Gravel Race: Gravel Grinders Get Durty at 2019 Ossian Giant in New York

Saturday’s Ossian Giant Gravel Grinder kicked off New York’s three-race Durty Bikes series. The 44-mile race featured some cycling celebrities, with Curtis White (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld), Anthony Clark (🦑) and Jeremy Powers (Pactimo / Fuji / SRAM) taking the start line in Swain.

The Ossian Giant course lives up to its “gravel grinder” designation, with over 80 percent of the course traveling gravel roads. The race packs 4,400 feet of climbing into a route that included rutted technical sections on logging roads. Needless to say, cyclocross skills came in handy during the race.

The Ossian Giant Gravel Grinder field included some celebrities. 2019 Ossian Giant Gravel Grinder, New York. © Anne Pellerin

Elite Women’s Race

The Elite Women’s race got its first shake-up about 20 minutes into the race. With three riders—Rachel Andrews (Once Again Racing), Ruth “The Shermanator” Sherman (GGWDW) and Anne August (Park Ave Bike)—setting the pace, Andrews suffered a mechanical around Mile 20.

Now facing a 15-minute deficit, Andrews had to power back to the front solo after getting assistance from the Bike Loft East neutral support.

Andrews, who won last year, powered back to the lead women, and then attacked on the last climb at Mile 40. With an advantage, she raced the descent to the finish to hold her lead and get her second straight win.

Sherman (GGWDW) took second, 25 seconds back, and Anne August (Park Ave Bike) finished third, close behind.

Elite Women’s podium: Rachel Andrews, Ruth Sherman and Anne August. 2019 Ossian Giant Gravel Grinder, New York. © Anne Pellerin

Full Elite results are below in the table, and results for all categories are at the bottom of this post.

Elite Men’s Race

Clark was the early animator in the Men’s race, taking the KOM at Mile 3 and then going solo for nearly an hour. White and Mike “So Pro” Jones (Team Skyline) bridged up to the Squid Squad rider to make it a break of three.

On the technical logging road at Mile 34, White and Clark used their ’cross skills to pop Jones off their pace. The two stayed together up the last climb, meaning the race would come to a finishing sprint.

Clark proved to be White’s latest sprint victim, as the Pan-Am Cyclocross champ was the first to the line. Jones finished third to round out the podium.

Elite Men’s podium: Curtis White, Anthony Clark and Mike Jones. 2019 Ossian Giant Gravel Grinder, New York. © Anne Pellerin

Full Elite results are below in the table, and results for all categories are at the bottom of this post.

Up Next

Up next in the Durty Bikes Series is the Prattsburgh Gravel Classic this Saturday. The series includes races for 16 different categories, giving riders of all experience to participate.

Elite Women's Results: 2019 Ossian Giant Gravel Grinder

Elite Men's Results: 2019 Ossian Giant Gravel Grinder

Results for All Categories