TIFFANY CROMWELL WINS AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL GRAVEL CHAMPIONSHIP!

Tiffany Cromwell claimed victory at the 2025 AusCycling National Gravel Championships during the inaugural Ponderosa Pines Gravel Race on Saturday – remarkably just 35 days after breaking her collarbone and shoulder at Sanremo Women.

The event, held at Mt Crawford Forest in South Australia, was a home race within a home race for Tiffany, who hails from just one hour away. It was the perfect place for her to claim her first Australian National Gravel title, and an extra special win, considering that it was her first national title since the Australian Under 19 Time Trial Championships in 2006… not that we’re counting or anything, but an amusing stat nonetheless!

She fended off challenges from formidable young prospect Talia Appleton and seasoned, classy professional mountain biker Rebecca Henderson, who was in a similar situation – also on the mend from crash injuries.

Unlike many gravel races that feature paved sections, the 102 kilometre course was entirely off-road, with an assortment of rugged surfaces including compact gravel, single track, rocky creek crossings, and sandy stretches. Add in 622 metres of elevation across each of the two laps, and the dynamic of this relatively short race became relentless and intense, as Tiffany explained:

“I didn’t take off from the gun – one of the other women did for a hot minute, but I just hid in the wheels. We got caught by the masters 1-2 men after around 20km, and then it became a race between Bec Henderson, Talia Appleton and me. We were the only ones that made the group, but then none of us could drop each other from that group. Honestly, I was suffering most of the day, but just tried to play it smart. Then in the last 5km, the guys we were with sat back and let us race, as their group had split anyway.”

The race’s technical and strategic nature worked in Tiffany’s favour, known for her tactical nous and craftiness across all types of racing – an especially valuable weapon during her comeback to peak physical form.

“Talia tried attacking first, but I closed it. Then, Bec tried something through a corner and onto a small, easy climb, but I marked that too, and left her on the front for the last 3km. With 600m to go, there was a tricky rock section, a couple of corners, and one last corner to the finish. I attacked just before that section, as on the lap before, it was a bit slow and stretched out. I took the corners pretty badly but managed to get a small gap and hold on – almost cramping as soon as I attacked!”

“I knew I probably had Talia covered on the corners, but I wasn’t sure how Bec would handle it, so I wanted to be in front of her. I think she was done by then, though, as even her earlier attack wasn’t that punchy. Once I saw that, I finally started to get some confidence for the final.”

With the victory, Tiffany earns the right to wear the green-and-gold Australian national champion’s jersey for the next year in the dirt and dust of gravel racing. Despite missing her targeted classics of Gent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen, and Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, she made the most of her unexpected downtime, proving she had managed her injuries well, adapted her training effectively, and kept her season firmly on track.

This marks the start of a gravel-heavy period for Tiffany. She will remain in Australia to race The Devil’s Cardigan in Tasmania – a round of the UCI Gravel World Series on May 10, followed by another round at the SEVEN gravel race in Western Australia, before returning to Europe and then traveling to the USA for more off-road escapades.