With less than a month to go before the UCI Gravel World Championships, North Wales provided riders from across Britain with a chance to earn a worlds starting bib at Graean Cymru this past weekend.
In Saturday’s women’s elite race, Britain’s Elizabeth Hermolle rode away from the field early, holding almost a minute’s lead by the first checkpoint before stretching that advantage to six minutes by the end of the first lap. She soloed to victory, finishing a commanding 16 minutes 31 seconds clear of runner-up Abi Smith. Ruby Carleton completed an all-British podium in third, 24 minutes 22 seconds back, edging out Hayley Simmonds in a photo finish, with Lucy Lee rounding out the top five.
Hermolle’s rise in the sport has been rapid. A former footballer and physio from Blackpool, the 32-year-old took up cycling only around four years ago, initially riding on the road for UCI Continental team DAS-Hutchinson before switching to gravel on the advice of her former coach, Sean Yates. She won the British National Gravel Championship in only her third-ever gravel race last September and, in March, added a women’s world record for off-road Everesting, climbing the height of Everest in just over 11 hours.
Sunday’s men’s race brought a more international field. Home favourite Jenson Young held off Belgium’s Lukas Malezsewski, a UCI Gravel World Series race winner in Portugal and Kenya last season, to take the win by 1 minute 18 seconds. Ben Thomas narrowly out-sprinted fellow Belgian Jente Michels for third, 3 minutes 18 seconds behind Young, while Damien Clayton claimed fifth at 3 minutes 41 seconds.
Young, 25, arrived at gravel via cyclo-cross and road racing, joining the Ribble Outliers for their launch season in 2025. He carries family history into the discipline: his father, Mike, raced the notoriously brutal Three Peaks Cyclo-cross, and Jenson followed suit, taking the win there himself in 2025 after finishing runner-up the year before. Sunday’s victory continues a strong run of form that already includes winning Graean Cymru last year and finishing second at The Gralloch in May.
Graean Cymru competitors finishing in the top 25% of their category qualify for the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships, scheduled for 10-11 October in Nannup, Western Australia.
Complete Graean Cymru results PENDING.
Photo Credit: Lukas Malezsewski Supporters Club
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