TIFF TRIUMPHS AT SEVEN GRAVEL AFTER GRITTY COMEBACK

In the final of three gravel races on home soil in recent weeks, Tiffany Cromwell stormed to an ultimately unexpected victory at Seven Gravel – the largest gravel event in the Southern Hemisphere.

Part of the UCI Gravel World Series and future host of the 2026 Gravel World Championships, Seven Gravel showcases some of the most punishing yet prized off-road terrain in Western Australia. Riders tackled a brutal 125km course featuring twelve categorised climbs and a staggering 3200m of elevation – hills crammed in with barely a moment’s relief.

Tiffany takes us through her day, from a sunrise start to a dramatic finish line sprint that seemed out of the question merely kilometres earlier, describing how she overcame the odds to take the win.

“It was a full mass start. There was no separate women’s field, so it was almost back to old-school racing. It’s always fun to race more as women, but some races have logistical challenges so they can’t offer that. So, we started all together, and then it’s a bit of a last-one-standing kind of game. To be fair, I’ve been fighting a little bit of sickness in the last few days, so I wasn’t feeling 100%, but I was feeling okay enough to try and survive. We got going and tried to stay with the guys as long as possible, but then pretty much all of the women got dropped at a similar time. We actually had a group of six or seven women for a little bit, but the amateurs started two minutes behind us, so soon after, they started coming through. Again, everybody jumps, and that’s kind of how the day went – everyone tried to go in with them too. It was just me, Cassia [Boglio], Talia [Appleton] and Matilda [Raynolds] who made that initial split.

We hit the first main climb called Brockmans [2.4km at 8.2%], which was a steep little one not that far in [20km], and I wasn’t feeling great. Cassia and Talia were able to go with the pace, and I just had to be like, ‘no, not my day.’ I settled into my own pace up the climb and went from there. From then on, I really didn’t expect my race to turn around how it did.

I was just like, ‘okay, at least try to fight for the final podium spot,’ because Matilda was still there for a little bit – finally, I lost her. After that, it was just me, mixed in here and there with the amateur guys, but I didn’t really get a lot of help from them. There were a few times where they would roll through with me in the bunch and I’d get a little bit of recovery, but the course is so challenging, with all the steep climbs – it’s not really that helpful having a bunch.

Eventually, I got into my rhythm – just focused on fueling and counting down the kilometres. Like, ‘okay, let’s get this done.’

Then, about two-thirds of the way through, around 30 to 40km to go, I saw this blue colour in the distance. We didn’t really get any updates on time gaps or anything, so I was like, ‘huh, maybe that’s Talia.’ Again, I just got into a good rhythm, and the legs were starting to come around. Still not amazing, but holding strong. Every climb, I kept a good pace. On the descents, I tried to take them as fast as I could while also not wiping out, because the gravel can be quite slippery here.

Little by little, I thought, ‘huh, actually, I’m pretty sure it is Talia,’ and eventually, I closed the gap. That was one part where I was actually rotating with a couple of people for a short time, and then I got to her. It was just me and her, and the others left us alone and disappeared. So I was like, ‘okay, alright, we’re in the fight for second again,’ but I didn’t even know where first was.

That went on for a bit with Talia. She’s very hard to shake – she doesn’t give up easily. We were working well together, but on every climb, if I had her on the front, she’d go a little bit slower. So I just tried to keep the pace on, thinking maybe the steep stuff would be my advantage. I pushed it, but she was always tight on my wheel.

Eventually, on one climb, I got a gap. I was thinking, ‘okay, great, awesome’ – then she came back to me. I was like, ‘she really doesn’t want to give up!’

Finally, on another steeper climb, I just focused on riding a good but hard tempo, and that eventually broke her. I knew she wasn’t going to give up, so I couldn’t be content – that wasn’t the job done. I was in second, but I had to push on. There was maybe 12.5 to 15km to go, so I pushed on in full time trial mode.

I then got a few time gaps to Cassia, like a minute and a half, but I thought, ‘nah, no chance. Second, yep – happy with that. Better than I was expecting.’ Still, I stayed in full time trial mode, just on my own, trying to put the power down.

Then, I had a minute – someone said, ‘yeah, it’s a minute,’ and I was like, ‘huh.’ Shortly after, in the very far distance I could see a rider, and thought, ‘is that her?!’ I wasn’t 100% sure, but again I kept pushing, the whole way. The legs still had something in them – definitely tired, but with good fatigue resistance.

As we entered the last climb, which was about 1km long, I could see her. I thought, ‘alright, game on.’ That’s when I think she realised it was me coming, so you could see her trying to push. I dug really, really deep up the climb but didn’t get her before the top – there was still a gap. So it really became a time-trial pursuit – she was maybe 20 seconds ahead, and I was behind trying to get everything out of my legs.

From then on, it was basically downhill to the finish. We had the final 3–4km singletrack section, which was a little bit annoying and sketchy, because that’s where many of the other race distances come together, so you feel bad yelling at people to move. But that’s what you have to do when you’re trying to chase down the leader.

Most people got out of the way, but the passes were still sketchy. When I got to her, she had one guy on her wheel. I asked him so many times, “can you please move? Let me through, we’re racing for the win,” blah blah blah – but he didn’t want to move. So I had to do a bit of a dodgy pass, which got me past both of them. Then I just had to take the lead for the rest of the way.

I never sat up. I thought, ‘let’s just go full and keep front position for the final.’ The legs were feeling like they were going to start cramping, but with gravel finishes, they’re often a bit technical or have a short sprint, so it’s almost always more favourable, nine times out of ten, to take it from the front.

So I did. I kept her behind me, she stayed in my wheel, but I kept the pace hard. I’m sure she had tired legs too. Then there was one corner that I took really badly. I thought, ‘oh great, she could easily come underneath me here.’ But maybe she didn’t get it quite right either, so I still had front position going into the last two corners remaining, and tried to give it whatever I had.

It was a slightly longer sprint than I was anticipating, but I think she was just as tired as I was, and I managed to hold her off. As I said, it was a big surprise, especially because, at one point, I think I was told I was four minutes down. I’m happy to get the win to finish off the Australian block, even when I wasn’t feeling 100%. It’s a great event, on a super tough course. Moving ahead, I now have a bit of a rest at home, and then we start the USA stint with Unbound 100 and then SBT GRVL a bit later. It’s giving me confidence, knowing that the fitness is there. Once I get back to 100% healthy, I’m sure those races will go well too.”

Tiffany’s dogged determination and experience rose to the occasion in this race of attrition, turning a day that started unspectacularly into a brilliant victory – using 100% of the partially charged battery she had on the day.

Look out for the green and gold jersey heading stateside soon!