Sofia Gomez Villafane and Keegan Swenson Win and Set Course Records at the Life Time Crusher in the Tushar presented by The Creamery
600 riders tackle 10,400 ft of climbing over 69.9-mile course; Gomez Villafane and Swenson continue to lead the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda overall
Sofia Gomez Villafane and Keegan Swenson won and set course records at the Crusher in the Tushar presented by The Creamery, a gravel cycling event owned and produced by Life Time, which welcomed a field of approximately 600 riders representing 37 states and eight countries to Utah’s Tushar Mountains outside of Beaver, Utah on Saturday.
The event features a 60/40 split of gravel to tarmac and brings riders to explore the stunning backcountry of Utah’s little-known Tushar Mountains and Fishlake National Forest. Racers tackled 10,400’ of climbing over 69 miles on the Crusher course, which serves as one of the most challenging gravel races in the world and the only one with a true mountain top finish.
With the women’s mass starting five minutes before the pro men start the leaders all hit the dirt together at mile ten. From there in the men’s race Swenson took a dominant lead with Peter Stetina not far behind despite a dropped chain early on. Matt Beers worked hard to stay with the leaders and was on Stetina’s wheel for most of the race. In the end Keegan Swenson set a course record with a time of 3:56:42 and was dominant from the start of the race.
When the women hit the dirt Sofia Gomez Villafane put down the hammer and was leading by two minutes over the Col ahead of Lauren De Crescenzo. Going up the switchbacks of the Col ‘de Crush Gomez Villafane led De Crescenzo and Flavia Oliveira Parks by over five minutes. The lead group of women were all close throughout the day powering through hot conditions and steep climbs. Sofia Gomez Villafane set a course record with a time of 4:49:43.
“The weather was amazing, this has to be the best year we’ve had weather wise. I could tell from the get-go that a course record would be set today, based on how fast the men started off the line and it was exciting to hear that both Keegan and Sofia took down the previous records. The depth of the field is heads and tails better than it’s ever been and that’s really cool to see,” said Burke Swindlehurst, Race Founder. “I had the honor of riding this year, and I finally got to reap what I’ve sewn. I kept thinking ‘I’ve had this coming.”
2023 Crusher in the Tushar Results
Women’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Sofia Gomez Villafane | Heber City, Utah | 30 | 4:49:43 |
| Lauren De Crescenzo | Denver, Colo. | 32 | 4:52:26 |
| Flavia Oliveira Parks | Pleasanton, Calif. | 41 | 4:53:12 |
Men’s Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Keegan Swenson | Heber City, Utah | 29 | 3:56:42 |
| Peter Stetina | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 35 | 4:02:36 |
| Matthew Beers | Cape Town, ZAF | 29 | 4:04:53 |
Non-Binary Race Results
| Name | City | Age | Time |
| Emily ROBBINS | Henrico, Va. | 48 | 6:11:55 |
Full race results can be found here.
