Words by Logan Jones-Wilkins - Photography provided by BWR
What you quickly learn when you explore the American West is that not all deserts are the same. Each arid space offers a new set of plants, rocks and terrain to play with. What is most fascinating is when you realize these desert space seem to have more diversity than the less arid landscape of the East or the Midwest. The West, in all of its grand, dusty splendor, is a patchwork of constant change.
In Arizona, this diversity is magnified, dramatized, and stylized in rich details as the state offers a full range of deserts, forests and the spaces in between. Nevertheless, of all the Arizona scenery, and the king of desert iconography the world round, is the Sonoran desert and the gigantic saguaro cactus that only grow in the confines of Southern Arizona.
The saguaro might be the most well known anomaly in the Sonoran desert, but it isn’t the only unique character. Among the giant cacti, gnarled trees and sharp Rocky Mountains wind hundreds of miles of jeep roads, single track trails, and paved roads that always seem to end in dust. Put it all together and what is left is one of the most engaging bike race courses in the world.
Those are the starting ingredients that go into Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona, the opening race of the BWR Series and the first big appointment on the United States gravel calendar as the calendar turns from February to March in the warm spring of the desert.
The course: a big swing with a long trail.
In total, the Belgian Waffel Ride Arizona course is 103 miles, 7,500 feet of climbing, and is 62% off-road. On the surface, those counting stats suggest a tame race that is relatively light on gravel, moderately hilly, and medium length. Yet when you dig into it, and more importantly once you ride it, the teeth of the course begin to show.
A big factor in the race’s difficulty is the when and where of the tarmac sections. Of the roughly 37 miles of pavement, 15 of those miles come right off the bat with two back to back paved climbs only separated by a short fast descent. The second of those climbs (6.4 miles, 4.7%) is steeper than the first and runs directly into the steepest dirt sections of the whole day making for an extended hour plus effort to start the race. Plus, the off-road riding is only just beginning.
At 4,000 feet of elevation, that second climb brings the riders to the high point of the course before immediately dropping down 1,500 feet on a technical jeep road. While the course trends downhill for 25 miles, it's far from a cruise. Six miles into the descent the route hits its next big climb with a short steep punch up a section of the Maricopa Trail (1.3 miles, 5.7%), before the downhill continues more gradually along the northern edge of the Sonoran Desert preserve.
The next six miles are the most technical terrain of the whole race with a string of moto trails providing extended sessions of rollers and whoops that present a unique challenge for gravel races. Even though it trends downhill, there are countless uphill punches mixed in with steep unorthodox drops that can force big gaps between riders of different skill levels.
The moto trail is followed up, mercifully, by a long section of simple gravel roads and sandy horse trails that connect the ranch houses and stables around the Rio Verde area, before the next paved section gives a rest at mile 40.
It is paved for the next 11 miles, which sets up the back half of the race where the terrain becomes more variable, switching quickly between drop-bar friendly single track and paved sections. Most of that single track comes from the McDowell Regional Park network of trails, a historic park that has been hosting mountain bike racing in the desert ever since the early days of cross country racing.
A series of gradual climbs and descents take on the major trails of the park with consistent sweeping turns, loose surfaces and many close calls with cacti. This section of the course proved to be decisive last year as it keeps the racing single file and exposes even the most elite racers to mistakes, as a potential slip sits around each sweeping bend.
The McDowell section makes up a total of 30 miles of racing before the race heads back north, this time taking on the same moto trails and the whoops from the front half of the race uphill. While those whoops and dips are challenging in both directions, the added climbing mixed with the heat of midday and the fatigue of the previous 85 miles.
That technical section and the race’s final climb (7 miles, 1.5%) starts at mile 89 and tops out with eight miles left to race. That is the last chance to empty the tank because those final 8 miles are a very fast, very smooth paved run to the finish line where all that’s left to do is sprint to the line and crush a post race waffle.
Looking forward to it!