Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) rode away from the field and won Festivus of Gravel in Thorsbury, Alberta, his third victory in his first season of gravel. Teammate Jan Stöckli took second, outkicking Canadian Benjamin Perry (Guava x Castelli SOG) in the final kilometre.
Just one week ago Pellaud finished second overall at Unbound Gravel 200 before his largely solo day on the 190km route in western Canada on Saturday. At the finish line in Emporia he spoke about not wanting to suffer in the chase like he did at The Traka 360 or at Sea Otter Classic Gravel, finishing both of those races off the podium, but after 140 miles in a two-rider breakaway at Unbound he fell just short of the win finishing 42 second behind victor Cameron Jones.
It is the first full season of gravel for Pellaud, who qualified for the UCI Gravel World Championships with the victory at Gravel Brazil in March. He also won the GC title at the eight-day Transcordilleras off-road stage race.
"I really wanted to be at the front and not in the same position I was in The Traka one month ago. That's always been my way of racing on the road already. I'm here to show my qualities and abilities and to make the show, to make the public enjoy cycling, and also have fun myself," he said after Unbound Gravel 200.
Pellaud is part of the Life Time Grand Prix series this year and is now tied for third overall with Matt Beers, although the next round of the Leadville Trail 100 MTB favours his adversary.
"First I have to get a mountain bike," Pellaud laughed about looking ahead to the August 9 race. "It's a lot of preparation until Leadville. I still have big objectives. [after] Festivus of Gravel, I'm racing on the road with the national team for the biggest road event in Switzerland, then the UCI gravel event in Switzerland [Gravel Suisse]. And then I fly to China for Qinghai Lake for eight days of hardcore racing at altitude to get ready for Leadville. So still a long road to go."
His outing in Canada went to plan, as he never went into chase mode.
"We were recipients of a Tudor tag team. Simon Pellaud did his thing, attacked early. I was hoping we could work together, a bunch of Canadian lads and another Tudor rider sitting on, but we didn't have the juice as a unit," the third-placed Perry said on his Instagram page.
He said he found himself alone with Stöckli with 40km to go, and Pellaud long gone. Stöckli attacked in the final kilometres several times, with Benjamin not letting him go until the final 800 metres. While the Tudor riders got the top spots on the podium, Perry added to his overall lead in the Gravel Earth Series.
Smoke from the abundant wildfires burning across much of north-western Canada did not impact the race Saturday, as organisers kept checks on air quality for the event, now in a second edition. "The Braveheart" route, 190km (118 miles), the second longest of five distances and 84% gravel, brought a total of 1,391m (4,565 feet) of elevation gain to the race, which was held to the west of Edmonton.
Festivus of Gravel is organized by Tour de France veteran Alex Stieda, and part of the Gravel Earth Series circuit. It is the second of eight stops in North America for GES, the next one taking place on June 14 in California at the Lost & Found Gravel Festival.
