Mark O'Brien, Courtney Sherwell uncork solo surges to clinch Sutton Grange Gravel

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Mark O’Brien and Courtney Sherwell won the elite categories of the first edition of Sutton Grange Winery Uncorked Gravel, with both using their tried and tested method of striking out solo to claim victory from among a field that contained many of Australia’s top gravel contenders.

For O’Brien, the Melbourne to Warrnambool victor who has for so long sought the top step, it was his second big win in as many weeks. “When it rains it pours. Another hard race that played my way and I didn’t have any mechanical bad luck out there which has plagued me a couple of times in the gravel racing," O'Brien told Cyclingnews after the event near the regional Victorian city of Bendigo.

The 36-year-old who spent his university years in Bendigo launched solo from a lead group of three, with Tali Lane-Welsh taking second and in third it was Adam Blazevic – winner of two rounds of the UCI Gravel Series. RADL GRVL winner Tasman Nankervis held on for fourth, despite being limited to one gear after a rock flicked up and broke his derailleur in the early stages of the race, which played out on three laps of a loop with an out-and-back section of 7km.

Sherwell – who had spent the day before the race helping set up the course at the event run by her home club the Bendigo District Cycling Club – knew exactly where in the 94.4km event she wanted to launch her solo sortie. That was on a technical section early in lap two of three which provided a rocky climb and challenging descent that played to her mountain biking strength. It went exactly as planned when she poured on the pressure at that point and rode away from the already reduced lead group to fly solo on the rolling terrain all the way to the finish line.

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“I knew that as the race gets on that it's my forte and I’m stronger at the latter end of the race," the Gravelista UCI Gravel World Series round and 2022 Dirty Warrny winner told Cyclingnews while settled in a shade-covered table on the winery lawn as the live music returned after the podium presentation. "I thought well if I’ve got a good enough gap now and I can still push the power that the girls shouldn’t catch me.”

Sherwell was right, and in the end that gap extended to more than four-and-and-half minutes but it was still the tightest of battles for the remaining podium spots in the women's elite category of the race which boasted a total prize pool of over $5,500. Movistar eTeam and gravel rider Tilly Field took second in a sprint with Celestine Frantz while Imol Giusti, the remaining rider in the chase of three, was fourth.

The group of four had launched on the early technical climb and descent on the first lap but Field was distanced before Sherwell flew solo the second time around.

“I went over a pothole, I was in third wheel, totally lost my chain so I had to stop, get off and the girls had just got co-ordinated, rolling turns to make sure our gap was big so I knew they were on and they were a long way up the road before I got going," Field told Cyclingnews. "So I had to just solo TT back to that same techy section [on the second lap] and Courtney had already got away at that point.”

Though with second still in play, Field held onto Frantz as she attacked on the final climbs and prepared for the sprint in the run-in, stopping rolling turns in the final kilometres. "Having done my little TT effort I knew I needed to keep every bit of energy I had left in the legs to be able to do that at the finish,” said the rider after crossing the line just ahead of the third-placed Frantz.

The technical section early in lap one was also pivotal in the men's elite race, with Bendigo local Lane-Welsh, who had pre-ridden the course, on high alert and at the front to stay out of trouble at that point of the race. "I didn’t really attack I just rolled through and no one really came with me so I thought I would commit," the 23-year-old told Cyclingnews.

As he charged away riders like Australian champion Connor Sens were in hot pursuit and then, once joining Lane-Welsh, the riders at the front continued to push the pace on the climbs so the splitting of the field continued.

Winner O'Brien described it as an attritional race, as after the early split "from there every hill we hit someone was sprinting up it, so pretty quickly we got down to ten riders, lost a couple to punctures (including Australian champion Sens) and then gradually lost a couple more as it got harder."

Then when it was down to three O'Brien once again attacked to go solo figuring, just like he had at the Melbourne to Warrnambool road race a fortnight ago, that if it came down to a sprint it was game over for him. The attack, however, once again meant it was game over for his rivals instead.