Franz rocks gravel with brilliant bronze

Credit: @dav.sear & @radlgrvl

Heidi Franz claimed third place at the RDL GRVL after tackling the 108km gravel race in its inaugural year.

Having finished 19th on the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under just days before, Franz wasn’t quite finished with her racing in Adelaide just yet, swapping the tarmac for gravel at the RDL GRVL race.

A fast start saw Franz in the mix from the off, with many of the multi-disciplined stars from the Tour Down Under battling it out once again in the hot Australian sun.

The American broke away from the main bunch with Australian riders Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek) and Nicole Frain (Hess Cycling), with the three working together on the tough terrain in the Adelaide Hills.

Coming into the last few kilometres, Frain and Chapman just managed to force a gap, but Franz’s powerful sprint – which saw her take fifth in the Tour Down Under – saw her closing in the final hundred metres.

While Franz just missed out on the top spot, finishing only three seconds behind the winner Chapman, a brilliant bronze saw Franz take the podium spot well ahead of the next rider.

Speaking on her bronze, Franz said: “It was a really fun, really fast day in the Adelaide Hills, racing some new gravel roads. I didn’t have the best legs and had to be a bit more precise with my energy, but I sure had the advantage with some big gearing and a fast bike! 

“It was a tight race between Brodie and Nicole, all the way to the last couple kilometres, and a climby single track section broke us up. It felt like I sprinted for a whole kilometre and nearly caught the two in the last few hundred meters but settled for third. It was really fun to explore this side of Adelaide!”