QUILCENE — It wasn’t as muddy as some past years, but the mountains were just as big and grueling as hundreds of gravel bike riders took to the steep hills and wild forests in the mountains above Quilcene last weekend for the annual Bon Jon Pass Out leg of the Gravel Unravel.
The Gravel Unravel is a series of two gravel bike races. The next race is the Why-Not-Chee on July 26 at Wynoochee Lake south of Olympic National Park. People can register for that race at www.GravelUnravel.com.
The race began and ended in Worthington Park in Quilcene and was broken up into three courses — Short, 32 miles and 4,000 cumulative feet of elevation gain; medium, 55 miles and 6,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain, and a brutal 80-mile-long course with 9,000 cumulative feet of elevation gain.
Conditions were good in this year’s race, though cyclists did have to ride through cloud and fog at high elevations. In past years, some of the races have been held in deluges and in one year, it was held in the middle of the worst heat wave in the Pacific Northwest in 100 years.
Amazingly, despite the length of the long course, that race actually came down to a near-photo finish. Tyler Klansnic of Lake Forest Park won with a time of 4 hours, 54 minutes and 34 seconds. Just two seconds behind him at 4:54:36 was Ben Shauland of Seattle. Joey Gish of Sequim was third at 5:13:40.
The medium course winner was a local rider, Forest Hietpas of Sequim, who finished in a time of 3:23:50. He won by more than 5 minutes over Evan Gray of Bainbridge Island. The short course winner was Dan Brewer of Silverdale in a time of 2:31:27.
The women’s long course winner was Laurel Smith of Seattle in a time of 7:00:04. The women’s medium course winner was Kim Sweet of Poulsbo in a time of 4:05:07. She was actually racing in the master’s (age 45-plus) category, beating several riders more than 15 years younger racing in the open category.
The women’s short course winner was Jamie Rogers of Port Townsend in a time of 2:31:15.
Complete results can be found online at www.tinyurl.com/GravelUnravel2025.
A list of winners in each category:
Gravel Unravel 2025
Long course
Overall — Tyler Klansnic, Lake Forest Park, 4:54:34.
Women — Laurel Smith, Seattle, 7:00:04.
Masters (45-plus) — Matt Albee, Bainbridge, 5:21:36.
Masters Women — Mailasu Bai, PA, 7:32:47.
Juniors (Under 18) — Willem Plumhoff, Montrose, Colo., 5:10:12.
Super Masters (60-plus) — Tony Lee, Sequim, 5:44:20.
Super Masters Women — Sara Graham, Gig Harbor, 8:12:13.
Single-speed bike — Eric Melby, Richland, 5:38:44.
Medium course
Overall — Forest Hietpas, Sequim, 3:23:50.
Women — Kelsey Cohan, Tacoma, 4:18:43.
Juniors (Under 18) — Teo Gaffney, Bainbridge, 5:05:34.
Masters (45-plus) — Aaron Locke, Federal Way, 3:37:54.
Super Masters (60-plus) — Jeff Brain, Bonney Lake, 5:00:05.
Masters Women — Kim Sweet, Poulsbo, 4:05:07 (first overall among women).
Super Masters Women — Ann Thomas, Portland, Ore., 4:48:24.
Short course
Overall — Daniel Brewer, Silverdale, 2:31:27.
Women — Jamie Rogers, Port Townsend, 2:31:15.
Masters (45-plus) — Cliff Hales, PA, 2:58:49.
Masters Women — Emiko Atherton, Seattle, 2:59:33.
Juniors (Under 18) — Isaac Hales, PA, 2:52:17.
Super Masters (60-plus) — Kevin Johnson, Silverdale, 2:51:05.
Super Masters Women — Gay Hunter, PA, 4:02:36.
Gravel Unravel riders battle through cloud and fog high in the Olympic Mountains in Saturday’s race west of Quilcene. From left, long course masters riders Jeff Kline (370) and Eric Pan (355) try to keep up with super masters racer Tony Lee of Sequim. Lee ended up winning his category. (Dan James)
Tyler Klansnic of lake Forest Park wins the 80-mile Gravel Unravel race crossing the finish line at Worthington Park in Quilcene just two second ahead of Ben Schauland of Seattle.
