Russell Finsterwald wins Belgian Waffle Ride overall on banner Trek gravel weekend

Russell Finsterwald sprinted away from Daxton Mock to win Belgian Waffle Ride Montana on Sunday, notching his first win on a Trek bike as a member of Trek Driftless, and completing a Trek 1-2 with the Bear National Team rider.

With the win, Finsterwald also took the BWR series overall for 2025, after taking second at BWR Arizona and eighth at BWR California. The achievement highlighted a banner gravel weekend for Trek athletes, which included four Top 6 finishes for Trek riders at SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs.

Finsterwald only opted to race Belgian Waffle Ride Montana two weeks before the race. He did the math, and found out he was in contention to win the overall with a big performance. The decision to do the race in Bozeman then became a no-brainer.

“I think Belgian Waffle Ride courses are by far the best courses we race all season long,” Finsterwald said after the race. “It kind of embodies what gravel is to me, and that’s doing a big day on the bike, and it’s a wide variety of terrain. Sometimes it’s good to feel like you’re on the wrong bike. That’s a lot of fun to me when you’re in some sections where you’re kind of under biking.”

Sunday’s race was long and difficult — well suited to his sensibilities. Finsterwald spent much of it chasing down a breakaway, ultimately making his winning moves in the last 10 miles of the 115-mile race. With six miles of singletrack in that stretch, his mountain bike skills came in handy, and he and Mock formed a select duo that picked off riders one by one and ultimately came to battle for the win amongst themselves.

Finsterwald doesn’t consider himself much of a sprinter, but he launched with roughly 500 meters to go when he caught wind of third-place Lance Haidet making up ground towards them. 

“I launched a little earlier than I typically would in a sprint. And, luckily for me, Dax double cramped,” Finsterwald said with a laugh. “Not so lucky for him. I was able to grab the win, and I’m pretty stoked on it.”

Despite the painful finish, Mock also impressed in the event. The 24-year-old is in the midst of a breakout gravel season, with wins at Valley of the Tears, and in the singletrack and gravel events at Epic Bike Fest, not to mention seventh at Belgian Waffle California. Mock and Luke Mosteller (fourth in Montana) have been leading the charge for Bear’s gravel program.

“Both Daxton and Luke had really great days,” Finsterwald said. “Luke was the last guy to get caught from the breakaway. He was one of the stronger riders out there all day. So it’s really cool to see him just going for it. And it sounded like him and Dax kind of had that as a team tactic, so it’s really cool to see the younger guys bringing some cohesion and wanting to race collectively as a team.

“And then obviously Dax has had a great season as well. I’ve seen him down training in Tucson all winter, so he’s got his head in the game.”

The next major race on the gravel calendar is the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, one of the hardest races of the year, and personal fav for Finsterwald. The Colorado native grew up watching the race, and will do everything he can to land on the podium on Aug. 9. 

“I’ll go home and start putting time on the drop bar Supercal,” Finsterwald said. “I’ve been one of the last guys not on the podium the last four years. And being a Colorado race, it means a lot to me, so I’d really, really like to get on the podium. I’m looking forward to the next six weeks at home, training, and getting ready for that.”

Steamboat Springs was the site of one of Trek’s best collective gravel efforts of the year. Four riders placed Top 6, with former Bear rider Cobe Freeburn taking third in the pro men’s event and Paige Onweller taking fifth in the pro women’s event to land on podiums. Haley Hunter Smith and Torbjørn “Toby” Andre Røed (who took second in 2024) just missed the podium, each taking sixth.

Freeburn is yet another thriving Bear-associated rider, with wins at Big Horn Gravel, and in the road and mountain bike races at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in Durango. He finished just seven seconds back of the win at SBT, and dueled Keegan Swenson to the line in the battle for second place. 

“I really enjoyed the fast tactical racing and the circuit format,” Freeburn wrote on Instagram after the race. “Overall I couldn’t be happier with how the last month has been. By far the best race performances I have ever put together. Happy to say I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.”

Røed was the fastest rider in the chase group, finishing 5:33 back of the winner in sixth. Like Røed, Smith lost contact with the lead group in the last third of the race, but both riders have plenty of reason to be proud of their efforts in hot, fast conditions. Smith is coming off a successful and rejuvenating trip to Kenya, where she won the Migration Gravel Series. She’s finding her groove again after battling illness throughout 2024.

“The most damaging aftershock of racing through illness all last year has been a loss of confidence. I didn’t just forget who I was — I learned to be someone else. I’m finally starting to unlearn those limiting beliefs, and we’re seeing progress. Feels good!” Smith wrote after the race. “[Sixth at SBT GRVL] isn’t shiny, but it was a massive personal step for me. I’m honestly stoked on that ride! Thanks everyone for a great weekend.”

Onweller and Smith rode together for much of the day, with Onweller powering away late to secure her podium spot. She has now finished fifth at SBT GRVL for three years in a row, but her effort this year was particularly special. Less than three weeks before the race, she suffered a knee injury in a bad crash during training. She bounced back to give another vintage Ironwoman effort.

“Really proud of a fifth place finish given my less than ideal preparations for this event,” Onweller wrote after the race. “I knew racing on the third day arriving to altitude was the worst scenario, especially with the new course, but it’s what my situation allowed for this year. You don’t make excuses, you just show up with gratitude to suffer, or so I repeated in my head.”

With strong performances across the board, Trek Driftless and Bear National Team are thriving in the heart of the gravel racing season. Keep your eyes on this crew in Leadville in just a few weeks.