Ashlin Barry (EF Education-ONTO) and Devon Clarke (Chalk's Training) won Canada's Blue Mountains Gravel Fondo, part of the Trek UCI Gravel World Series held on Saturday in Ontario.
The 16-year-old Barry triumphed in the men's race at 31 seconds up on closest competitor Benjamin Perry (Groove Gravel). He and three other riders hit the third and closing lap together, with Barry outpacing the rest after a climb on a 3km technical section with deep mud puddles as he powered clear.
Brennan Wertz (Mosiac Cycles), who suffered a crash on a recon of the course the day before the race, finished third at 40 seconds to complete the podium. From the lead group, Joe Laverick (Ribble Collective) dropped well back for fourth. Barry's father, former WorldTour rider Michael Barry, finished 11th.
A double men’s junior road champion this year as a US-registered rider, Barry finished third at the Blue Mountains gravel race last year but was not eligible for UCI Gravel World Series points.
In the women's race, Clarke took the spoils for a second year in a row. She put in a long solo ride at the front after the lead group broke apart 30km into the day's action. The 2023 Canadian gravel national champion eventually crossed the line with a mammoth 8:11 advantage over her nearest rival, Maghalie Rochette (Canyon CLLTV), while Anna Hicks rounded out the podium 13:46 later.
The 120.4km race took place from Osler Bluffs Ski Hill, located just 5 kilometers south of Collingwood on the southern end of Georgian Bay in Ontario. The course featured a 40km loop with 450 meters of elevation gain on each pass of the three circuits. It was the only Canadian qualifying event for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships, to be held in Belgium on October 5-6.
It was among three rounds of racing in the World Series this weekend, with Hans Becking and Maddy Nutt winning the Safari Gravel event in Kenya and Florian Dauphin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Carolin Schiff (Canyon CLLCTV) taking titles in the French round, Wish One.
