Caleb Bottcher and Jennifer Tave (SpeedBlock p/b Terun) captured solo victories at the second round in the United States of the UCI Gravel World Series, Mammoth TUFF.
The Californian event, new to the series, played out on a course with a total elevation gain of 7500 feet (2,286m) and women's elite winner Tave set a time of 5:20:05 over the 88 mile (142 km) course to defend her title. That was a stunning 25 minutes ahead of her nearest rival Rachel McBride who came second while Sofia Schugar was under a minute further back in third.
In the elite men's race at Mammoth Lakes it was a tighter finish, with the 24-year-old Bottcher breaking through to the gravel racing top step, the New Zealander beating second-placed Lance Haidet by 24 seconds while Darren Fahy crossed the line two minutes further back.
"I’ve been knocking on the door for a while now and today I stepped right on through," said Bottcher in an Instagram post after claiming the win. "You’re stronger than you think and the good days will come."
Mammoth TUFF was one of two UCI Gravel World Series races taking place over the weekend, the other playing out in France at 66 Degrés Sud - Le Gravel. The qualifying events for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Bolero are quickly dwindling, with Sea Otter and the UEC Gravel European Championships next weekend the final opportunities.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men's top 5
Position
Rider
Time
1
Caleb Bottcher
04:27:45
2
Lance Haidet
+24
3
Darren Fahy
+2:35
4
Lukas Malezsewski
+3:40
5
Matthew Wiebe
+5:27
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women's top 5
Position
Rider
Time
1
Jennifer Tave
5:20:05
2
Rachel McBride
+25:40
3
Sofia Schugar
+26:32
4
Paige Handy
+37:09
5
Amelia Durst
+47:52
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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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