I won in Wales. Graean Cymru, the UCI Gravel World Series round in North Wales, came good: 113 kilometres and 1,834 metres of climbing, finished in 3h42. Jenson Young won the men’s race — the women’s and men’s elite races ran on separate days.
The sheet confirms it: 3:42:21, solo, sixteen and a half minutes clear of Abi Smith in second (+16:31). Ruby Carleton took third (+24:22) to complete an all-British podium, with Hayley Simmonds fourth (+24:24) and Lucy Lee fifth (+24:39). I led by close to a minute at the first checkpoint and around six minutes after the first lap, and nobody brought it back. The course is billed at roughly 113 km around Llyn Brenig reservoir and through Clocaenog Forest, with 1,834 m of climbing.
It’s my first win at UCI Gravel World Series level, and it arrives at the end of a season that has been full of near misses. Ninth at The Majestics in Switzerland, tenth at the Gralloch in Scotland, sixth on GC at the three-day 3RIDES race in Germany, and silver at the national championships two weeks earlier. Four results I’m proud of, none of them a win. Wales changed that.
It mattered beyond the line, too. The top three elite women at Graean Cymru qualified for the UCI Gravel World Championships, in Nannup, Western Australia, on 10–11 October 2026 — so winning earned the Worlds start, and that is the next race on my calendar.
The Numbers
| Distance | ~113 km (official course) |
| Course | Llyn Brenig & Clocaenog Forest, North Wales |
| Elevation | 1,834 m |
| Time | 3:42:21 |
| Result | P1 — Elite Women |
| Margin | +16:31 over Abi Smith (GBR) |
| Podium | All-British — 1. Hermolle · 2. Smith · 3. Carleton |
| Event | Graean Cymru — UCI Gravel World Series |
| Earned | UCI Gravel World Championships start — Nannup, Western Australia, 10–11 Oct 2026 |
Why This One
I’ve spent 2026 learning how to race gravel, and the honest version is that I’ve been the rider who gets the tactics right late but not the rider who wins. In Wales the two finally lined up on the same day.
North Wales is a good place for that to happen. It’s also, quietly, one of the better gravel venues in Britain — proper climbing, proper surface, and a course that punishes anyone who arrives underprepared. I’d rather win a hard race than an easy one.
What’s Next
The season isn’t over in my head even if the big races are done. There’s a winter of work to do, and the technical side of my riding — descending, bike handling, all the stuff I came to late — is where the next gains are. Wales is proof the endurance is there. The rest is coming.
Thank you to everyone who has backed me through a long season.
As Reported By
- UCI Gravel World Series — Hermolle and Young take home victories at Graean Cymru in Wales, 8 September 2026 — read
- Cyclingnews, Simone Giuliani — UCI Gravel World Series: Elizabeth Hermolle and Jenson Young win at Graean Cymru, 9 September 2026 — read
- Gran Fondo Guide — 2026 UCI Graean Cymru results — read
- ResultsBase — official race results — view
One note for completeness: the official results processing at Graean Cymru was disrupted on the day. The racing is not in question — the win and the gaps are agreed by the race organisers and the press.
Supported by Merlin Cycles, Ventum Racing, OGT, Spatz, Coros, ABUS, and Kenetik.