A month of perpetual motion for Lauren Stephens eventually came to a halt beneath the imposing walls of Cittadella on Saturday afternoon. The American had been part of the winning move at the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships, but her efforts – not to mention the effects of toggling between three disciplines and as many continents over the previous month – took their toll in the final phase of racing.
A little under 35km from the finish, Stephens had to relent under the weight of eventual winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s forcing in the five-rider leading group. Her contribution to the day’s spectacle deserved at least a place in the top 10, but cycling, in all its disciplines, is an unforgiving endeavour.
On the last run along the banks of the Brenta, tinged in rosy hues by the setting sun, Stephens was caught and passed by two of the chasing groups. On the muddy kick into Cittadella, cramp briefly took hold, but she rallied to finish in 15th place in the fortified town, just over eight minutes down on Ferrand-Prévot. Still, the experience had been its own reward.
“It was amazing. About halfway through, I was in the front group of five, and I knew I was suffering, but I thought maybe I could conserve. But at 35k to go, I started cramping and couldn’t hold the wheel,” Stephens said. “I fell back through two groups, and then on this last little switchback, I totally cramped and had to walk up.”
A little context is required at this point. Stephens’ schedule had seen her place 29th at the Mountain Bike Marathon Worlds in Haderslev, Denmark on September 17 and then line out at the Road Worlds in Wollongong less than a week later. After travelling home to the United States, she returned to Europe to tackle her third different World Championships in the space of 21 days.
“It’s been a fantastic experience,” Stephens said. “I started with the Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships in Denmark. That was my first Mountain Bike race outside of Texas, so I was extremely nervous for that. I didn’t know how any of the dynamics worked, like even if the riders would get called up one by one at the start like a cyclo-cross race.
“Then I went to Australia, but unfortunately, I woke up sick that morning. I’d had some pretty rough travel to get there. I didn’t have a great day while I was in Australia, but I raced hard while I was in the race.”
The Texan was due to compete at Gravel Locos in Colorado on the last weekend of…
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