Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took an assured win at the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships on Saturday, starting the race as the standout favourite and winning from the front. The 30-year-old drove the pace early on to whittle down the list of contenders and then went clear in a key move, joining with Lauren Stephens (USA), Sina Frei (Switzerland), Chiara Teocci (Italy) and Jade Treffeisen (Germany) to put the other medal aspirants under serious pressure.
Stephens later slipped back to leave four out front, with Ferrand-Prévot and Frei dropping Teocci and Treffeisen inside the final kilometer and then settling gold in a two-up gallop to the line.
Also read: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins UCI gravel world championships to take fourth world title of season
Ferrand-Prévot’s success was the tenth world title of her career and the fourth of recent weeks, adding to the cross-country, short track cross-country and marathon cross-country MTB triumphs she landed since late August.
With gravel racing a new addition to the UCI’s calendar, it means she makes history. But notwithstanding the fact that the gravel rainbow jersey is a new addition, it may be a very long time before another rider racks up such a cluster of world titles.
The gallery below shows some of the key images from a memorable day’s racing.