Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder 2026

Five Days on the Oregon Trail

There's a reason we call Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder the best week of summer.

For five days, riders cross some of the most demanding terrain in Oregon, linking together hundreds of miles of volcanic gravel, relentless climbs, fast descents, and camp life that turns strangers into teammates. It isn't just a bike race—it's a shared adventure that leaves everyone a little more tired, a little dustier, and somehow already looking forward to doing it again.

This year was especially meaningful for us. Our entire athlete roster made the trip to Bend. Lauren De Crescenzo, Matt Wiebe, Cassius Anderson, and HaCheon Park—who traveled all the way from Korea—joined Ben, Ryan, and Joe from the Argonaut team on the start line. We also had the privilege of watching one of our newest owners, Nikos, line up on a recently delivered GR3.

The days leading into the race were exactly how we'd hoped they'd be. We sampled Central Oregon's infamous moon dust, made the final race-day adjustments to every bike, squeezed in a few relaxed rides, shared meals together, and spent evenings along the Deschutes. By the time everyone rolled into Sisters for the start, the bikes were dialed, the team was settled, and excitement had replaced any lingering nerves.

Then the racing began.

Stage One immediately reminded everyone why Oregon Trail has the reputation it does. The opening climb out of Sisters stretched on for more than an hour of washboard roads before giving way to one of the most technical sections of the entire week. Loose volcanic sand, hidden lava rocks, and constantly changing groups made every mile an exercise in focus. Riders threaded through deep sand pits, searched for clean lines, and tried to avoid both rim-breaking rocks and each other.

Eventually the route relented, trading technical survival for fast gravel miles into McKenzie. Everyone rolled into camp with a little more respect for what the next four days would demand.

Day Two traded technical riding for relentless climbing. The route wound through the Willamette National Forest before climbing to the summit of Dead Mountain—a finish whose name proved remarkably accurate. Long stretches above 14 percent, with pitches touching 20 percent, shattered any illusion that the hardest day was already behind us.

The general classification battles began to settle into place, but for almost everyone else, the objective shifted from racing each other to simply racing the mountain. Every Argonaut rider reached the summit aboard their GR3, proving once again that rough roads and steep grades are exactly the terrain the bike was built for.

By Stage Three, fatigue was beginning to show throughout the field.

The Oakridge Enduro Time Trial was only 27 miles long, with one timed climb and one timed descent, but it became a turning point in the race. Some riders chose to shorten their event, while others simply tried to preserve enough energy to reach Bend two days later.

Our riders had other plans.

The short chainstays and confident handling of the GR3 came alive on the descent. Rider after rider erased time to competitors ahead, with some closing nearly four-minute gaps in only thirteen minutes of descending. By the end of the day, Nikos had firmly established himself as the leader of his category. Ben remained inside the top ten. Lauren and Cassius continued mixing it up near the front of the elite fields. Matt, still racing while recovering from a complex collarbone injury earlier this season, wisely paced himself for the bigger days still ahead. Ryan made the difficult but smart decision to step down to the Settler course after the brutality of Stage Two. And HaCheon, whose first gravel riding on his GR3 came this week, somehow never stopped smiling—whether riding his bike or standing knee-deep in the glacial river after the stage.

Then came the Queen Stage.

Nearly 11,000 feet of climbing over 80 miles would decide the race. Fourteen miles of climbing greeted riders almost immediately before one of the finest descents of the week rewarded their effort with sweeping mountain views and pavement smooth enough to fully trust the bike beneath them.

The reward was brief.

The route pointed upward on and off again for hours before finally delivering everyone into Gilchrist. Riders rolled into camp exhausted, conversations became quieter than usual, and lights went out early. There wasn't much left to give.

One stage remained.

The final ride back to Bend looked straightforward on paper, but Oregon Trail saved one last challenge for the opening climb. Groups exploded under attacks from the race leaders before reforming into small packs navigating dusty doubletrack and familiar Central Oregon roads.

The racing looked more like a fast road classic than a gravel endurance event, with tactics and group dynamics suddenly becoming just as important as fitness.

Cassius Anderson delivered the performance of the day. After making the early selection, he spent the day racing alongside former WorldTour professionals and the race leader, Cam Jones, aboard an experimental 32-inch-wheeled Scott prototype. Holding more than 300 watts for much of the day, Cassius stayed in contention until the finish, sprinting to an impressive third place on the stage and confirming what we've known for a long time: he's becoming one of the strongest stage racers in American gravel.

By week's end, Nikos stood atop his category by more than two hours in his first Oregon Trail aboard his new Argonaut. Every member of our team reached Bend with stories worth telling, challenges overcome, and a healthy amount of dust still packed into every corner of their bikes and lungs.

No overall victory came home with us this year.

But Oregon Trail has always been about more than the top step of the podium.

It's about watching teammates push through impossible climbs. It's about seeing riders from opposite sides of the world become friends around camp dinner. It's about the shared suffering, the laughter that somehow comes after it, and the satisfaction of finishing something that seemed impossible just days before.

That's why we keep coming back.

We're still recovering, but we're already counting the days until next summer.