Australian gravel champion Courtney Sherwell (Santa Cruz-SRAM) has been chasing the complete US gravel racing expertise for a lot of years, with a slot within the Life Time Grand Prix sequence till now being the lacking piece of the puzzle however that is the 12 months it has all fallen into place.
The 36-year-old started to department out from the Australian gravel scene final 12 months focussing on the Belgian Waffle Trip Tripel Crown. She shortly added weight to her declare on a 2025 Life Time Grand Prix spot when she confirmed simply how succesful she was by claiming second total within the three-race sequence behind Sofía Gómez Villafañe (Specialised).
That made it clear that Sherwell had what it took to be aggressive among the many finest, however after having been upset in earlier years, Sherwell – who additionally went on to brush up the Australian marathon mountain bike nationwide title in 2024 – definitely wasn’t complacent when the invites got here out and she or he discovered her title was among the many 22 ladies within the US-based Grand Prix.
“Oh, it was like Christmas actually,” Sherwell advised Cyclingnews as she appeared again on the announcement from the sidelines of RADL GRVL in South Australia. “I needed it for a few years now, so I am actually excited to be part of it and I can not wait.”
Nonetheless it isn’t an expertise with out its challenges for an Australian rider however Sherwell is decided to profit from the complete US season of gravel racing.
“It is an enormous 12 months. It makes me nervous simply desirous about logistics and that kind of factor however I am excited to be heading again to the US and kicking off the racing season over there with the Belgium Waffle Trip [BWR] once more in Arizona and excited to be part of the Life Time Grand Prix.”
She, nonetheless, is hoping for a smoother starting this 12 months when she traces up in Arizona to start out her worldwide season on the 166km BWR.
“I will be utilizing this primary race as a little bit of redemption.” mentioned Sherwell in a publish on social media earlier this month. “Final 12 months my race didn’t go to plan. l had a crash early on on the primary filth sector so I spent the remainder of the day attempting to chase.
“I simply actually did not benefit from the day on the market, I used to be by myself a lot of the day, so I am hoping for a little bit of a change of luck this time spherical and that I will be aggressive and on that podium.”
Sherwell will then be taking over the Cactus Cup, a MTB stage race outdoors Phoenix from March 7-9, and after that she is going to start the Life Time Grand Prix sequence on the opener in Monterey, California, April 10 at Sea Otter Traditional Gravel.
“I wish to be within the high 10 no less than within the Grand Prix so I will be aiming for that and going from there – that’ll be my base – however most significantly I simply wish to benefit from the expertise.”
That, nonetheless, would not for a second imply she’ll be doing something lower than going all out for outcomes: “I am there to race, like, I wish to race laborious. I wish to be aggressive, so, you understand, let’s go high 5 then…” a laughing Sherwell concluded.
