The Gomez-Villafañe family has produced an impressive lineage of cyclocross racers. Carolina led the way in the mid-2010s and Sofia and Ben are now starting to come into their own during racing here in the U.S.
This past weekend was Sofia’s chance to shine in Waterloo. Her eighth-place finish at World Cup Waterloo was the latest sign the young star is starting to break through on the sport’s biggest stages.
Sofia Gomez-Villafañe, seen here racing at Trek in 2017, finished eighth at Sunday’s World Cup Waterloo. 2017 Trek CX Cup. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine
Sofia Gomez Villafañe was born in the Patagonia of Argentina in 1994 and then moved to California when she was 12. When she was in high school, Gomez-Villafañe got her U.S. citizenship. Despite holding a dual citizenship, she still chooses to race for her birth country for bike racing.
Gomez-Villafañe’s promise on the bike first showed in 2014 when, racing for Fort Lewis College, she finished second at Collegiate Cyclocross Nationals behind Kaitie Keough and in front of Coryn Rivera. The next year in Asheville she was back and came home with a Collegiate National title.
Gomez-Villafañe’s first passion is mountain biking, and she does ’cross for part of the season before taking a break to get ready for the next mountain bike campaign. This past summer, we saw her turn a number of strong results for the Stan’s Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis.
Her mountain bike success has carried over into the cyclocross season, with the 24-year-old finishing third at RenoCross and then grabbing eighth place at Sunday’s World Cup Waterloo.
Sofia Gomez-Villafañe ran to an eighth-place finish in Waterloo. 2018 World Cup Waterloo. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine
Our Dave Mable caught up with Sofia Gomez-Villafañe on Saturday in Waterloo to ask her a bit about her story and her bike racing endeavors.
Interview: Sofia Gomez-Villafañe at the 2018 World Cup Waterloo
For more from Wisconsin, see all of our coverage of the 2018 World Cup Waterloo.
