Isle of Man’s own Nathan Draper only needed 3:52:35 to defeated a strong field, including World Champion Mark Cavendish, at Gran Fondo Isle of Man off the coast of Great Britain this past weekend.
Draper, beat Liverpool’s Phil Williams by 14 seconds, with professional MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow finishing third.
Mark Cavendish (TEAM DIMENSION DATA), who was not selected by his team to ride the Tour de France, was among the early leaders, but dropped out after suffering two punctures.
Meanwhile, Sally Walker delivered a convincing victory in the women’s race after finishing second the previous two years. She defeated Ankie Ytsma by two minutes with a time of 4:44.59.
The 85-mile Gran Fondo route included roads closed to traffic, 6500ft of climbing and a section of gravel.
GRAN FONDO CALENDAR NORTH AMERICA here
GRAN FONDO CALENDAR EUROPE here
GRAN FONDO CALENDAR UK GREAT BRITAIN here
GRAN FONDO DAILY NEWS 