Jasper Ockeloen wins men's race in tight sprint at Gravel World Series Sweden

By published

Piotr Havik takes second while Simen Nordahl rounds out podium after leading chase group in

Jasper Ockeloen (Trek) leads Piotr Havik (Westland Wil Vooiruit) with Adam Blazevic on the wheel during Gravel Grit 'n Grind, the Swedish round of the Gravel World Series in Sweden
Jasper Ockeloen (Trek) leads Piotr Havik (Westland Wil Vooiruit) with Adam Blazevic on the wheel during Gravel Grit 'n Grind, the Swedish round of the Gravel World Series in Sweden (Image credit: Gravel Grit 'n Grind)

The Trek UCI Gravel World Series resumed in Halmstad, Sweden on Saturday with Jasper Ockeloen (Trek) winning the Swedish round of the event after taking out the tightest of sprints ahead of Piotr Havik (Westland Wil Vooiruit).

The 124km course for the sixth event of the series, the Gravel Grit 'n Grind, started along the Nissan river in Halmstad’s Norre Katts Park and then quickly started to provide the hills to split the field as it headed into the countryside from deep forests to open fields and then back to Halmstad.

Richard Larsén (Team Serneke Allebike) put the pressure on early and was followed by Ockeloen, Havik, Nicholas Roche (Trinity) and Adam Blazevic (Blackburn Cycling). After 80 km the leading group was down to three, Ockeloen, Havik and Blazevic, but the Australian who won the Western Australian round of the series fell away, leaving the two to sprint for the line. 

"YEAH! Won my first UCI Gravel World Cup!," said the 32-year-old Dutch winner Ockeloen on an Instagram post. "Very happy with this one!"

The World Series race at the Gravel Grit 'n Grind was part of a three day stage race, with Havik winning the time trial on Friday. Sunday will see an 80km gravel race starting and finishing in Simlångsdalen. 

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Top ten results - combined 124km men's categories
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jasper Ockeloen (Trek) 3:22:37
2Piotr Havik (Westland Wil Vooruit)
3Simen Nordahl Svendsen (Konnerud IL) 0:01:27
4Richard Larsen (Team Serneke Allebike) 0:01:28
5Thomas Vestergaard Bundgaard (Aarhus MTB)
6Jonas Orset (IK Hero) 0:01:30
7Adam Blazevic (Giant Australia Off-Road Team) 0:02:36
8 Nicholas Roche 0:02:37
9Rasmus Wulff Nørholm Gøtke (Isolés) 0:04:04
10Dirk Nel (Team DMS) 0:04:05
Simone Giuliani
Simone Giuliani
Australia Editor

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.

Latest on Cyclingnews