Who’s Registered?

There are some big names attending this year’s edition. Former CX world champion Lars Boom will be on-hand to take North American dirt samples and compare to that of Belgium soil. Canadian national CX champ Maghalie Rochette will be there. Colin Strickland—Red Hook Crit-destroyer-turned gravel king—will be on-hand according to BikeReg. (Which brings to mind an interesting “State of the Sport” question considering he’s showing up to Rasputitsa but not the country’s largest fixed-gear event, Mission Crit, this weekend).

Is it a ride or a race?

We debated this question last year. The majority of the team decided it was more fun to stop for whiskey shots on the roadside than try to compete with Anthony Clark and Kevin Bouchard-Hall. The good news is that the organizers this year have arranged starting pens so that the racers don’t get clogged behind the riders in the melee at the start. Here are the pens that all attendees can self-select into.

The Masochists: For those that love to suffer Fur Bibs ONLY – If you did not receive a fur bib please refrain from lining up in this corral. The Mullet Posse: Business in the front, party in the back -Estimated 2-3 Hour Finish Time The Ehhh Crowd: Not sure where to line up? Ehh here is good. Estimated 3-4 Hour Finish Time The Feedzone Cartel: In this for each and every feed zone. Estimated 4-5 Hour Finish Time The Broomwagon Grand Marshalls: No definition necessary. Estimated 5+ Hour Finish Time Riders must line up in corrals by 8:45 am.

The Stats on Rasputitsa

Registration has gone through the roof in recent years, and Rasputitsa is one of the most popular gravel events on the east coast. According to BikeReg, more than 1452 peopler registered for this year’s edition, up from 1,315 last year. Last year Rasputitsa registrations reached 1,315 riders—this is 2x the entire racing membership of CRCA)—and women’s ridership has increased 141% since 2016.

