Race Report: Keegan Swenson & Sofia Gomez Villafane Take Double Wins at Epic Rides Whiskey Off-Road in Arizona

May 1, 2023 at 13:38
by Epic Rides  
Words and Photos by Eddie Clark

The 18th edition of the Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott, Arizona was another one for the record books. Having a great time on Whiskey Row was pretty much a guarantee with a 15 mile fun ride, 30 and 50 mile amateur races, some of the fastest pro mountain bike racing in the states, 200+ miles of readily accessible trails, vendor booths and demos, beer gardens and a standout day of free concerts headlined by Green Sky Bluegrass.

For pro mountain bike racers $2,000 in cash primes were up for the taking with the El Yucateco Hot Sauce Fat Tire Crit in downtown Prescott on Friday evening. Saturday saw amateur racers tackling the 30 or 50 miles courses, and for the days main entertainment over 5000 tickets were registered for the evenings free community concerts on the courthouse square. On Sunday pro racers gave it their all on the 50 mile backcountry course where a cash purse of $30,000 was on the line for the pro men and women. An impressive display or fitness and skill saw Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomex Villafane winning both the Fat Tire Crit and Backcountry races.

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A key rule to the Fat Tire Crit required the minimum tire widths to be greater than 1.5 inches.

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Pro women lined up as the start counter winds down.

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Last year's winner, Alexis Skarda, and Sofia Gomez Villafane kept the pace high at the front early on ensuring the field and challengers were quickly dispatched.

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No shortage of crowd sourced encouragement.

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Hannah Otto and Haley Smith show their cards on the front with Prescott's iconic Thumb Butte in the distance.

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First win of the weekend for Sofia.

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Pro Men get on their way.

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Russell Finsterwald, 'Finsty', took a mid crit flier, which generated a substantial reaction from the pack to reel him back in lest he ride away with the rest of the primes and the win.

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Keegan Swenson proved he's the man to beat on the north american mountain bike scene.

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Braden Lange on the front.

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It wouldn't be a fat tire crit without Ryan Standish leading the men in his jorts.

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Keegan unleashed a blistering 1400+ watt last lap attack for the win.

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With Keegan off the front, it became a literal scrum for second place.

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Pro Women's podium.
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Pro Men's podium.

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Six waves of amateur racers rolled out for the 30 and 50 (mile) proof races on Saturday morning.

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Proper bacon, bourbon and Fireball supplements at the White Rock aid station.
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Empty finisher pint glasses await to be filled after the racing is done.

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And a shady green grass courtyard made for relaxing post race naps.

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Headliner Green Sky Bluegrass put on an excellent show!

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Biggest crowd ever for the Whiskey Off-Road community concerts.
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It wouldn't be a Saturday night in Prescott without some boot scooting on Whiskey Row.

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Pro men head out for 50 miles of backcountry singletrack and a hot day on the bike.

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Keegan Swenson led the field into the first singletrack with Andrew L'esperance and Finsty on his wheel

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Adrew L'esperance bringing the speed to the races this year.

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Alexis Skarda was the first woman to hit the singletrack.

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Keegan and Cole Paton gapped the field after the first big climb.

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Ryan Standish on the new section of singletrack and in fifth place at just over half way into the race.

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Brian Matter staying focused on the singletrack.

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With temps in the low 90's, Keegan put himself in the hurt locker to earn a repeat win.

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Andrew L'esperance just edged out Howard Grotts for a finish line wheelie to claim third place.

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8th place for former olympian Tod Wells, and a face that shows just how hard it was out there.

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The thrill of victory for Sofia Gomez Villafane, and the agony of defeat for Alexis Skarda.

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Pro Women's podium.
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Pro Men's podium.

Full Results Here

Author Info:
epic-rides avatar

Member since Dec 23, 2013
45 articles

4 Comments
  • 2 0
 Looks like a good time. Keegan is untouchable this past year!
  • 2 0
 Great event! Look forward to this one every year.
  • 1 0
 Bummer this didn't make the front page. Looks like a lot of effort went into the write-up.
  • 1 0
 Great pics!







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