Ashlin Barry and Devon Clarke win UCI World Series spherical at Blue Mountains Gravel Fondo

Ashlin Barry (EF Education-ONTO) and Devon Clarke (Chalk’s Training) gained Canada’s Blue Mountains Gravel Fondo, a part of the Trek UCI Gravel World Series held on Saturday in Ontario. 

The 16-year-old Barry triumphed within the males’s race at 31 seconds up on closest competitor Benjamin Perry (Groove Gravel). He and three different riders hit the third and shutting lap collectively, with Barry outpacing the remaining after a climb on a 3km technical part with deep mud puddles as he powered clear. 

Brennan Wertz (Mosiac Cycles), who suffered a crash on a recon of the course the day earlier than the race, completed third at 40 seconds to finish the rostrum. From the lead group, Joe Laverick (Ribble Collective) dropped nicely again for fourth. Barry’s father, former WorldTour rider Michael Barry, completed eleventh.

In the ladies’s race, Clarke took the spoils, placing in a protracted solo experience on the entrance after the lead group broke aside 30km into the day’s motion. The 2023 Canadian gravel nationwide champion ultimately crossed the road with a mammoth 8:11 benefit over her nearest rival, Maghalie Rochette (Canyon CLLTV), whereas Anna Hicks rounded out the rostrum 13:46 later.

The 120.4km race passed off from Osler Bluffs Ski Hill, positioned simply 5 kilometers south of Collingwood on the southern finish of Georgian Bay in Ontario. The course featured a 40km loop with 450 meters of elevation acquire on every move of the three circuits. It was the one Canadian qualifying occasion for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships, to be held in Belgium on October 5-6.

It was amongst three rounds of racing within the World Series this weekend, with Hans Becking and Maddy Nutt successful the Safari Gravel occasion in Kenya and Florian Dauphin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Carolin Schiff (Canyon CLLCTV) taking titles within the French spherical, Wish One.