Femke Markus (SD Worx-Protime) charged from a four-rider sprint to win the women’s Category of Gravel Grit 'n Grind in Sweden, part of the Trek UCI Gravel World Series. British rider Toby Perry (Classified Ridley Factory Team) flew solo to win the men’s race.
Markus emerged from the front of the women’s lead pack in the finale just three seconds ahead of Heidi Franz (Lifeplus-Wahoo), with a winning time of 4:30:28. Klara Sofie Skovgård Hansen (PAS Racing) took third ahead of 2024 Unbound Gravel 200 winner Rosa Klöser (MAAP x Rose).
The 24-year-old Perry earned a solid win with a 2-minute margin to his nearest competitors, finishing in 3:53:38. From a pack of 10 riders in the lead chase group, Tijmen Eising (BEAT Cycling) sprinted ahead of jasper Ockeloen (Sockeloen.com) for second place. Finishing at the back of the pack in 11th was Mattia De Marchi (enough cycling collective).
A full three days of racing at the Swedish event included a time trial and two gravel stages, with stage 2 results counting as a qualifier for the UCI Gravel World Championships.
The 136km qualifier course, located just outside Halmstad in Sweden, included a mix of wide-open gravel roads with short but steep climbs that added up to 1,800 metres of climbing. After a start in the backcountry on gravel roads, the village Torup marked the half-way point with the steepest climb. Then it was onto a series of challenging forest tracks and the final stretch on technical, rocky sections back to Halmstad.
Other notable riders in the field for the women were Morgan Aguirre (Enough Cycling), who finished seventh and Danni Shrosbree (FELT UN1TED), who was 16th. In the men’s field, Conor White (Austin Outlaws) finished 22nd, Niki Terpstra (Speed on Wheels Racing) finished 25th, Ted King (iamtedking.com) came in 34th and the silver medallist from Cyclocross World Championships Joris Nieuwenhuis, who won the time trial, was 67th.
Perry also won stage 3 on the men’s side, while Markus swept all three stages for the women.
