Romain Bardet (Factor Racing-Rapha Cycling Club) won on debut at RADL GRVL p/b Quad Lock, using a late solo attack to seal the victory. His gravel teammate Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-Rapha Cycling Club) overcame two flats to finish second, 56 seconds back.
Another 51 seconds later Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE) secured third place just ahead of Australian gravel national champion Mark O'Brien (Trappist). The remaining riders from the main chase group then trailed through, Brent Rees (Santa Cruz-SRAM Australia) in fifth and Ian Boswell (Wahoo Specialized-RCC) in sixth.
The final 10km of the elite women's race looked to be carbon copy of the men's race, with a Factor Racing-Rapha Cycling Club rider on a solo charge, this time it was Nicole Frain. The Australian broke away to the front of the women's field in the opening 15km and rode away to secure the RADL GRVL women's victory, and with it also the Oceania Gravel Championship.
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"Solo mission today for RADL GRVLwasn’t the plan, went with it, payed off," Frain wrote on Instagram. "Nice way to debut the new RCC kit and my first Factor Racing Team gravel race."
For a second consecutive year, Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) took second place, finishing 3:04 back. Tiffany Cromwell, who lined up at her home race in the distinct green-and-white stripes as Australian gravel champion, broke away from a four-rider chase group to secure third place.
The remaining riders from the quartet of chasers rolled across the line separated by a minute each - Samara Sheppard in fourth, Tori Barry fifth and Britain's Danni Shrosbree (Rapha Cycling Club) in sixth.
How it unfolded
Riders tackled a hilly route of 128km and 2,300 metres of elevation gain through the Adelaide Hills, with approximately 65% of the terrain gravel. It had been hot all week, and Friday was no different, with the temperature climbing above 30 °C again.
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The elite men were all together over the first two climbs in the opening 20km, and then a small group gained an advantage. The group included Australian gravel champion O'Brien, joined by Rapha Cycling Club duo Bardet and Boswell. Unbound Gravel 200 champion Jones, also with Rapha Cycling Club, was reported to have punctured twice, but was in a pack of chasers.
At the halfway mark, with technical descents after Prospect Hill, the gap of nearly two-and-a-half minutes had been closed and the elite men's race was all back together.
With 100km covered under clear skies and with mainly flat hard-packed dirt remaining, six riders had moved away from the field - Boswell, Jones, Bardet, O'Brien, Vermeulen and Rees. Leading a group of seven riders in the chase was Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost), who trailed 5:17 back.
Bardet then launched a solo attack, with no reaction. With 10km to go, he was all alone. Then with 5km to go, Jones had the Frenchman in his sights, but there wasn't much room or time to close the gap to his teammate.
Elite women
(Image credit: RADL GRVL presented by Quad Lock)
Nicole Frain set the pace early in the women's contest. The Australian hammered across the opening 10km and began to gap the field on the first climb north of Willunga, with Rollins the closest rider in the chase at 30 seconds back. The next group included Shrosbree, Sheppard, Barry and defending champion Cromwell.
In the next 80km, a clockwise loop that took in the relentless climbing of the Mount Lofty ranges, the lone leader remained untested by her competitors, with the race status quo on movements.
The final climb began with less than 25km to go and Frain remained out front with a four-minute lead over Rollins. The same quartet of riders worked together in pursuit, but now six-and-a-half minutes behind the US rider - Cromwell, Sheppard, Barry and Shrosbree. Another six minutes back Matilda Raynolds had no one around for help, riding solo in seventh.
Frain time trialled to the finish. Rollins made only a small dent into that lead, both riders picking up steam on the flat final kilometres into McLaren Vale. The time to the chase group grew, with Cromwell finally breaking free of her companions in the final 5km, but finishing 11:02 behind Frainon the 127km course.
Frain last raced RADL GRVL in 2024, going second to compatriot Brodie Chapman.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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