NEWS: Gravel Worlds medal for McNamara

VTTA member Chris McNamara celebrated a bronze medal at the UCI Gravel World Championships, which took place this weekend in South Limburg, the Netherlands.
The multi-discipline rider competed against the world’s best age category gravel riders over a gruelling 130-kilometre course.
The 50-54 age group veteran finished runner-up in the National VTTA 50-mile event in June and has ramped up his season towards the Gravel World Championships.
McNamara qualified for the World Championship by winning the UCI Gravel World Series event in Graean Cymru Gravel in Wales during July.
The Sigma Sports Race Team competitor refined his form by winning the VTTA (East Anglian Group) 10 at the end of August.
However, a very different test greeted McNamara with 263 riders ready to battle it out on the narrow roads, farmer tracks and fields of the Netherlands.
All eyes were on the UCI Gravel World Championships as age group categories raced on same day as the elite world stars.
McNamara’s event on the Saturday was later followed by the televised elite women’s event - which used the same course.
The British rider was in the thick of the action from the outset and managed to bridge across to an escape group with five kilometres remaining.
Eventually, French rider Ernesto Mendoza slipped away from the leading group to win, with Belgian Peter Verstraete sprinting for silver and McNamara in bronze.
Despite the gravel terrain, small roads and lots of corners to navigate the finishing race time for the 130 kilometres was three hours, 50 minutes and 23 seconds.
Following his bronze medal ride McNamara said: “It was an amazing experience to race at the same time as the elite women in front of big crowds.
“It was quite a fast circuit with punchy climbs and technical sections. The race thinned down fairly quickly, and it was a case of trying to stay out of trouble near the front.
“The hardest climb was with 16 kilometres to go, two riders got clear and I was in a small chasing group behind. 
“We managed to bridge across with five kilometres to go. We only had a small gap over the chasers, but the Belgium rider wouldn’t take any turns.
“Coming into the last kilometre the French rider got a gap and it turned into a pursuit to the line.”

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