolve like sugar in rain. Mornings become sacred rituals of slow coffee and breakfast shared with fellow sufferers. Midday brings the beautiful brutality of racing. Evenings offer stories that get better with each telling, mechanic support that feels like pit crew magic, shared meals that taste impossibly good, and that nightly exhale under a starlit sky that stretches forever.
It's like summer camp for adults who love bikes, dirt, and the kind of suffering that makes you feel truly alive. We're already counting down the days until next year.
Stay Tuned: The Oakridge Block and the Final Push
Next up: our recap of Stages Two and Three—the legendary Oakridge Block—drops this Thursday in our Weekly Rollout. Then we wrap the full Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder story next Tuesday with the final stages, plus a few surprises that'll remind you why this race is unlike anything else in gravel racing.
Want to catch up on the action right away? Head to our Instagram for behind-the-scenes coverage and athlete video recaps from the race. Already stoked for next year? You're not alone. Pencil it in. We'll be back, and we'll be ready.
