UCI Gravel World Series - Petr Vakoč and Tessa Neefjes sprint to victory at The Gralloch

Petr Vakoč (Canyon Isadore) and Tessa Neefjes (Liv Racing) on Saturday won the 2025 edition of The Gralloch, taking out tight-run sprints in the heart of the Gatehouse of Fleet to claim the Scottish round of the UCI Gravel World Series.

In the elite men's race, it was four riders racing toward the finish line in Garries Park together, with Vakoč claiming the race in three hours, eight minutes and 15 seconds by beating defending champion and 114 Gravel Race winner Matthew Holmes (OGT Factor Racing) with a throw to the line. Paris to Ancaster winner Benjamin Perry came third as Ben Thomas (Ribble Outliers) just missed the podium as he trailed over the line at the back of the four-way sprint.

Vakoč had actually gone out with Thomas earlier in the race, but suffered a puncture about two hours in, with the time taken to repair it leaving him with a chase to work his way back to the front of the race. He managed to close the gap of about a minute to Thomas, but it took a toll. 

“After that, I tried to go solo, but I was a bit spent so I didn’t manage and then the cooperation wasn’t working well," Vakoč said in an interview with the race commentator on the YouTube live coverage.

The lead duo were then joined by Holmes and Perry as the race was heading into the final stages.

"I had my plan for the sprint and it worked out perfectly, so I’m glad but it was really close and I really had to dig deep for this one,” said Vakoč.

In the distinct women's elite race, starting around two hours later than the men's event to reduce the impact of the mixing within the fields, it was a three-way sprint to decide the victor. Neefjes won another tight battle in a time of three hours, 44 minutes and 54 seconds. It was just Neefjes' second UCI Gravel World Series race this season after she broke her collarbone, with the rider who had to skip The Traka having returned to the series at the Marly Gravel Race last weekend.

There were just centimetres between her and second-placed British cyclist Ffion Gilbert while Dirty Reiver winner Sophie Wright was just behind, making it to the UCI Gravel World Series podium this time after just missing out when she took fourth at Turnhout Gravel in March.

The riders, however, had thought they were sprinting for second on account of miscommunication in the bunch, so it was a pleasant surprise for a delighted Neefjes when she found that the hard-fought sprint had actually been for the top spot. "I like winning, but I was still a bit happy," Neefjes said, thinking that she had come second by claiming the sprint battle. "I had a cold this week, so I wasn't feeling that fit, and I was coming back from collarbone surgery."

The 111km race with 1,761m of elevation gain and more than 80% gravel takes riders into the hills of the Galloway and dense woodlands of the Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. Last year, Holmes and Geerike Schreurs won the elite categories, but the SD Worx-Protime rider was unable to line up to defend her title, instead still recovering from a bad crash at The Traka.

The Gralloch was the second round of the UCI Gravel World Series this weekend, with racing also at SEVEN in Western Australia's Nannup, won by Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) and Mark O'Brien (Trappist).