Amongst others, Marianne Vos, Riejanne Markus, Fem van Empel and Femke de Vries defended the Dutch colours during the World Gravel Championships. The riders faced 140 kilometers filled with gravel roads in and around Leuven.  

With more than 50 kilometers to go, Vos found herself in the front together with brand-new road world champion Kopecky. The duo left fellow breakaway riders Lorena Wiebes and Soraya Paladin behind. Vos and Kopecky found each other right away. They quickly gained a comfortable lead over the chasers. In the final, the two were unable to drop each other. In a sprint-à-deux, Vos placed a sharp acceleration. The Dutchwoman convincingly won her first world gravel title.  

“It was a true battle of attrition”, Vos said afterwards. “Lotte and I quickly found ourselves in the front. I knew right away that it would be a tough race, but it quickly became clear that we would sprint for the title. After a race like that, the question was how explosive my sprint would still be. Lotte is also a very strong rider. I tried to attack on the last hill in the final kilometers, but I didn't want to blow myself up. Then I hoped there would be something left in the legs. I went full with 200 metres to go. Fortunately, I was able to hold on until the end.”  

Vos received her fourteenth rainbow jersey on the podium. In her richly filled career, she already won three road world titles, two track world titles and she became world cyclocross champion no less than eight times. Her first participation in the World Gravel Championships also proved to be an instant success. “Along the way, I never thought about it. Only this title counted today. It's definitely a special world title. Any championship you can win is special. I'm very satisfied that I could finish it off.”