Ireland's Porter takes podium result in 360km Spanish gravel race

*Emma Porter has put in the ride of her life in Girona, taking the best result to date of her fledgling gravel career (Photo: Sergi Romeu Forcadell)*

Having made her debut for Ireland at the UCI Gravel World Championships in Italy last year, Emma Porter has taken the best result of her career to date with a podium finish in The Traka in Girona, Spain.

Porter, who is based in Girona and had never raced over such a long distance, nailed her pacing and fueling and was clearly in great form over the near 16-hour race, the opening round of the Gravel Earth Series.

She averaged 22.9km per hour for the 360km, which featured 5,000 metres of climbing, including some late kicks where she distanced others she had been riding with as well some of the riders she caught and passed in the final phase of the race.

She emerged from the event with 3rd place, behind winner Amity Rockwell (Trek-Pas-Maurtens-Schwalbe) and runner-up Sarah Strum (Specialized-Sram-Rapha); a fantastic result for the Irishwoman.

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Porter was in very good company on that final podium as American rider Rockwell has won Dirty Kanza 200 and Unbound Gravel while Strum is currently leading the Lifetime Grand Prix gravel series in the US and has won two national titles in cyclocross.

With about 100km of the race covered, Rockwell and Strum had already emerged as the strongest out front, with Porter getting into a three-rider group, chasing a total of five women ahead of them.

However, Porter managed to dropped the two other women she was with, as well as finishing more strongly that three of the riders ahead, picking them off one by one to go into 3rd place and hold it all the way to the line.

More to follow.