KLÖSER CLAIMS SILVER AS CROMWELL SIGNS OFF WITH 8TH AT GRAVEL WORLDS

As Rosa Klöser continued to establish herself on the global cycling stage with a hard-earned silver medal, Tiffany Cromwell brought her distinguished career to a close with a thrilling ride to 8th place. Together, the CANYON//SRAM on-road teammates played contrasting but equally compelling roles in an epic showdown during Saturday’s 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships.

The 125km race, starting and finishing in Nannup, Western Australia, unfolded largely on wide, hard-packed forestry roads through rugged, Belgian Ardennes-style terrain, with a hefty 3179m of elevation gain. There was little respite along the relentlessly undulating route, and while the climbs weren’t overly long, their eye-watering gradients more than compensated.

Overcast skies and dreary conditions offered little resemblance to the sun-baked Australia that many might have expected. Showers in the preceding days had left the roads damp and muddy, demanding a different approach to what is required on looser, drier surfaces.

Even by the 40km mark, the original 50-rider peloton had been halved, with the technicality and terrain exposing the weaknesses of many. For Rosa, however, the course was proving to be the least of her worries. Perhaps the number 13 on the back of her jersey had something to do with it, but a puncture had already cost the German precious minutes, forcing an unfavourable chase to regain contact with the front. Nevertheless, she battled back into the leading dozen over the crest of the day’s first major ascent, Brockman (2.4km at 8.2%). Tiffany, meanwhile, had been distanced on the honest climb but clawed back a one-minute deficit with the help of a determined chase group.

From that point on, with more than 80km still to race, Tiffany took matters into her own hands. With the end of a remarkable 18-year career in sight, she threw caution to the wind and launched a spirited attack from the group packed with pre-race favourites. Progress was slow across the demanding terrain, and she struggled to disappear from view, but her advantage steadily grew, eventually approaching 90 seconds at its peak.

To put it simply, Tiffany was in her element, committing fearlessly to the effort and taking charge of her own farewell on familiar terrain. The course was a happy hunting ground, too; she had already won the SEVEN gravel race three times on similar roads. 

While the Aussie legend was thriving, Rosa was once again at the mercy of misfortune. With 66km remaining, she suffered another mishap when a rogue Australian stick became lodged in her drivetrain, forcing her off the bike and back into chase mode once more.

As the race reached the Ellis Creek climb (2km at 9.1%), with less than 60km to go, Tiffany’s first escape came to an end as she was caught by a leading group of five that included a resurgent Rosa. Gradients ramped up to a punishing 27% in the final 500m of the brutal ascent, where Rosa, Marianne Vos (NED) and Nele Laing (GER) emerged with a slender advantage over the crest. The group soon swelled to eight, setting up a cagey following 30km as attacks came and went.

All the while, Tiffany was doggedly fighting her way back. Despite burning through numerous matches in her solo effort and lacking the climbing capabilities to match the strongest on the savage ascent, she refused to concede her place in the race without a fight.

What came next was an iconic moment of instinctive audacity. Inside the final 25km, the gutsy 38-year-old joined the front group, but only for a split second. Ever the racer, she went on the offensive once more in a ‘no mercy, no surrender’ style move, determined to leave everything in her legs – and not a single regret – out on the course.

A rueful shake of the head followed when she glanced back to see that she had opened yet another gap, but there was no hesitation in putting out even more power. The timing could hardly have been better, with riders entering the finishing loop where numerous vantage points brought crowds closer to the otherwise remote action. 

Buoyed by the roar of impassioned fans into the base of the Folly Road climb (3.6km at 5.4%), Tiffany motored on, creating an unforgettable image of an Australian leading a home World Championships in her last competitive race.

Shortly afterwards, as the gradients dictated the racing once again, Rosa applied the pressure in an impressive display of seated strength, and this time only Vos could follow. The leading duo quickly caught Tiffany before pressing on in pursuit of the rainbow jersey, with the last remnants of a peloton exploding behind them.

Inside the final 4km and just before a tricky descent, Vos launched a sudden and stinging attack that left Rosa scrambling to respond. She fought her way back onto the wheel of the Dutchwoman, but for Rosa, the first corner of the descent completed an unfortunate hat-trick of setbacks. The crash was an incredibly frustrating turn of events, abruptly ending the two-way battle for the rainbow jersey.

Having shown immense resilience and fortitude in a race that rarely went her way, Rosa crossed the line 27 seconds behind the legendary Vos to take a magnificent silver medal. Despite being a major force in the gravel scene, the result marked Rosa’s first-ever top 10 at the UCI Gravel World Championships – further proof of her world-class ability off-road.

Seven minutes and 15 seconds after Vos claimed her 15th (!) rainbow jersey, Tiffany still had enough in the tank for one final battle, winning a small tussle with one other rider to secure eighth place.

