This Sunday, April 20, Morgan Aguirre (Pas/Orbea) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (PAS Racing), both from the PAS team, took victory in the UCI Monaco Gravel Race. 552 participants from all over the world and a field packed with top athletes.
Morgan Aguirre and Mads Würtz are establishing themselves as household names at the start of the 2025 season. They are two riders capable of repeating their victories in early-season races. Aguirre, in particular, has made his mark this year with wins at both the Gravel Earth Series, The Hills, and the UCI Gravel Series, establishing himself as one of the most solid figures on the current gravel scene.
Aguirre and Würtz aren't alone. Along with Magnus Bak and Gee Schreurs, who weren't present in Monaco, they form a group of riders who have demonstrated outstanding performance at the start of the season, racking up outstanding results before the arrival of the first major test: The Traka.
Meanwhile, the UCI Gravel Series is giving no respite: next weekend, the calendar intensifies with three new qualifying events. The pace is frantic, and it doesn't let up.
Let's return to Monaco. The start was from Col Saint-Pancrace, in Peille-Grimaldi, with a 120-km route that linked the Col de Braus, the Col des Boeufs, and the Farghet plateau. Then, it was time to descend the Col du Castillon to reach Sainte-Agnès, the highest coastal town in Europe.
In the women's race, American Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing Orbea) won resoundingly, crossing the finish line in 4:35:55 after demonstrating consistency. She was followed by Australian Nicole Frain (Ridley Racing Team), second in 4:40:53, and German Carolin Schiff (Canyon CFR), third in 4:43:59. Annabel Fisher, who also seemed well positioned at the start, suffered two flat tires.
Morgan Aguirre (PAS Racing Orbea)
In the men's category, Denmark's Mads Würtz Schmidt (PAS Racing) took a solid win after riding alongside Pellaud for a while (who ended up getting a puncture and falling outside the top spots), crossing the finish line in 3:51:32. He was followed by Austrian Lukas Pöstlberger (Rose Racing Circle), who finished in 3:55:15, and Italian Mattia Gaffuri (Swatt Club), who completed the international podium in 3:58:24.
Mads Würtz Schmidt (PAS Racing)
Some of the riders who stood out in Monaco were Luis Neff, Alban Lakata, who continues to adapt to the world of gravel and managed to complete the top 10, and Felipe Orts, who crossed the line in twelfth place. Also in the mix were Mateo Fontana, who finished in fourteenth place. This demonstrates that the pace of the race is getting faster and that achieving a top position is becoming a real battle.
In the women's category, second place went to Nicole Frain, while the third step of the podium was occupied by the always reliable and effective Carolin Schiff. Other notable names included Traxler, Rauwerda, Treffeisen, and Klara Sofie Skovgaard. Klara, with a twelfth place finish, is still waiting for everything to fall into place to translate her potential into results. Like many of her teammates, she's already focused on the upcoming The Traka.