The 1st edition of the 66 Degrés Sud – Pyrénées Catalanes Gravel Tour was a tough edition with its 110km and 2150m of elevation.
Romain Bardet, retired from professional road cycling since the Dauphiné in June took his second consecutive UCI Gravel win after also taking victory in Italie three weeks ago. Bardet, trying to get to his best shape at the World Championships in one month, didn’t have an easy race as he appeared two minutes behind early in the race, but bridged the gap back to the leaders to then continue and finish with an impressive 4m34 lead to his compatriot Hugo Drechou with Dutch Adne Koster as third at 5m25. Bardets average speed on his favorite terrain was 30.7 km/h.
In the women elite race, French Axelle Dubau-Prevot also impressed with a clear victory over Australian’s Nicole Frain who finished 4h30 behind Duba-Prevot with Polish Karolina Migon as third at 8m02. Dubau-Prevot’s second UCI gravel victory in an average speed of 26 km/h after she also won the first French leg in Millau in June.