Mads Würtz Schmidt (PAS Racing) and Geerike Schreurs (SD Worx-Protime) both claimed victories in tight battles to the line at Turnhout Gravel, one of two Belgian stops for the UCI Gravel World Series this season.
Schruers prevailed in the 144km elite women's race, despite not having the easiest of runs with flat tyres, by taking out a tight sprint with two fellow Dutch riders Wendy Oosterwoud (PAS Racing), who came second, and Teuntje Bekhuis (UNO-X Mobility) in third. Great Britain's Sophie Wright (Ribble Outlier) came over the line a further two seconds back to take fourth from among the group of 14 riders who had come toward the line in a bunch.
"I had several flat tires and had to chase back multiple times. At one point, I rode over 35 kilometers on a flat tyre," said Schreurs on an Instagram post. "But I kept pushing, and in the final 10 kilometers, I attacked on the technical singletrack.
"I knew positioning would be key, so I went all-in with 500 meters to go and finished it off in the sprint,” said the Women's WorldTour rider, who earlier this month raced on the road with SD-Worx Protime at Nokere Koerse and Ixina GP Oetingen.
Würtz Schmidt, who until last year raced on the road with Israel-Premier Tech, outsprinted his PAS Racing teammate Magnus Bak Klaris for the victory in the elite men's catetory. Bak Klaris had bridged to Würtz Schmidt and Mathijs Loman (Swatt Club) after the pair got away in the second of the two 72km laps, the duo eventually leaving Loman in third.
Turnhout Gravel is the first of two Belgian stops for the UCI Gravel World Series, with Houffa Gravel taking place August 30.
The UCI Gravel World Series, which also acts as qualifying for the UCI Gravel World Championships, continues with the 114 Gravel Race in Spain on Saturday, March 29. Five rounds of the global series will then play out in April - Wörthersee Gravel Race in Austria on April 6, Monaco Gravel Race on April 20, Italy's Giro Sardegna Gravel on April 25, Highlands Gravel Classic in the US on April 26 and then Paris to Ancaster in Canada on April 27.
