Petr Vakoc, Annika Langvad win final 2023 UCI Gravel World Series qualifying round

Annika Langvad (Specialized) and Petr Vakoc (Canyon Isadore) claimed victory at the final 2023 qualifying round of the 2023 UCI Gravel World Series, the 125km La Monsterrato in the Italian Piemonte region. 

The retired mountain biker claimed the women’s category victory ahead of Karolina Migon and Rosa Maria Klöser. Tiffany Cromwell, who has already won two rounds of the series this season, came fourth and is now returning to the road with her Canyon-SRAM team after her gravel block which included runner-up spots at the Belgian Waffle Ride Utah and SBT GRVL.

“Am I happy? - yes! But it’s not everything for me,” race winner Langvad said on Instagram. ”It was a nice confirmation that somewhere deep down I still got it. It’s been 3 years since I stepped back from professional racing. I simply could not continue any more. I was done.”

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“A lot has happened in my life since then and I am deep into the world of dentistry now and I like the change of focus. But what hasn’t changed is my passion for riding bikes. And today I did and I tried to ride as fast as possible with a number pinned on.”

Langvad finished with a time of four hours and 14 minutes on the race which started and finished in Quattordio and took riders from the small town in the Monferrato wine region in Piemonte on the strade bianche of the undulating rural roads.

Vakoc won the men’s race with a time of three hours and 41 minutes, more than six minutes ahead of second-placed Jan Bakelants, with Human Powered Health rider Sebastian Schönberger just behind.

It was Vakoc’s second win of the series this year, having also taken victory in Poland in July.

“What a feeling to cross the finish line with the hands up in the air! Stoked that after couple of really good performances everything clicked together and I managed to win La Monsterrato with a long solo ride.”

“I had absolutely no idea what the gap was so pushed myself hard all the way to the line through the final 45km to finish more than 6 minutes ahead of the group behind me. I knew I was in a great shape coming back from the Leadville Race Series and SBT GRVL but still was pleasantly surprised how well I felt. Looking forward to Euro & Worlds Championships.”

The European Gravel Championships are set to take place in Belgium on Sunday October 1, while the UCI Gravel World Championships are set to take place on October 7 and 8 in Italy in the Veneto region. However, the courses are yet to be announced with reports that the race organiser is changing.