Marianne Vos (Netherlands) added to her extensive collection of rainbow jerseys by winning the third elite women’s UCI Gravel World Championships after beating Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) in a two-up sprint in Leuven.
The former multi-discipline world champion Vos shined on the 134km course that resembled a one-day Belgian Classic with lots of flat, fast sections and short, punchy hills and claimed her fourteenth world title.
Vos and Kopecky broke away from a select lead group in the final 50 kilometres, working together and alternating at the front to widen the gap over a five-rider chase group to over three minutes as they crossed home straight on the tarmac in Leuven at the start of the 47km finish circuit. With two Dutch riders in the chase group, there was little cooperation on who would lead the pursuit.
With 10km remaining, the leading pair continued to alternate at the front, while Kopecky—riding a different bike than the one she had used throughout the road season— stretched her lower back numerous times.
The truce was off with 5km to go, when Vos was forced to come to the front after Kopecky went wide after the Dutch rider refused to come through when the Belgian flicked her elbow,
Vos’s acceleration in the short cobbled climb with 1.6km to go was answered by Kopecky who took over the front in the final straight on the tarmac. Kopecky edged close to the barriers, watching behind her until Vos kicked again in the final 100 meters to take the victory.
Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands) surged ahead of the chase group to take the bronze ahead of mountain bike world champion Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) and Romy Kasper (Germany).
“I didn't think about the previous 13, to be honest. Of course, [Gravel World Championship]’s something fairly new, but then it's a world championship so you try to do your best. And, it was nice to be in the front with Lotte, and then it's gonna be hard as well,” Vos said after claiming her fourteenth world title.
After some early attacks after leaving Halle, a lead group of over 40 riders formed at the head of the race after just over 50km of racing done before Kopecky forced the first selection with Kopecky, Vos, Wiebes, and Soraya Paladin (Italy) forging ahead.
“We were actually quite long with a pretty big group, but then on a harder part, Lotte set a really hard pace. And then we were for first with the four of us, with Lorena Weibes and also Soraya Paladin, but then with another hard part, we were left with two.”
After seeing that she could not drop her rival in the final kilometres, Vos settled in and waited for the final dash to the finish line.
“I wasn't confident for sprint for sure, but of course, I also knew that it was hard to escape. So when I saw I wasn't going to make it, I decided to wait.”
How it Unfolded
The town of Halle was bustling with riders and crowds on Saturday morning, as some of the thousands of age group World Championships racers cantered through race registration to find their spot at the race start. The elite women took centre stage, though, greeted by an unseasonably sunny and warm Belgium autumn day as they departed from the Flemish town.
Ahead of the riders was 134km of mixed terrain, complete with long gravel sectors of sharp cobbled climbs.
The first 20km passed through picturesque fields and forests largely without incident, as the first timing check - 16km in - saw the whole peloton still together with no signs of breakaways or splits in the group.
With only piecemeal slices of information flowing in before live coverage commenced, the 40km checkpoint showed an early selection, with a group of 11 riders out front – forced out by an aggressive move from Lotte Kopecky (Belgium).
And quite the group it was, compiled of Puck Pieterse (Netherlands), Marianne Vos (Netherlands), Lucinda Brand (Netherlands), Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands), Letizia Borghesi (Italy), Soraya Paladin (Italy), Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg), Christine Majerus (Luxembourg), Lotte Kopecky (Belgium), Romy Kasper (Germany) and Emma Norsgaard (Denmark).
With shots fired for the general field, the leading group of 11 was reeled in barely 10km later by a large chase containing most of the race's major contenders - aside from veteran of the gravel movement Tiffany Cromwell (Australia), who found herself one minute off the move.
The group stayed together toward the 50km finishing circuit which would take the race to the Forests of Brabant south of the Leuven, where an explosive attack came from the all-star quartet of Kopecky, Vos, Wiebes, and Paladin.
Battle of the titans
The four riders quickly opened up a 20-second gap over a chasing trio of Puck Pieterse (Netherlands), Romy Kasper (Germany), and Nicole Frain (Australia).
Kopecky and Vos gave Paladin and Wiebes only a short stint in the leading pack, though, as the two juggernauts attacked and rode clear. That left Wiebes to rip clear of the Italian and chase solo from as a gap of 45 seconds had opened as the breakaway duo rode into Leuven.
The gap simply grew and grew, with the two-up effort from Vos and Kopeky carving out over four minutes over the chasing group of Pieterse, Wiebes and Romy Kasper (Germany) with 15km remaining. It was clear that the chasers were racing for third.
Up front, attacks went back and forth between the two all-time greats Kopecky and Vos, with one then the other occasionally breaking free on stretches of farmland gravel or short sharp ascents of woodland paths. Neither was strong enough to drop the other, though, and they rode into the final 10km together.
The final 10km would offer mainly flat and paved roads punctuated by the 300m cobbled - and painfully narrow - Ramberg climb only 1.8km from the finish. With four minutes comfortably in hand, the two rode with reserve and a sense that a decisive strike would be issued at any moment.
However, with 5km remaining, it looked all too likely that the Ramberg would be the site of the winning move.
Vos struck, but it wasn't enough to break the elastic with her Belgian rival, as cobble climb gave way to gravel track, and it was now clear the race would be won in the final sprint.
So the stage was set for a sprint between two generational talents, where it was Vos who won the battle of the Titans.
Results
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