Somebody up above must have been feeling generous, because the red clay roads around Stillwater, Oklahoma USA showed up firm and fast this weekend, and two riders showed everyone else that come hell or high-water they were there to battle over every dusty mile of the USA gravel season opener.
Cobe Freeburn and Sofia Gomez Villafane took the elite wins at The Mid South gravel race on Friday in Stillwater, with fast ‘n dry conditions pushing the racing toward bunch sprint finishes in both the men’s and women’s categories.
It was a different kind of Mid South, too. This year marked the first time organizers put the 100-mile elite fields into their own dedicated Friday race, pulling them away from the traditional Saturday mega-mass start. Out here on the dirt red plains of Oklahoma, change doesn’t come easy for the locals, but they pulled this one off without a hitch.
In the men’s race, Freeburn shared the front with Cam Jones and Michael Garrison as the trio rolled toward the new Block 34 finish line. The 24 year-old American timed his sprint perfectly, edging out Jones on the line to open Trek-Driftless’s win account for 2026 with a final time of 4:31:54. Garrison crossed three seconds back to take third place.
Over in the women’s race, the sprint was wider and wilder. Villafane, Geerike Schreurs, Cecily Decker, Paige Onweller, and Lauren Stephens all came together to sprint for gravel glory, with previous winner Lauren De Crescenzo, Cecile Lejeune, Emily Newsom, and Sarah Lange just behind.
Villafane, 31, powered across the finish first to prevailed in her Mid South debut, likely benefiting from having her Specialized teammate Schreurs to lead out the sprint. It was Villafane’s second consecutive win in as many weeks with a final time of 5:18:44.
43 year-old Matt Stephens won Saturday’s 100-mile open race, finishing solo in 5:04:39, followed by Patrick Lemieux (5:06:02) and Alexander Gass (5:08:32).
Teenagers swept the 50-mile race podium, with 17 year-old Ben Warders taking top honors in a three-up sprint against Sawyer Schaeffer and Marshall Davis, who finished in that order.
This year the Oklahoma plains gave the 2500+ Mid South participants nothing to complain about – especially after the 2025 race was cancelled due to wildfires. Sometimes mother nature just cooperates, making this gravel season opener well worth the wait.
2026 The Mid South gravel results HERE
Photo Credit: Facebook/midsouthgravel
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