On 14 September 2025, I lined up at the start of the fourth British National Gravel Championships in Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire — and rode away with the national champion’s jersey.

It was my third gravel race ever.

The Race

The course was no joke: 113.6km with over 2,200m of climbing across 16 climbs. Cool autumn conditions in Dalby made it feel harder still — the kind of day where your legs tell you one thing and your mind has to tell you another.

Olympic triathlete Georgia Taylor-Brown had been dominant for most of the race, building a four-minute lead after going solo for 90km. On paper, that gap should’ve been impossible to close. But the final lap changed everything.

I came into that last climb quietly confident. I could see her. I put in a big effort, made sure she couldn’t stay with me, and then rode it home to the finish. Simple as that — and also nothing like that.

“On the final climb, I was on my own and she was in sight. I just put an effort in to pass her, make sure she couldn’t stay with me, and then it was pretty chill to the finish.”

The Context

What makes this result feel surreal is how recently I started riding gravel. My coach Sean Yates told me to buy a gravel bike last year. I did a couple of local events. Then this.

I also want to acknowledge where I’ve come from. In 2024, I was recovering from three pelvic fractures and a sacrum fracture from a crash in Belgium. Nine months of hard work and uncertainty before I was racing again. To go from that to a national champion’s jersey inside a year — I still don’t fully have the words for it.

What’s Next

This result changes my plans. 2026 is now a full gravel season. The UCI Gravel World Series, the Gravel Earth Series, the biggest events on the calendar. I want to see how far this can go.

Thank you to Merlin Cycles, Ventum Racing, OGT, Gravaa, and Questa Financial Planning for making this season possible. Wearing the champion’s jersey means we’re all on the world stage in 2026.

Let’s go find out what we can do.