Belgian Waffle Ride kicked off its series of gravel events with a sweltering day of singletrack, gravel and pavement in Arizona. And the Canadians were all over it.<\/p>\n
In the men\u2019s race, Andrew L\u2019Esperance pushed Russel Finsterwald to what organizers are saying is the closest BWR finish ever after 5 hours 17 minutes of racing.<\/p>\n
On the women\u2019s side, Haley Smith battled through a turbulent women\u2019s field to take second behind a dominant Haley Batten. In a truly impressive ride, Victoria, B.C.\u2019s Holly Henry finished fifth.<\/p>\n
Andrew L\u2019Esperance goes solo<\/p>\n
While the men\u2019s race came down to a sprint finish, with not even a bike-length deciding the win, that doesn\u2019t reflect how the day played out at all. For most of the first 80 miles, it was Andrew L\u2019Esperance versus everyone. The Canadian went solo early on, forcing a dwindling pack to chase.<\/p>\n
L\u2019Esperance was initially joined by Chase Wark (Lunchbox Racing) before dropping him on a long section of singletrack. His lead built up to over four minutes at times, before Russel Finsterwald (Look) brought him back. It wasn\u2019t until the final climb that the U.S. racer was able to make contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a battle to the end. Shout out to Andrew L\u2019Esperance, I think that was the ride of the day,\u201d Finsterwald said after the sprint. \u201cHe had us chasing us all day. I think I caught him on the last climb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite L\u2019Espy\u2019s legs feeling the long solo effort, Finsterwald said his attempts to drop the Canadian before the finish line faltered.<\/p>\n
At the line, though, it was the U.S. rider that still had the kick, or the positioning. Finsterwald entered the short finish straight first and just edged out L\u2019Esperance in a high-speed sprint to take the first Belgian Waffle Ride win of 2026.<\/p>\n
Andrew L\u2019Esperance settles for second. Torbjorn Andre Roed (Trek Driftless) takes third, over four minutes back. Julien Gagne (Lunchbox Racing) and Andrew Dillman (Lunchbox Racing) round out the extended podium in Arizona.<\/p>\n
Haley\u2019s own Arizona<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s race, Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) apparently had the same course notes as L\u2019Esperance. The U.S. Olympic silver medalist took off early and never looked back. Batten\u2019s lead grew to over 10 minutes at times, with the field rarely able to make a dent in her effort.<\/p>\n
That left the field behind her to sort out positions. And that was a battle in its own right. Alexis Skarda (Socc Bicycles Q36.5) led the chase early on, with Haley Smith (Factor Racing) not far behind. By the mid-point, C\u00e9cile Lejune (Trek Driftless) had joined the effort.<\/p>\n