Gallery: The Mid South

Racers huddled around a firepit in the pre-dawn rain, awaiting an 8:00am start. Photo: Wil Matthews

Steady rains the night before and in the hours before the scheduled start left the streets of Stillwater, OK, flooded in areas. Photo: Wil Matthews

Racers huddled for shelter from the rain as start was delayed by 30 minutes to allow a nearby lighting storm to pass. Photo: Wil Matthews

Mid South race organizer Bobby Wintle was fated with the extra complication of the coronavirus pandemic which included rapidly-changing guidelines and public opinion. Photo: Wil Matthews

Racers and their entourage scrambled to get to the line, to make the delayed start, once weather started to clear. Photo: Wil Matthews

The mystique of gravel was on display at The Mid South — where it doesn’t matter if you have a Red Bull logo on your helmet or just bull horns — everyone is in the same group at the start. Photo: Wil Matthews

Different gravel events have different strategies on neutral race support. SRAM NRS was on hand before the race, but once on course, riders were left to their own except for a support station at the midway point. Photo: Wil Matthews

The group hit the dirt just two miles into a 100+ mile day. Photo: Wil Matthews

Pete Stetina prepared to dismount to cross obstacles after leading the way across an otherwise out-of-use bridge in the early miles. Photo: Wil Matthews

The amateur riders found The Mid South to be anything but a straight-forward ride. Photo: @photosuze

Grass, mud, bike, rider all looked the same. Photo: @photosuze

The Oklahoma landscape had a Belgian look about it in the opening miles. Photo: Wil Matthews

Colin Strickland crossed another sketchy, out-of-use bridge on course. Strickland said that the cold and wet conditions gave him difficulty. Photo: Wil Matthews

Masters cyclocross champion Jonathan Baker slogged through the mud to third place overall. Photo: Wil Matthews

Pete Stetina attacked after a stream crossing in the race, in the red, Oklahoma mud. Photo: Wil Matthews

Despite Payson McElveen’s searching, there wasn’t much difference in one line from the next in the Oklahoma mud. Photo: Wil Matthews

Sixty miles in, Payson McElveen found himself chasing leader Peter Stetina as the lead group began to come apart. Photo: Wil Matthews

Despite the conditions, Payson McElveen covered 104 miles in just 6:23 to take the win. Photo: Wil Matthews

Payson McElveen’s winning Trek Checkpoint, equipped with SRAM eTap and ZIPP 303 tubeless wheels. Photo: Wil Matthews

Payson McElveen, and many of the elite riders, chose wider, file-tread tires despite the mud. Photo: Wil Matthews

Second-place Colin Strickland (left) with winner Payson McElveen. The two represent a growing model of ambiguous team dynamics in gravel events, as they’re independent racers sharing some of the same sponsors. Photo: Wil Matthews

Peter Stetina finished just off the podium at The Mid South. “There’s glories and there’s stories, and today was all about the stories.”

Hannah Finchamp approached the finish after almost eight hours of mud.

Hanna Finchamp crossed the finish line as the overall women’s winner in her first gravel race with a time of 7:49. Photo: Wil Matthews

Hanna Finchamp after her finish. Photo: Wil Matthews

Hanna Finchamp’s winning Trek Checkpoint with SRAM eTap and ZIPP Service Course 30 tubeless wheels. Photo: Wil Matthews

Hanna Finchamp’s Garmin displayed normalized power of just over 200 watts for the 100+ miles. Photo: Wil Matthews

Past Mid South winner Amanda Nauman at staging. Photo: Wil Matthews

Nauman with race director Bobby Wintle after getting second place at the 2020 Mid South

Second-place Amanda Nauman. Photo: Wil Matthews

Tour Divide winner Alexandra Houchin, left, with Susan Beth Sloan. Alexandra rode her usual single-speed fat tire bike from Chumba. Photo: @photosuze

The 2020 Mid South was a very muddy affair. Photo: Wil Matthews

Tibco rider Kristen Faulkner said, “this is my surprised-as-f*** face,’ following her third-place finish. Photo: Wil Matthews

The Mid South handed out its own locally-brewed IPA at the finish. Photo: Wil Matthews