Florida Gravel Grinder series #1 + Time Trial – Cary Forest Grind – Bryceville, Fl

The fourth annual Florida Gravel Grinder series kicked off in the Northern region of the state near Jacksonville but it kinda felt like the Northern US as a cold front blew in and lowered the temperatures about 35 degrees overnight. The area has seen a ton of rain this season so much so that sections of the course that had been used in previous years had to rerouted and even much of the parking areas were too wet to use but thanks to the efforts of the forest service and SORBA Jax club adjustments were made and the racers were treated with a top notch loop for both days of the opener, many thanks! Champion Cycling was also on hand as the round sponsor and they handed out lot’s of prizes to the medalists, many thanks to the champion crew!

The 14 mile loop did not however have the infamous sand section which made for some super fast average speeds and during the individual time trial it showed with a 23.6 mph speed logged by Carlos Pacheco along with Nicole Blessing claiming the top female TT time with a 20.1 mph speed and cracking the top ten overall. The sprint distance riders would do two laps and the marathon distance was set for four laps.

Sunday the sun came out and although it was colder it seemed warmer as the wind was very light and the riders experienced near perfect conditions. Carlos Pacheco again topped the men’s field with a time of 2:31:04 over four laps and Stacy Addicott took home the women’s purse money with a time of 2:50:51. Florida Gravel sponsored the primes for the fastest lap in the women’s sprint open women and the sprint Clydesdale classes.

Congrats to all of winners and thanks to all of the racers that came out and also many thanks to all of the series sponsors!