Tag Archive for: Vancouver Island Gravel Series

Brenna Pauly (centre) on the podium

Last weekend PCC athlete Brenna Pauly competed in the last race of the Vancouver Island Gravel Series, the Burnt Bridge Classic. Here is her race report.

I have done a lot of gravel riding where the Burnt Bridge Classic is located but had never done a couple of the climbs there. Five kilometres into the race we hit the first major climb and I decided to ride tempo up the climb. I ended up riding away from the group and kept the momentum over the climb.

The course offered lots of variety of terrain and beautiful scenery which I was able to take in. I set a steady pace, passing riders that started in the earlier categories. With 15 kilometres to go there was a steep loose climb and rocky decent that was the last technical part of the race before six kilometres of rail trail to finish. After 70 kilometres of solo riding, I crossed the finish line winning the women’s race.  It was a great day of racing for all, with many smiling faces crossing the finishing line!