A challenging full gravel course, a hefty prize purse and a slot on the calendar that provided another handy hit out right before many of the nation’s top riders in the discipline head overseas – it is no surprise that even in its first edition the Sutton Grange Winery Uncorked Gravel pulled in a healthy dose of Australia’s top performers.
The fact that the race was near Bendigo also probably didn’t hurt, given the region has emerged as a hotspot for producing top contenders in the discipline. Those that call the Victorian regional city home include Australian champion Connor Sens, 2022 Dirty Warrny winner Courtney Sherwell and RADL GRVL victor Tasman Nankervis. The trio also all swept up a UCI Gravel World Series round win each in 2023.
Fair to say that meant there were always going to be a few home town favourites at the Bendigo and District Cycling Club event but that certainly wasn’t the end of the contenders list. Two-time UCI series round winner Adam Blazevic was also among those on the start line, along with 2024 Melbourne to Warrny winner Mark O’Brien, Movistar eTeam and gravel rider Tilly Field and even four-time Australian cyclocross champion Chris Jongewaard.
As the field rolled out from the winery and surrounding grapevines on Sunday morning, the calm of the neutral rollout and rolling green hills quickly gave way to charged race action with riders not even waiting till the first of three laps in the 94.4km event was over to unfurl the moves.
Of course the terrain also played a part with patches that included exposed rocks, eroded ruts and soft sandy edges to throw up a technical challenge, particularly to those who were more accustomed to riding the paved roads. In fact even those who were in familiar territory weren’t immune, with Sens falling prey to punctures and Nankervis finally forced to drop away from the lead group after a rock flicked up and hit his derailleur. That left the rider, who clearly entered the race as one of the key favourites, churning away on one gear most of the race and even then he still managed to come fourth.
A pothole and dislodged chain also left Tilly Field with a chase back to the lead women’s group and while she rejoined, it was too late to do anything about Sherwell’s race winning attack. Sherwell, who had been so pivotal in the organisation of the race may have been focussed on course set up duties but on Saturday but was in race mode on Sunday, sticking to her pre-race plan of riding away on…
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