Clinton and Wade fastest at the 2022 UCI Cache Gran Fondo
Clinton Mortley outsprinted a large field after 76 miles of racing in the Utah's Cache Valley
The city of Logan in northern Utah hosted of the final opportunity for cyclists in North American to qualify for the 2022 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Trento, Italy on September 15-18 2022.
The 76 mile course of the 11th edition of the race in the Cache Valley in Northern Utah counted as qualifier distance for the World Championships, with over 513 riders registering. Thecourse was also the qualifying distance for the 2022 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships taking place in Asheville on July 17th 2022.
Starting and finishing at Green Canyon High School, the couse is a loop north towards the state border with Idaho. It is very flat and fast race with a total elevation of only 1722 ft of climbing.
Unsurprisingly, in the finale, a huge group of 87 riders stayed together to contest the sprint.
35 year-old Clinton Mortley sprinted to first place in a time 3h 53s, ahead of Brian Zimny and John Mansell who sprinted for second and third one second behind Mortley with the rest of the peloton crossing the line just behind.
In the women's race 39 year-old Nina Wade, won in a time of 3h 1m 1s, 42nd place overall, ahead of Spring Bastow who was second and Shane Ellis who was third.
Riders who finished in the top 20% of their age/gender category have qualified for the championships.