Emily Newsom is many things: a classically trained pianist, a mother, and a member of the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB WorldTour team. She’s also a budding gravel racer with a few dirt-road victories to her name.
Newsom placed sixth at The Mid South Saturday, racing on an older Cannondale Topstone with Shimano Ultegra RX.
Here’s a look at her bike after she crossed the line in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Emily Newsom rides in the group in the early miles of The Mid South 2022.
EF Education-TIBCO-SVB head mechanic Adrian Hedderman said the team received a new SuperSix EVO SE the night before the race, but he didn’t feel comfortable sending Newsom out on a 100-mile gravel race on a bike she had never ridden. So, she used her old Cannondale Topstone.
The Vittoria Terreno Dry (in 38mm for Newsom) has a popular design of a minimal center tread with bigger shoulder knobs.
The Prologo saddle is tried and true for Newsom.
The side buttons on the Wahoo Elemnt allow the rider to zoom in and out on the map.
There weren’t any huge climbs, but a series of rollers added up to about 5,500 feet of climbing on the day.
Shimano’s Ultegra RX drivetrain was an early gravel solution.
The Ultegra RX derailleur has since been replaced by Shimano’s GRX adveture/gravel group.
Like the current GRX rear derailleur, the Ultegra RX featured a clutch derailleur with an on/off switch.
Shimano XTR pedals are ubiquitous from World Cup mountain bike to gravel.
The 46/30 gearing is fairly standard for a gravel 2x drivetrain.