Brett Stepanik of Madison, Wis., began 2022 in grand fashion. Stepanik, 36, became the first known person to complete the Ozark Gravel DOOM route created by Andrew Onermaa, a founder of Ozark Gravel Cyclists.
Stepanik completed the 376-mile route in three days, 12 hours and nine minutes.
The route begins at the Oark General Store and features 41,375 feet of elevation gain in an extremely remote section of the Ozark National Forest. The route averages 110 feet of elevation gain or loss per mile. Riders are either climbing or descending; there aren’t a lot of chances for recovery.
As if the route weren’t daunting enough, Stepanik completed it during a particularly chilly week. Temperatures dipped into the low teens at night and barely topped freezing during the day.
Oh, and he did this all on a single speed.
Stepanik owns the endurance bikepacking single speed triple crown, clocking fastest known times on the Arizona Trail, Tour Divide and Colorado Trail. He also set the FKT for single speed at the Arkansaw High Country Race in October.
