Specialized Off-road team riders Geerike Schreurs and Mads Würtz Schmidt each claimed a dominant solo victory in the elite women's and elite men's categories at Gravel Desert by The Traka, the third event in the Gravel Earth Series in Grañén (Huesca), Spain.
The racers faced a 167km route with 1,500 metres of elevation gain in the Aragonese desert, defined by fast tracks, endless horizons and constant exposure to wind and terrain conditions. Cloudy conditions that prevented the region’s usual extreme heat, riders enjoyed ideal racing conditions.
In the women’s race, Schreurs finished with a time of 5:12:51 and building a clear advantage of 5:58 over second-place Axelle Dubau-Prevot (Education First-Oatly). Crossing the line one minute later, Hanne Van Loock (Reverb Cycling 3T) rounded out the podium.
In the men’s race, European Gravel champion Würtz Schmidt claimed the victory with a time of 4:21:32, his second in the GES after the overall victory at a muddy edition of Santa Vall earlier year. Crossing the line 5:21 later, Hugo Drechou claimed second by outsprinting Celestin Guillon (Gravel Nation), who was third.
In its second edition, the race, previously known as Monegros Desert Festival, moved from July to April in the calendar.
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
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