A true fairytale ending wasn’t to be, but Tiffany’s ride itself had already been something rather special. After 18 years in the sport, she signed off with a performance that embodied everything she has brought to racing – tenacity, panache, total commitment, and more. Mud-caked and covered in filth, she had nevertheless delivered a masterclass in racing with style.

Now, let’s hear from the two riders themselves. Reflecting on her tumultuous yet highly successful outing, Rosa said:

“It was a really hard day, and unfortunately, I have to say that luck was not on my side. I already had a flat tire after 20km and, to be completely honest, I couldn’t actually find the damage to the tire. It took me quite a while to get going again, and I had a huge gap to all the favourites. At this point, I already thought my race was over. But at the end of the day, I’m here at the World Championships, and it’s a privilege to race. I didn’t want to give up right then and there, so I kept pushing.

I think I can at least say that I got the QOM on the first climb of the day, for sure, because that’s where I really managed to close the gap and make it back to the front. Of course, that cost me quite some energy and also maybe allowed some of my competitors, who are not so strong on the climbs, to recover a bit more.

Considering everything that happened, I am of course happy to be on the podium, and if I have to lose, then losing to a classy rider like Marianne [Vos] is probably the best possible outcome! Currently, the disappointment is a bit higher than the joy of the medal, but if anything, I can already say that now it motivates me to work even harder, so I can stand on that top step in the future!”

And then, Tiffany Cromwell. When asked about her final competitive outing before retiring from professional cycling, she had plenty to reflect on:

“Eighth place – I’m super happy and proud with that result. I always said that the absolute dream would be to win or make the podium, but a top 10 was far more realistic.

I’m especially happy with the way that I raced, and how I took my chances. I knew I wasn’t able to match the best on the climbs, so I had to look for other opportunities to just go for it. It was one of those rare times when I’ve raced and haven’t overthought things in my head – I simply rode my bike and never gave up. It was a satisfying way to finish my career, and I’m happy I could achieve a top 10.

Honestly, I didn’t really have a clear plan going in. With gravel, of course you can mark out the key points where maybe you try something, but the dynamic of the racing is always tricky when there’s both an individual and a slight team dynamic. So, I just like to go in and observe what people are doing, and I also knew that this course – well Brockmans especially, the first really hard climb – was always going to be very tough for me. 

When I was dropped there and in the second group, I was like, ‘Okay, this is now where I’ll be racing.’ But then the action at the front never really seemed to kick off. I think people were too scared to play their cards too early, and it was more about the hardest climbs, where people like Rosa – and obviously Vos – could do their thing. So then, when we came back to the front, I was like, ‘You know what, why not? Let’s just race our bikes and let’s attack.’

It wasn’t the most ideal point on the course but actually, it really paid off. The conditions were wetter than we were expecting and a bit more muddy and sluggish, but I was able to choose my own lines, ride my own pace, and also get a headstart on one of the hardest climbs on the course. I knew that if I arrived there in the group, I would’ve been dropped anyway.

After the [Ellis Creek] climb, the front group was always there and within touching distance, but I wasn’t able to quite close the gap. Then, on a road section before the final 25km lap, I think Nicole [Frain] had attacked, and after that the group was rolling slowly again. So, I just kept my tempo and made it up to them. Again, it was either sit in and get dropped on Folly as soon as we hit it, or use whatever I have left to do one more attack, and just keep the racing dynamic fun.

It worked out and I had a headstart into the electric atmosphere on Folly. It was pretty cool to be leading the race with such a huge amount of support. But obviously, I knew that I was done. My legs were really suffering, and I couldn’t respond when Rosa, Marianne, and the others came past. From there, it was more about just getting to the finish. I knew I wasn’t coming back because that was the last opportunity to really race for the win. But still, I pushed all the way to the finish, and was just racing with a free mind – not overthinking, just enjoying.

I always get a bit more nervous with World Championship races when it’s only me who can achieve the result, so on the start line I was a bit nervous, but also very calm. As soon as we started racing, I just got down to business, and put myself in the place where I knew that I needed to be. I think I rode a smart race – within my limits while also pushing beyond.

It still hasn’t sunk in fully that it was my last race, probably because it’s also the completion of a major, major goal, and now I’m going into off-season mode. I think it’ll [retirement] will probably hit me more when everyone is starting to train again, and I’ve got nothing to train for!

All in all, it was just really special. I’ve obviously raced a lot of big races but there haven’t been so many times when I’ve experienced these huge crowds. Today though, it felt like racing in Flanders where there are these small, intense pockets with people screaming and an insane amount of noise. The only point where I was maybe slightly emotional was going up Folly through those epic crowds – I had so much support and so many people cheering my name. It was also a really nice atmosphere at both the start and the finish. I had a couple of friends there, and just so many people saying well done and mentioning how I’ve inspired them. It was really sweet to hear, and just a nice day all around.”