Victory in Czechia marks fourth win of series this season for Frain
Nicole Frain started her year with a win at RADL GRVL in South Australia, and has also now gone on to add another four to the tally in the UCI Gravel World Series(Image credit: RADL GRVL presented by Quad Lock)
Nicole Frain (Factor Racing) returned to the top step of the UCI Gravel World Series at Gravel Tour Hlinsko, claiming her fourth series win of the season as she crossed the line solo in the women's elite race. In the men's competition it was another repeat victor with 3Rides winner Jonas Lindberg (Willing Able Racing) also claiming victory in Czechia.
Lindberg crossed the line of the 131km race with a gap of +2:06 to Joel Suter (Tudor Pro Cycling) while home nation racer Petr Vakoč (Factor Racing) snared the final spot on the podium at the first UCI Gravel World Series race ever held in Czechia.
"The course was perfectly organised and proved to be more demanding than I originally thought," said Vakoč in a post on social media. "Just up and down all day, some smooth gravel, some rougher parts and forest roads and barely any asphalt.
"Left there absolutely everything, together with Joel Suter rode away from big chase group with 40km to go to chase back super strong [Jonas Lindberg] ahead who attacked just after the halfway point of the race. We managed to bring the gap down to thirty seconds inside the last 20km but could not get any closer."
Frain took the women's win at the race in Hlinsko, set on the edge of the Pardubice region, with a gap of 3:28 to Kristýna Zemanová (VIF Cycling) while current series leader, Wendy Oosterwoud (PAS Racing), was third at 6:23 back.
The even in Hlinsko was one of three UCI Gravel World Series races run across the weekend, with Around the Pot in South Africa won by LIsa Bone and Matt Beers while Simon Pellaud and Natalia Franco claimed victory at the high elevation Bogotá Gravel.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women's elite top 5
Position
Rider
Time
1
Nicole Frain
4:28:25
2
Kristýna Zemanová
4:31:53
3
Wendy Oosterwoud
4:34:48
4
Irina Lützelschwab
4:34:48
5
Maaike Coljé
4:35:23
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men's elite top 5
Position
Rider
Time
1
Jonas Lindberg
3:48:37
2
Joel Suter
3:50:43
3
Petr Vakoč
3:51:07
4
Matyáš Fiala
3:53:37
5
Lars Sommer
3:54:12
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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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