Carolyn Schiff (Canyon Cllctv) and Paul Voss (Outside) won the German Gravel Championships on Sunday.
Schiff won her second consecutive elite women's gravel national title, while Voss won her first national title in gravel, having started her career as a junior more than 20 years ago, winning the 2004 cyclocross title as a junior.
The women's field was narrowed down to a final uphill sprint between the former Unbound Gravel 200 champions, with 2023 winner Schiff edging 2024 winner Rosa Kreiser (Rose-MAAP) by three seconds. Janine Schneider (Embrace the World) crossed the finish down in third place, nearly 10 minutes behind.
“I'm really happy to be the German gravel champion again this year. It was a tough race with a lot of ups and downs, both physically and mentally,” Schiff said on his social networking site, suggesting that he had two crashes during the race and was in chase mode until the final 18km.
Reflecting on the race on Instagram, Klaser said that she took the lone lead of the elite women's field in the early 39km of the 123km event, and that she believed she had built a two-minute margin with less than 30km to go. Schiff suffered two crashes midway through the race, but was able to hold on for a final sprint win.
“Eventually, after the longest section of the race with 18km to go, the winner was brought back by a strong man and I was cornered; it was a tough pill to swallow after being at the front all day, but in a mixed gender race it is not against the rules. In the final uphill sprint I had nothing left,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I hope that the BDR (German Cycling Federation) will give the women an independent race next year and make it more exciting, safe and fair for everyone. I am happy with my shape and it keeps me motivated. I saw a lot of friendly faces at the All-Japan Championships and my family has always supported me.”
Drafting from riders in other divisions was within the rules of the race. While Schiff tagged along with the male riders as she returned to the front of the women's race, Kresser was also able to maintain her lead position in a small group of male riders. In other competitions, women are becoming accustomed to new rules that prevent the mixing of categories to make it a true women-only race.
Unlike the growing number of gravel championship races around the world, the German event will feature a mass start, with elite riders of both sexes entering the course together. The races are held on a varied course with an elevation gain of 2,700 meters in the Eifel volcanic region of western Germany. Much of the course has been used in mountain bike marathon races, and Schiff notes that it is a technical course with muddy sections and steep climbs.
Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States are among the countries that have separate starts for elite women and elite men in gravel national competitions; at the UCI Gravel World Championships, the elites continue to compete separately on separate days, although the distances in the two categories differ. on separate days.
When Schiff made her winning move at the Unbound Gravel 200 two years ago, she accelerated from the lead pack of pro women onto the wheels of several pro men and broke away for the win in that pack with 60 miles to go. She was within the rules that had been mandated that year, and the other women crossed the finish line along with the professional or amateur men.
Since then, many U.S. races, including unbound gravel and Lifetime Grand Prix events, have moved away from mixed-gender mass starts to reduce or eliminate the problem of drafting being a negative move. This year in Emporia, Kansas, there was a 25-minute gap between the elite men and elite women, allowing the women's lead group to contest the sprint finish without the men's field encroaching on it.
Schiff, who has three wins in the UCI Gravel World Series and one in the Traka 200, won his sixth race of the season.
Vos crashed four times in the German championship, but won by 1:48 over Sascha Weber (Trek-Snooze VSD) and 2:51 over defending champion Lucas Baum (Orbea-Reato Speed Company).
“I crashed a lot (as if I lost the ability to control the bike) and the MTBers gave me a hard time on the descents. But luckily my legs were always good enough to come back and drop them all at once to get the jersey,” Vos said on his Instagram account.
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