Adam Toupalik (Unibet Tietema Rockets) and Hanna Nilsson (Sartoria Ciclistica Squadra Corse) claimed the top spots at Gravel Adventure, holding off Petr Vakoč (Canyon) and British champion Annabel Fisher (BIXS Far Out) in the UCI Gravel World Series round in Poland.
Toupalik delivered a time of 3:51:19 for the 128km event, crossing the line in the men's elite race just over a minute ahead of Vakoč, who was forging through the fatigue of Unbound 200. Seppe Rombouts (PAS Racing) was 4:26 back from the winner, the Belgian taking third at the event for a second year running.
Nilsson took her first Gravel World Series win at the women's elite race, which looped out from Jakuszyce, with a time of 4:46:01, beating Fisher in a tight dash to the line. Theresa Rindler Bachl (Protective Factory Team) was third, 24 seconds back.
The race had started in fine conditions but was then hit by heavy rain mid-event.
"During the downhill all of us got extremely cold," said Nilsson, of the situation after the rain, in a social media post . "In the final 10km I went to the front to push a bit more because I had to get some heat back in my body.
"With 4km to go I turned around and noticed we were only with 2 girls. From there on it was full gas and I was able to cross the finish line with enough seconds to put my hands up in the air."
Last year Hans Becking and Carolin Schiff claimed the victories in the Polish race, which was early to join the UCI Gravel World Series. The series has rounds scattered around the globe, all acting as qualifying for the UCI Gravel World Championships, to be held on October 11 and 12 in Limburg in 2025. The next events are Gravel Challenge Blaavands Huk in Denmark and Safari Gravel Race in Kenya on Saturday June 14 then there is Wish One Millau Grands Causses on Sunday June 14.
| Position | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Toupalik | 3:51:19 |
| 2 | Petr Vakoč | +1:00 |
| 3 | Seppe Rombouts | +4:26 |
| 4 | Adam Żuber | +6:22 |
| 5 | Andrew Lydic | +7:12 |
| Position | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanna Nilsson | 4:46:01 |
| 2 | Annabel Fisher | +05 |
| 3 | Theresa Rindler Bachl | +24 |
| 4 | Sabine Sommer | +2:38 |
| 5 | Melissa Wijfje | +3:12 |
