This past weekend, 2,613 cyclists from 49 different nationalities fought for glory in the Brabant Forests at the Gravel World Championships. The winners of the elite categories were Marianne Vos and Mathieu van der Poel.
2183 riders qualified for age group races, having finished in the top 25% of their age group in the UCI TREK Gravel World Series or as national champions.
The men over 65 and women over 50 had a direct finish after the 88km road race from Halle to Leuven. The women under 50 and men between 50 and 64 had to complete another 47km local circuit for a total of 136km on Saturday.
The men's age groups, 19-49 years old, started five minutes after the elite men on Sunday, to cover the same distance of 182 km: 88 km on the road plus two local laps.
Among the champions, we see Belgian Joyce Verbeken as the only rider to have managed to renew her world title from last year, albeit in a different category. Belgians dominated the younger women's categories, while American riders claimed all the titles in the senior women's categories. In the men's categories, Belgium, France and Spain won multiple medals.
We would like to highlight the two Spaniards who have been crowned world champions this year: Juan Horrach in M50-54 and Mario Fernandez Martinez in M60-64.
Gravel World Champions by age group
F19-34: Marine Lenehan (IRL)
F35-39: Kim Knaeps (BEL)
F40-44: Joyce Vanderbeken (BEL)
F45-49: Stefanie Adam (BEL)
F50-54: Marijke De Smedt (BEL)
F55-59: Bente Kortbaek Kibsgaard (DEN)
F60-64: Laura Van Gilder (USA)
F65-69: Ruth Clemence (USA)
F70-74: Vanessa Cooney (USA)
F80-84: Wendy Skean (USA)
M19-34: Killian Tharrut (FRA)
M35-39: Jo Pirotte (BEL)
M40-44: Carlo Porco (BEL)
M45-49: Loic Herbreteau (FRA)
M50-54: Juan Sebastian Horrach Ripoll (ESP)
M55-59: Jonas Tell (SWE)
M60-64: Mario Fernandez Martinez (ESP)
M65-69: Andreas Suls (BEL)
M70-74: Wilfried Straub (GER)
M75-79: Jozef De Wever (BEL)
M80-84: Roger Landeloos (BEL)