This was the year where it looked to be all coming together for Tiffany Cromwell as she headed into the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships – experience, form, support and terrain where she’s already proved her winning ability – but there was one thing not on her side. Luck.
The Australian, who won the European Gravel Championships races against a packed field on a similar course last year, had solid top-ten results in the last two editions of the rainbow race. With the terrain in her favour this time, there was every reason to hope that she could chase more this year; a podium perhaps or – in the dream scenario – even the rainbow jersey.
When the television coverage started a group of favourites was already up the road, though there was one notable exception, Cromwell, who was chasing about a minute behind.
“Unfortunately for me, though, with the time lost changing wheels and the strong field up front, despite putting in a big chase with a lot of it on my own at first, it became an impossible task to get back to the front of the race,” said Cromwell. “I definitely didn’t have the ‘super human’ legs today that would’ve been required to make it back. But I never gave up and pushed all the way to the finish.”
That push left her crossing the line in Leuven after 134km in 36th place, 11 minutes and 12 seconds after Marianne Vos (Netherlands) added another rainbow jersey to her extensive collection.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…