Olympic mountain biker Jeff Kabush took a nearly five-minute lead on the final descent at Low Gap, the opening race of the Grasshopper Gravel Series over the weekend.

Former World Tour rider Peter Stetina attacked on the race's opening climb and built a healthy lead.

Both riders, however, were chased hard by Kabush, who soloed down the long descent to the finish and scooped up the top two riders with a few meters to go. Kabush kicked off for home on the last slight uphill before the finish line to win the first race of the series.

"The start was about 30 minutes and it was all uphill and pavement. It was the first time in the last few weeks I was forced to ride hard," Kabush told Cycling News on Sunday night. [Peter attacked pretty hard on that section, and Sandy, who won last year, went with him. Behind him was the top group from Northern California and Lawrence Tendam. The group rode together over the climb and into the valley until they hit the dirt. Pete's time check showed that by the time we hit the dirt, we were about 5 minutes behind. I don't think my time was that good, but I felt pretty good."

"We were rolling for about an hour and felt pretty good. The race ends with a long downhill, so I just enjoyed it and gave it my all. When I got my time check at the top of the last climb, I was still about 3 minutes behind.

Stetina lost time on the final downhill, and Florent and Kabush touched when the lead was gone.

"It was a dramatic finish and I never thought I would see the two leaders again. Sandy was catching Peter with a little over a mile to go and I caught a glimpse of them, but I didn't think I would catch them," Kabush said. [I was praying they wouldn't notice me. There was a small rise and I grabbed as much gear as I could and slingshot by them. I didn't think I could win that race, but I surprised myself. Sometimes experience and skill pay off

Gravel racing, especially in North America, has seen a huge uptick in the last year with World Tour riders turning to this discipline. Ian Boswell, formerly of Katusha and Team Sky, has announced plans to race in gravel in 2020, and interest in the Grasshopper Series has surged.

For Kabush, who has experience in all cycling disciplines, the real interest and desire to ride gravel comes from a sense of fun and community.

"It's interesting to see the headlines about gravel. It's pretty much a buzzword, but I think a lot of events will follow. For me, it's just about running and exploring." It's really fun riding off the pavement."

Kabush is likely to mix up his gravel schedule with mountain biking in the coming months.

"I'm going to do a little more throughout the year. I'm going to pick and choose what I want to do."