Latvia's Liepiņš takes second in "Gravel Weekend" prologue in Tukums

The gravel cycling festival "Gravel Weekend" began with a prologue in and around Tukums on Friday. Over a few years the event has grown from a local competition into a stop on the UCI World Cup series, and this year draws more than 500 riders from around the world.

The 2.1-kilometer prologue took place near Pauzeru meadows, featuring varied road surfaces along with short climbs and descents. British rider Harry Tanfield of team Ribble Outliers set the fastest time, completing the course in 3 minutes 25 seconds.

Latvian results

Latvia's former road cycling champion Emīls Liepiņš, who now rides for Swiss team Pinarello Q36.5, took second place, just 0.7 seconds behind the winner. Estonian rider Riko Tamepõld rounded out the top three, one second off the pace.

Ģirts Harkins (Dako Ziemeļvidzeme) placed fourth, while Māris Bogdanovičs (FNIX–SCOM Hengxiang Cycling Team) finished fifth, both two seconds behind the leader. Roberts Slotiņš, Kārlis Klismets and Oskars Muižnieks also made the men's top 20.

Among women, the top Latvian finisher was Annija Keita Sabule (Dako Ziemeļvidzeme), who placed eighth among 46 competitors, 29 seconds behind winner Wendy Osterwood of the Netherlands. Katrīna Sadovņikova (Junda Racing) also cracked the top ten, finishing ninth.

Saturday's schedule

The main UCI World Cup race takes place in Tukums on Saturday. The 140-kilometer race starts at 9:30 a.m., followed a minute later by men's age-group riders. Elite women set off at 10:00 a.m., with amateur women's age groups starting a minute after that. The program also includes a 75-kilometer Erica Synths race, a 34-kilometer Decathlon ride, and children's races.