UCI Gravel World Series: Hugo Drechou and Sophie Wright surge to victory in opening French round at Wish One

Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) and Sophie Wright (Ribble Outliers) powered through the dry and sunny conditions to claim victory at Wish One Millau Grands Causses, the opening French round of the UCI Gravel World Series.

The French champion claimed the men’s title at the long-running series event in a tight battle to the line with Jente Michels (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who took second place four seconds back. 2023 winner Toby Perry (Reverb) was third, finishing 16 seconds after Drechou, who completed the 130km course with over 2,000m of elevation gain in four hours and nine seconds.

British rider, Wright, on the other hand, was all in for a long solo. She escaped before the halfway mark of the race and built the gap across the long climbs and technical gravel sections to cross the line with a substantial gap after 4 hours, 35 minutes and 25 seconds. Sofia Schugar (MAAP Pro.Fwd) was second at just over 23 minutes later, while in third, more than seven minutes further back in the splintered women’s field, it was Leonie Laubig.

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