Adam Blazevic, Nathan Haas and Diedrik Deelen at the start line of Gravel Adventure Poland 2022 - Trek UCI Gravel World Series (Image credit: Gravel Adventure/Trek UCI Gravel World Series)
Straight into the climbing(Image credit: Gravel Adventure/Trek UCI Gravel World Series)
Gravel Adventure Poland 2022 - Trek UCI Gravel World Series (Image credit: Gravel Adventure/Trek UCI Gravel World Series)
Gravel Adventure Poland 2022 - Trek UCI Gravel World Series (Image credit: Gravel Adventure/Trek UCI Gravel World Series)
Nathan Haas (left) and Anton Albrecht (Best Place Racing Team), who came second, at the 98km long 2022 Gravel Adventure Poland, which was the fourth round of the new UCI Trek Gravel World Series(Image credit: Gravel Adventure Poland/Trek UCI Gravel World Series)
Gravel Adventure Poland 2022 - Trek UCI Gravel World Series podium with Christian Kreuchler (Mobil Krankenkasse Cycling Team) first, Anton Albrecht (Best Place Racing Team) second and Sebastian Breuer (Lenas Coffee Brand) third(Image credit: Gravel Adventure/Trek UCI Gravel World Series)
Christian Kreuchler (Mobil Krankenkasse Cycling Team) stood atop an all German podium at the fourth round of the UCI Gravel World Series, the Gravel Adventure in Poland, with the veteran amatuer racer just beating Anton Albrecht (Best Place Racing Team) to the line in Świeradów-Zdrój.
Kreuchler finished the 98km race with 1,950m of elevation gain in the south west of Poland in 3 hours, 15 minutes and 48 seconds, with Albrecht just a second behind. Third-placed rider Sebastian Breuer (Lenas Coffee Brand) was more than three minutes further back.
Then it was Nathan Haas, who has just returned to Europe after racing Unbound and the Belgian Waffle Ride North Carolina. The rider who placed second in Nannup, Australia had been racing for second place in Poland but got two flats in the last ten kilometres and, after having depleted his CO2 cannisters on earlier punctures, decided it would be quicker to ride in on them.
Less than seven minutes behind winner Kreuchler it was fifth for Adam Blazevic (Giant Australia off-road Team) – who came first in Nannup and third at Millau, France. It was another solid result, but until the final kilometres of the race it had actually looked like he was heading toward a second series victory.
“I was feeling good for this race and raced to the plan,” said Blazevic on an Instagram post. ”After being in the front group all day I made a move with 30km to go up a climb and built up a nice lead. I was really enjoying the climbs and descents over the last 30km, using those sections to extend my lead.”
“Unfortunately with 5km to go I bent some links in my chain and dropped back to 5th by the finish line. The chain wasn’t reparable so I ran the last 5km to still try and hold onto a good position, no matter what I won’t give up in a race and will always find a way to make it to the finish.”
The winner of the last round in France, Niki Terpstra, didn't line up in Poland as he was instead on the road at La Route d’Occitanie, where on Sunday he worked tirelessly on the front in support of his TotalEnergies teammate, with Niccolo Bonifazio taking the stage win.
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The series – which provides an opportunity to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Veneto Region of Italy on October 8-9 – now heads to the United States with the Highlands Gravel Classic, Fayetteville on June 25.
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.
