The very first UCI Gravel event in the UK in the tiny little town of Gatehouse of Fleet in Scotland was an instant success as more than 1000 riders showed up to ride the splendid 110km course in the Galloway Forest Park.
Remarkable guest at the start was F1 driver Valtteri Bottas who came directly from the cancelled Imola Grand Prix to join the race in support of his girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell. He did well himself with a 114th place overall.
The women’s race started as first and it was Cromwell taking the win for a second week in a row after also winning the Seven event last week in her home country Australia. Tiffany had almost 10 minutes to Amelia Mitchell (GBR) while Svenja Betz (GER) got overall third.
The men started in different start waves with the younger males starting 40 minutes after the women. Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) got away for a solo break in the second half of the race winning 7 minutes ahead of Sam Culverwell (GBR) who beated reigning M19-34 World Champion Kevin Panhuyzen in the sprint.
The course in the Galloway Forest was one of the most splendid race circuits in the series with wide open forest roads going up and down in a very remote area.
