UCI Gran Fondo World Championships: Team Slovenia to take the Team Relay win
The Team Relay is part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships schedule since 2013. 4 riders of the same nationality form a team with at least one female and one male. One of the riders has to be above 50 while another one has to be over 40. The female and one male can be of any age.
The 2.64km lap in a hotdog loop along the Swan River in the center of Perth had to be done twice before making the relay to the next rider of the team. A hectic race with a lot of excitement and position switches.
A large group of around 10 riders finished with small gaps after the first relay. Not part of that group were the two Slovenian teams who decided to put in their slower riders in the beginning and make a move to the front with their second and third rider. It resulted in an attack of the two teams together during the second relay.
During the last relay, Australia 2 brought in ex pro-rider Tom Leaper but the gap of nearly 30 seconds couldn't be closed to team Slovenia 1 who finally took the gold with Dunja Selan, Mitja Mahoric, Matej Kravos and Iztok Melansek.
Second place was for Team Australia 2 with Anna Davis, Steve Fairless, Andrew Gray and Tom Leaper.
The Bronze medal was for Australia 5 with Christine Kreskas, Trent Stevenson, Kevin Laffy and Naville Laffy.