Local hero Emily Newsom storms to victory in Gravel Locos
Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank rider wins by 19 minutes in Texas
Local professional rider Emily Newsom (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) came out on top in the elite women's race at the first-ever Gravel Locos event in Hico, Texas on Saturday.
The 37-year-old, who raced a full campaign of Spring Classics in Europe earlier in the year finished the 155-mile gravel race in a time of 8:04:28 and beat Alison Tetrick and Jessica Cerra, who finished joint second.
In the men's race Laurens ten Dam beat gravel specialist Colin Strickland by 38 seconds.
"Gravel Locos was what makes gravel racing so great," Newsom told Cyclingnews via text after celebrating her emphatic win.
The rolling terrain was peppered with several river crossings and climbs, and while the majority of the race was held under dry skies the heavens opened in the last few hours with riders' technical skills coming to the fore.
"It was a beautiful and difficult course with a lot of variety and an enthusiastic community that welcomed the riders," Newsom added.
The experienced all-rounder ensured that she was at the front of the race from the very beginning and she matched the men's elite field as part of her race strategy.
"My goal was to stay with the lead men as long as possible. From there I worked together with whomever I was around while also eating pretty much nonstop for
eight hours.
"I came into the race quite confident in my form, but so many things can happen in 150 miles. This race is local for me with it being only 80 minutes from my home so it is very special to me to take the win!"
** The event was free to enter but the race organisers asked riders and fans to donate to the local fire department with the aim of buying a new truck. Anyone can make a donation to the local fire department here.
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Emily Newsom | 8:04:28 |
2 | Alison Tetrick | 8:27:06 |
3 | Jessica Cerra | at s.t |
4 | Christie Tracy | 9:07:26 |
5 | Celine Oberholzer | 9:31:26 |
6 | Carrie Bransford | 9:50:49 |
7 | Molly Benton | 10:13:38 |
8 | Caroline Fratianne | 10:30:17 |
9 | Venny Alub | 10:45:32 |
10 | Liana Randel | 10:49:38 |
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Tirreno-Adriatico stage 4 Live - A lumpy stage with a likely bunch sprint awaits the riders
The 190km route from Norcia to Trasacco sees the peloton tackle two categorised climbs with a flat final 50km to the finish -
‘Pretty unfortunate but we are not done with this Paris-Nice’ – Ben O’Connor slips down GC after brutal conditions hit
'Yesterday was a great day for us, today not so good' says Jayco-AlUla DS Hayman after O'Connor tumbles to 20th overall on stage 4 -
'I just want to have a hot shower' - Tirreno-Adriatico peloton suffers for seven hours in cold and rain
Jonathan Milan crashes at speed just 24 hours after winning stage 2 -
'I found an opening, but I was a little far back' - Tom Pidcock impresses in sprint four days after Strade Bianche battle with Pogačar
Q36.5 rider survives seven hours in the rain to take second in Colfiorito sprint