Former U.S. road racing champions Alex Howes and Ruth Winder topped the snow and mud-covered gravel races of the Old Man Winter Rally on Sunday.

The event, held in Boulder, Colorado, returned to a mass start format after the pandemic-affected 2021 event and featured a significant percentage of running on the 100 km route.

The race was timed on two sections of the route, covering almost the entire 100 km, with only the treacherous descent of Sunshine Canyon and a short ride through the streets of Boulder omitted midway.

Howes, a member of the World Tour's EF Education Easy Post, took the men's lead with a total time of 3 hours 8 minutes 41 seconds. Meanwhile, Winder, who retired from road racing last year, began her career in gravel and took the top spot for the women with a time of 3 hours 39 minutes 01 seconds.

Howes was fastest on the long climb to the Rowena Trail, finishing on a two-mile course that was covered in thick snow and almost impossible to run. He wore sturdy winter boots on his feet and kept his bottle cages off his frame.

"I hated it, but I loved Rowena," Howes said in an interview with organizers.

"My time at Rowena was the slowest I've ever done. I thought it was relatively short, but two miles in deep snow with a bike on your back really slows you down."

"It's a little bit of a challenge," Howes said in an interview with the organizers.

"Living here, I wouldn't say there are a thousand different ways to talk about snow, but you learn what you can ride and what you can't.

Winder, on the other hand, said he used his "roadie skills" to stay in the lead group for most of the climb to Rowena and to win the fast section at the end of the race. However, the gravel in the middle stages of the race was a valuable experience for the first-time gravel rider.

"I haven't ridden this hard since the World Championships in September, but it was fun.

"I was like, 'If I make it to Rowena, all I have to do is hike.' I tried to run, but I only lasted five seconds. I wasn't a runner and I'm still not a runner."