DURBAN North resident S’annara Grove emerged as the winner of this weekend’s Underberg Gran Fondo gravel cycling race in the elite women’s category.

Riding for CJ O’Shea Racing team in England, Grove finished in a time of 5:00:05, a staggering 41 minutes clear of runner up Rouxda Grobler, with defending champion Sanchia Malan another seven minutes behind.

Grove, who finished fourth overall, also broke the course record in the women’s race previously held by Joanna van de Winkel in a time of 05:21:38.

The race saw cyclist ride a tough 140km route in the foothills of the Drakensberg.

“I was really happy with the result in the Underberg. I was paying attention to the time I was finishing in because I realised closer to the halfway mark that I could break the course record in the women’s title which was fantastic,” she said.

Also read: Durban North resident reflects on Amashova victory

It has been a fantastic year for the 31-year-old who was crowned the South African road race women’s champion earlier this year.

A little over two weeks ago, Grove also won the Amashova National Classic title in the women’s elite 106km race.

Grove gave some insight into how different racing on gravel is versus road cycling.

“It depends on where you’re racing in the world but in South Africa you often end up in small groups or on your own for large parts of the race. I also find that cycling on gravel is a lot harder on your body, there tends to be a lot of climbing particularly in KZN. Your arms are basically your suspension on the course and that bumpiness does start to wear you down so you’ve got to be mentally strong.

“Also the time you’re out on the course differs, you’re out a lot longer than some of the road races in SA where you finish around two to three hours mark versus four and a half to five hours on gravel. So it is quite different but for me it was nice to be able to cross over into the gravel racing discipline,” she said.

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