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Pauline Ferrand-Prevot wins thrilling finale at first-ever gravel worlds

Four world championship titles since August

Photo by: UCI / YouTube

Pauling Ferrand-Prevot is the first-ever world champion of gravel cycling. The multi-discipline French rider won the historic honor in a thrilling sprint finish with Switzerland’s Sina Frei in Veneto, Italy.

The two mountain bikers showed they are just as skilled on skinny (or skinnier) tires, pulling away from the field of gravel specialists to contest the win. A small group came in towards Veneto close together. On a final, technical loose gravel and grass run in towards the finish, Frei and Ferrand-Prevot distanced Chiara Teocchi and Germany’s Jade Treffeisen to enter the old city walls alone.

Frei led out the sprint but was unable to hold off her French rival for the win. Ferrand-Prevot pulled past the Swiss rider with under 150m to go, fighting all the way to the line to take the win. Italy’s Chiara Teocchi followed just a handful of seconds behind to take the final podium spot in third.

Historic streak for Ferrand-Prevot

For Ferrand-Prevot, the gravel worlds is historic for more than one reason. It’s the first time the UCI has held a gravel world championships. More notably, perhaps, is that it is the French rider’s fourth world championship title in less than two months.

Ferrand-Prevot’s incredible winning streak started on August 26 with a win in Les Gets, France in the also-new discipline of Short Track cross country mountain biking. Two days later, she added another win at home in the Olympic Cross Country mountain biking discipline. Then, on September 17 in Haderslev, Denmark, she added a third world championships title in the cross country marathon mountain bike race. With the mountain bike season over, the BMC racer had to turn to skinny tires to find a fourth win. With gravel worlds added to her extensive palmares, Ferrand-Prevot now has an incredible 10 individual cycling world championship titles to her name.

Replay: Elite Women – 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships

UCI gravel world championships continue on Sunday in Veneto with the elite men’s race. Canadians can watch live coverage on FloBikes, including a replay of the elite women’s race.