'I did cry and I did almost quit multiple times' – Maddy Nutt rides a rocking saddle to victory at The Rift Gravel 330km as Chase Wark wins Icelandic men's race

In a course distance not coincidentally called 'The Abyss', Chase Wark (Lunchbox Racing) and Maddy Nutt (Lauf Cycles) claimed victories in the new 330km trial at The Rift Gravel Race in Iceland, which the British rider outlined in no uncertain terms was 'not fun' but 'suffering'.

The 200km elite challenge, now in a seventh season, was also a big test with 2,600 metres of elevation gain, rather than the 4,600 metres of the longer test, and many riders facing race-ruining mechanicals. Anton Stensby (FARA) prevailed to win the elite men's race in 6:16:51 while Haley Smith (Factor Racing) fought back after a crash to claim the elite women's race in 7:25:50.

Both courses were mostly gravel, and crossed rough volcanic plains, exposed ridgelines and remote rocky roads, with lava fields and multiple river crossings plus a climb on the Hekla volcano. The Abyss then threw riders even deeper into what organisers described as Iceland's 'raw interior'. Plus, it all started in the dark with the race setting off at midnight.

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The scale of the challenge was certainly felt by women's winner Nutt, who also claimed the Traka 560 on debut this year and was second at the 350-mile Unbound XL. She also noted she had to cope with a less-than-ideal equipment scenario.

"Bit grumpy after riding a rocking saddle for 240km," said Nutt in an Instagram story. "Tried a new seatpost rather than my Lauf one and it was a bad move, as the seat clamp couldn't handle the bumps. Had to ride mostly out of the saddle or very carefully on the saddle and keep whacking it into position.

"I did cry, and I did almost quit multiple times, but I was winning the race and thought that despite the discomfort and annoyance I should do my best to get to the finish."

Nutt crossed the line after 17:08:03, 20 minutes ahead of Anuchi Gago (Factor Racing) and more than one hour and 20 minutes ahead of Kae Takeshita (Lauf).

The men's long-range course was likened to the landscape of the moon by USA's Wark, who raced for 14:06:26 to claim victory in Hvolsvöllur. He won with a gap of nearly 10 minutes to second-placed Mathieu Bélanger-Barrette (The Unscented Company\Cannon). Nils Correvon was third, more than an hour back.

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Numbers were limited for the brutal 330km race, though it was a talent-packed field for the 200km event, with riders including retired mountain biker Nino Schurter, who came 10th, to road pro turned gravel racer Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ), the European and Italian gravel champion.

It was a tight battle for the top three spots in the men's elite race with Stensby finishing in 6:16:51 and Rasmus Bøgh Wallin (PAS Racing) just 20 seconds back in second. It was just another 19 seconds to third-placed Adne Koster (Seka Gravel). Andrew L'Esperance (Forward Racing) out-sprinted Julien Gagne (Lunchbox Racing) for fourth, 4:35 back.

In the women's race, Smith fought back after a heavy crash before coming over the line to claim victory after 7:25:50, with Magnaldi one minute and one second behind. It was then Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing) who was less than five minutes back in third.

The Canadian winner, who crashed twice, described The Rift as "the toughest experience of my life. It was absolutely brutal", and referred to her second crash as "one of the hardest crashes I’ve had in 15 years".

"Had to fix a few resulting mechanical issues, and then settled into a steady grind of a chase. Finally linked up with Morgan Aguirre and Erica Magnaldi 4 hours in, and we caught a crash-beleaguered Rosa Klöser an hour later," she wrote on Instagram.

"Then it became a battle of 3. I used the descents and technical to my advantage and went clear with 40km to go. What a relief to cross the finish line."

After the trio passed Klöser (Canyon-SRAM), she would post a DNF and not be able to defend her victory from last year.