Dutch rider Wendy Oosterwoud (PAS Racing) and Germany's Anton Albrecht (Rembe | Rad-Net) won the elite titles on Saturday at Gravel Adventure in Poland.
The Gravel Challenge was held for a fifth year as a Gravelking UCI Gravel World Series event in Poland’s Izerskie Mountains, a dry, dusty day on a 120km course with 2,355 metres of elevation gain.
The route began from Jakuszyce with a 10km loop that included an early 2.6 km climb with an average gradient of 6.6%. Riders passed the start line again to enter a larger 52km eastern loop that included a 7.7km paved climb with gradients over 9%. A final 2km gravel climb set up a 1.6km downhill finish.
For Oosterwoud, it was her first gravel victory of the season, having finished on the podium at three other European events. She made a solo move with under 40km to go on the dirt descent from the longest climb of the day, riding at an average speed of 26.7 kph to finish in 4:29:56.
Irina Lützelschwab of Switzerland finished 2:21 back in second, while Germany's Romy Kasper was third at 6:05 back. Kasper competed at last weekend's Unbound Gravel 200, finishing seventh in the elite women's field.
"Very happy to take the win home after a hard race in the Polish Hills! A big thanks to the Factor team that were there to support me," she wrote on Instagram.
Albrecht timed his move on the 7.7km final ascent, surging away from a lead group of 15 riders. He crossed the line in 3:49:14, averaging 31.4 kph, which was just enough to hold off a late attack by the Czechia duo of Petr Vakoč and Filip Adel. Vakoč finished runner-up for a second year in a row, this time 1:10 back, while Adel crossed the line three seconds later.
Results
Position |
Rider (Country) Team |
Time |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Wendy Oosterwoud (Ned) PAS Racing |
4:29:56 |
2 |
Irina Lützelschwab (Swi) Elite Fondations Cycling Team |
0:02:21 |
3 |
Romy Kasper (Ger) PAS Racing |
0:06:05 |
4 |
Klaudia Czabok (Pol) Warszawski Klub Kolarski |
0:08:51 |
5 |
Judith Krahl (Ger) Rose Racing Circle |
0:09:32 |
6 |
Jade Treffeisen (Ger) Canyon XC Racing |
0:10:58 |
7 |
Gabriela Wojtyła (Pol) |
0:15:18 |
8 |
Clara Sommer (Aut) Tirol Women Cycling |
0:15:35 |
9 |
Sabine Sommer (Aut) |
0:19:49 |
10 |
Åshild Tovsrud (Nor) |
0:27:09 |
Position |
Rider (Country) Team |
Time Gap |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Anton Albrecht (Ger) Rembe | Rad-Net |
3:49:14 |
2 |
Petr Vakoč (Cze) |
0:01:10 |
3 |
Filip Adel (Cze) |
0:01:13 |
4 |
Daan Grosemans (Bel) |
0:01:36 |
5 |
Matyáš Fiala (Cze) |
s.t. |
6 |
Paul Voß (Ger) |
0:01:40 |
7 |
Vojtěch Neradil (Cze) |
0:02:45 |
8 |
Hannes Degenkolb (Ger) |
0:03:35 |
9 |
Lukas Malezsewski (Bel) |
0:04:22 |
10 |
Rafał Noculak (Pol) |
0:04:43 |
