How Two Daring, New-ish Racers Took Career-Making Wins at Dirty Kanza

From Bicycling

• Colin Strickland and Amity Rockwell took their first solo wins at the 2019 Dirty Kanza this weekend.

• They bested a deep, talented field that included former champions Ted King and Alison Tetrick.

• Strickland set a record as the race’s first sub-10-hour finisher.

In a field stacked with WorldTour talent and big-name gravel contenders, it was a pair of lesser-known riders-Colin Strickland and Amity Rockwell-who grabbed solo wins at the 2019 Dirty Kanza this weekend.

Strickland’s path to victory commenced 105 miles into the famously grueling 200-mile race that starts and ends in Emporia, Kansas. Jumping away from a group of 10, he figured his only chance was to go it alone. He also knew that while others would suffer in the heat-race-day temperatures climbed into the high 80s-it barely bothered the Texas resident.

“I train by myself a lot on days just like this,” said Strickland, 32, who was contesting his first Dirty Kanza after being denied entry through the lottery process last year. “I knew that as long as I stayed on top of my fueling and hydration I could keep going, and it was up to the guys behind to survive and reel me in.”

Based on the makeup of the chase group, that looked like a real possibility. Among the would-be pursuers was 2018 winner Ted King, as well as WorldTour pros Alex Howes, Lachlan Morton, and Peter Stetina. Yet the combination of oppressive heat and an untimely tire puncture derailed their efforts.

“The World Tour guys were taking some monster pulls,” King said. “I just had to pull the plug.”

It was a similar story for the rest of the chase group, except for Howes, Morton, and Stetina. But then Howes flatted with around 20 miles to go. Morton waited for his EF Education First teammate, while Stetina (of Trek-Segafredo) pushed on.

“I thought if we had any chance to catch [Strickland], it was with Alex,” Morton said. “I figured [Stetina] would wait as well if he was trying to win, but I guess he was just going for second.” Stetina said that wasn’t the case and that he simply kept riding steady, figuring they’d catch back on. Instead, Strickland’s gambit paid off.

“As soon as I made my move, I knew that if I could just get to the turnaround point, there was a tailwind and I’d have a chance to make it stick,” said Strickland, who flatted twice himself during a long, hard race day that began at 6 a.m.

“I’m a pretty big dude,” Strickland, who stands at 6’2” and 170 pounds, continued. “So I was just putting down as much power as I could. You have to risk losing to win. That’s how I usually win.”

The strategy worked. Strickland set a record as the race’s first sub-10-hour finisher, with a time of 9:58:49. (He averaged 273 watts for the day.) Not bad for a guy who didn’t start racing bikes until age 25, and who spends much of his time on the Red Hook Criterium circuit, where events typically last 45 minutes.

Stetina took second, about 9 minutes behind, with Howes and Morton crossing together in third and fourth respectively. Both had the same 10:18:36 finishing time-and no regrets.

“Something that long, you have to make it personal, because in the end it’s just a big mental battle,” Morton said. “The first 30-40 miles it was like a normal bike race, except on gnarly roads.

“But then you look down [at your GPS] and realize you have a very long way to go,” Morton continued. “And then everyone starts to come apart, and you realize that it’s going to be all in your mind. Which is what I had hoped for. I got what I wanted out of the experience.”

Added Howes, “I was heat stroking pretty bad. It was probably one of the worst days of my life, but also one of the coolest, most unique events I’ve ever done.”

For women’s winner Rockwell, it was bar none the most impressive day of the 26-year-old’s racing career, which began only 3.5 years ago. (Previously, she’d been a competitive runner.)

“I had such a perfect day,” Rockwell said. “No flats or mechanicals. It was so much different than last year, when my rear derailleur broke and I basically had to ride a 2-speed for 100 miles.”

After battling back and forth with 2018 champion and eventual second-place finisher Alison Tetrick, Rockwell cruised away for good with about 40 miles to go,. It was anything but easy.

“There are so many places where you can see so far in front of you, and that makes it mentally daunting,” Rockwell said. “But I just kept telling myself that everyone else is more tired than I am, and that gave me a little kick.”

The kick pushed her across the line in 11:59:53, with Tetrick next at 12:16:18, followed by third-place finisher Sarah Max in 12:29:24.

“Riding this far will always take you to interesting places, figuratively and literally,” Rockwell said. “It’s an amazing journey no matter where you are in the bunch.”

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