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Mark O’Brien and Courtney Sherwell won the elite categories of the first edition of Sutton Grange Winery Uncorked Gravel, with both using their tried and tested method of striking out solo to claim victory from among a field that contained many of Australia’s top gravel contenders.
For O’Brien, the Melbourne to Warrnambool victor who has for so long sought the top step, it was his second big win in as many weeks. “When it rains it pours. Another hard race that played my way and I didn’t have any mechanical bad luck out there which has plagued me a couple of times in the gravel racing,” O’Brien told Cyclingnews after the event near the regional Victorian city of Bendigo.
The 36-year-old who spent his university years in Bendigo launched solo from a lead group of three, with Tali Lane-Welsh taking second and in third it was Adam Blazevic – winner of two rounds of the UCI Gravel Series. RADL GRVL winner Tasman Nankervis held on for fourth, despite being limited to one gear after a rock flicked up and broke his derailleur in the early stages of the race, which played out on three laps of a loop with an out and back section of 7km.
Sherwell –who had spent the day before the race helping set up the course at the event run by her home club the Bendigo District Cycling Club – knew exactly where in the 94.4km event she wanted to launch her solo sortie. That was on a technical section early in lap two of three which provided a rocky climb and challenging descent that played to her mountain biking strength. It went exactly as planned when she poured on the pressure at that point and rode away from the already reduced lead group to fly solo on the rolling terrain all the way to the finish line.
“I knew that as the race gets on that its my forte and I’m stronger at the later end of the race,” the Gravelista UCI Gravel World Series round and 2022 Dirty Warrny winner told Cyclingnews while settled in a shade covered table on the winery lawn as the live music returned after the podium presentation. “I thought well if I’ve got a good enough gap now and I can still push the power that the girls shouldn’t catch me.”
Sherwell was right, and in the end that gap extended to more than four-and-and-half minutes but it was…
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