Moolman Pasio wins first gravel race at Gravel Earth Series opener in Spain

Petr Vakoč (Canyon Isadore) and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal) won elite titles at the three-day X Santa Vall gravel stage race on Sunday and became the first leaders of the season-long Gravel Earth Series. 

The unique event in Girona, Spain included a hilly 6.2km individual time trial, a looped stage of 80km with two timed segments and a 120km climbing stage with 1,540 metres of elevation gain to decide the GC.

Moolman Pasio, who used the event as preparation for Strade Bianche, won the opening 6.2km uphill prologue in her first gravel race and completed the next two stages on the podium to secure the GC. The USA’s Morgan Aguirre, who won stage 1,  used a fourth-place finish on the final day to secure second overall, 49 seconds back. Kara Sofie Skovgård Hansen of Denmark was third overall.

In the men’s elite division, Vakoč also used his ITT victory over Joseph Laverick to slot into the GC lead on the opening day and held on for the GC victory with a slim 17-second advantage over Dutchman Hans Becking, who won stage 1. Spanish rider David Lozano (Novo Nordisk) finished third overall.

The three days of racing never saw big margins develop once the GC was set on Friday. The men’s field included Nathan Haas of Australia, US riders Payson McElveen and Chad Haga, Italian Daniel Oss, Belgian Lawrence Naesen and Dutch rider Jasper Ockeloen, while the women’s field contained Britons Danni Schrosbree and Annabel Fisher as well as USA’s Emily Newsom and Amity Rockwell. 

On Sunday it looked like Moolman Pasio had created enough of a gap on the climbs for her second stage win, but the South African Women’s WorldTour rider was caught after the long, technical descent by a group of five women for the final run-in of the 115km queen stage. Geerike Schreurs of the Netherlands made a late pass in the final 10km and held on for the sprint win. Moolman Pasio sprinted one second ahead of Skovgård Hansen and Aguirre to seal the GC.

“In a nail-biting finish, I managed to secure 2nd place on the stage and clinch the overall win in my first gravel event. The 3-day event was great preparation for my upcoming race Strade Bianche,” Moolman Pasio posted to her Instagram account. “The balance between competition and encouragement among the riders was truly inspiring, and I can’t wait to return next year.”

Now in its second year, the Gravel Earth Series includes 20 events across 13 countries, and provides a new €12,500 total prize purse, split equally among the top 10 in male, female and non-binary divisions. The next round is March 10 in Iten, Kenya for the 120km Safari Gravel.

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