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UCI Gravel World Series: Ana Luisa Panini and Henrique Avancini win in Brazil, with two-time world mountain bike marathon champion carving out unprecedented gap in elite men's race
Ana Luisa Panini (ACPH Komprao) and Henrique Avancini (Localiza Meoo-Swift) have triumphed in the UCI Gravel World Series in Brazil, both claiming the event solo with substantial winning margins.
Panini laid down his lone attack at 58km into the 115 km event, finishing more than three minutes ahead of second-placed Ana Paula Finco Silva (Soul Extreme Racing) and 6:38 ahead of Madeleine Nutt (Lauf-Q36.5).
“I didn't expect to be at this level. Beating the international riders is very difficult," said Panini in a media release from race organisers. "I prepared very well for the last three months to achieve the best possible result.”
Avancini – who was racing just his second gravel event – carved out an even bigger gap. UCI Gravel World Series organisers outlined in a social media post that it was the largest winning margin in the elite men's category in a series race, eclipsing the nine-minute advantage Wout van Aert had carved out at Houffa Gravel in 2023.
Joaquin Plomer Vilotta (Litoviedo Bikes) was second, while Vitor Eduardo Dos Santos Prado Correa Pompeu (Soul Extreme Racing) was third.
“It was an extremely tough race, very challenging due to the high temperatures. I was surprised by my time, but happy to win here in Camboriú and in my country," Avancini, who made his gravel debut at the UCI World Championships last year, said in a media release.
"It's the start of the season for me; I did the Tour of Rwanda last week, so I didn't know how my body would respond. "
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"I'll do one or two more races on the Gravel World Tour, and with my spot secured for the World Championships in Australia in October, I'll be able to prepare more calmly.”
The race which started and finished in Camboriu played out on a course with nearly 2,000 m of elevation gain and is the first of the events for this season in the region. Another South American nation, Argentina, will host a series event at the end of March while it will be Colombia's turn in May with Gravel Bogota and then again in August with Gravel Medellin, followed by a race in Chile in September.
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
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