Carolin Schiff (Canyon CLLCTV) continued her impressive roll, adding another UCI Gravel World Series round victory to her list at Wish One Millau in France. British rider Toby Perry (EF Education-Nippo Development) took the step for men after fending off a powerful chasing trio.
On a new section of the route on the Côte du Rouquet, with 59.5km to go Perry launched his attack from a reduced front group. The 23-year-old Briton pressed on and put time into three chasers to win under the Millau Viaduct with a lead of more than 7 minutes to French TotalEnergies' rider Geoffrey Soupe.
In third was US rider Russell Finsterwald (Specialized Off Road), who ventured to France to get a feel for European gravel racing coming off a sixth place in the pro men's Unbound 200. Nathan Haas was just behind in fourth.
Schiff also won with a strong solo effort on the 146km course with 2,200 meters of elevation gain that started and finished in Millau. The German rider came over the line more than 12 minutes in front of her compatriot and fellow Canyon CLLTV teammate Jade Treffeisen, who also came second at the Millau race in 2022. Rosa Kloser (ACR Women) followed in third, less than a minute-and-a-half later, a double puncture at kilometre 95 separating her from Treffeisen.
Wish One is the 10th round of the 2023 UCI Gravel World Series. Next Saturday, June 24, racing moves to the United States for the 11th round at Highlands Gravel Classic in Arkansas. The Gravel World Series races act as qualifiers for the UCI Gravel World Championships, which will take place in Veneto, Italy on October 7.
