Over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of March, 6 members of the Merlin Cycles Rivington Brewing Co. Racing Team headed to Belgium with the aim of attacking the UCI Gravel World Series at Turnhout, Belgium. With the plan of qualifying for the UCI Gravel World Championships in September it was a weekend of fast paced riding, plenty of dust, and of course, a few Belgium beers.
The team that headed out were all riding an a mix of Age Groups, with some riding against European and World Champions. The parcour being in Belgium was described as flat, with a slight ‘climb’ over the 2 lap, 72km circuit (144km in total). Our riders were;
- Isac Paddock, Mens 19-34
- Oliver Cox, Mens 19-34
- Paul McLeod, Mens 40-44
- Tony Greenhalgh, Mens 50-54
- Andy Oldham, Mens 50-54
- Si Deplitch, Mens 50-59
On the Saturday, and to get a feel of the course, the team, along with myself and Rob who looks after the Marketing here at Merlin, headed to tackle half the course. What greeted us was an expected flat parcour with a mixture of ‘champagne’ gravel, sandpits, and concrete road sections. It was clear the racing from the off was going to be flat out, high power, and tough. There was much talk about bike set-ups, tyre choice and pressures and gearing, with some of the team starting to question their choices (naming no names!). Pasta was consumed, and early nights were had for all.
Come race day, Rob and I ensured the team were looked after heading into their starting pens with coats and bidons being thrown all over. The different Age Groups set of in waves with 2 minute gaps between each. As expected, with the sound of Belgium techno music pumping in the background at 8.30am, the racing started with a bang, and it felt more like a road race as they headed out onto the first section of gravel.
Being a large circuit, the next we saw of the riders coming through was a plume of dust along the canal just before the Start/Finish after having completed the first brutal lap in a time of around 2 hours 15. Isac was the first to be spotted, powering through in a group and not taking a bottle in the feed stage. Our riders then started coming through fast, bottles being handed out thanks to our nutrition partner STYRKR, before heading back out for another brutal energy-sapping lap.
Again, the next we saw of the team would be at the Finish after racing for just over 4 hours, with average speeds of around 34 km/h and power outputs over 250W. Every rider crossing the finish had clearly been in a battle, with the field being highly competitive. The top 25% of each age category qualified for the Gravel Worlds later in the year, and we are immensely proud to say that both Tony Greenhalgh and Si Deplitch both achieved this in their Age Groups. Other riders missed out, some by as little as 30 seconds, but they will be back to attempt qualification at other rounds!
