SPRINT FINNISH
FALLING LEAVES LAHTI
The men of the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team take on the penultimate Gravel Earth Series race, and pull out a podium performance among the lakes and forests near Lahti, Finland.
After two legs of the Gravel Earth Series in Spain and a UCI-level race in France, the men of the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team went to race on Finnish trails.
The Falling Leaves Lahti is a 180km-long gravel race that forms part of the Gravel Earth Series, which Café du Cycliste partners with, as well as part of the Nordic Gravel Series. It takes place only a few kilometres from the picturesque city of Lahti in southern Finland, but far enough away to feel lost in the middle of a vast and unpopulated country. It’s a real deep dive into a world of rolling trails, through a landscape of huge forests and lakes.
There’s a real Forever Outsiders vibe to the Falling Leaves Lahti, in other words – a place where the team was really able to switch off from life in Nice living the Riviera hustle.
Around Nice, where the guys from our Gravel Team train, the trails are technical and steep; here, they’re flatter and roll well. The pace picked up very quickly – which played into their background as road cyclists. It was a fast, fast day.
As in a road race, a big peloton dominated, shutting down any momentary breaks. Many riders took their turn on the front, and the pressure only mounted as the finish line drew closer.
Fuelling was critical, just to stay with it in a fast-evolving situation. “I didn’t take in enough carbs. Unlike on the road, in gravel races, you’re at the limit all time,” said Axel Zuccarelli. “At the end of the race, the mental aspect really came into play,” added Andréa Mifsud.
In the final kilometres, three riders rode away from the peloton, including Café’s Andréa Mifsud, legendary former road pro Greg Van Avermaet and a local Finnish rider, who knew the parcours by heart.
Squeezing every single last drop out, the Finnish rider took the victory, with Andréa second and the Belgian third – huge congratulations to Andréa for this incredible podium performance. While the podium is an unexpected gift, and a reward for a season of dedication, the important thing at the Falling Leaves was the spirit in which we raced – full of cooperation and a camaraderie born of countless kilometres of these clubmates training on the tough roads of the Nice backcountry. After years of riding together, they know just how to take the advantage.
The next stop for the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team will be the Ranxo, the Gravel Earth Series finale that takes place in mid-October in Spain – where our women will join the men in one last push to top the season off, at an event where Café du Cycliste is the headline sponsor.
We began in Spain at a Café-partnered event, and will finish that way too – it’s a perfect end to the gravel season.
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