For some riders\u2013notably Shirin van Anrooij\u2013and cycling fans, the gravel worlds left a bitter aftertaste on Saturday.<\/p>\n
To onlookers there was veritable confusion and outrage followed an unusual sight: a Dutch rider, Yara Kastelijn, closing down her fellow Dutchwoman Shirin van Anrooij with 1 km to go.<\/p>\n
In UCI Women Gravel worlds final we got Yara Kastelijn (NED) closing on Shirin van Anrooij (NED) so that Lorena Wiebes (NED) can win the sprint vs Vos (NED)<\/p>\n
What the hellpic.twitter.com\/Tg0ZHu7ndR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) October 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The move effectively sabotaged her compatriot\u2019s shot at the rainbow jersey. Instead, Lorena Wiebes flew past, with Marianne Vos in tow. Wiebes took the sprint, and Anrooij not only lost the rainbow jersey, but a shot at the medals.<\/p>\n Trade teams over national teams?<\/p>\n The incident sparked calls to replace national jerseys with trade-team kits at future editions, but the UCI is not ready to change course.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand why people are upset. This wasn\u2019t good for cycling,\u201d analyst Marijn de Vries said to Sporza<\/a>. Kastelijn, heavily criticized, later apologized. The confusion stems from gravel\u2019s unique qualification system. Riders secure their own entry via UCI qualifiers or wildcards, such as Tom Pidcock\u2019s, rather than being selected by national federations.<\/p>\n Dutch rider who chased down own teammate at gravel worlds now says she regrets it<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Dutch national coach Laurens ten Dam weighed in on his role in it all\u2013if there even was one.<\/p>\n \u201cI organize recon rides and encourage them to race hard at the gravel worlds ,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I can\u2019t impose tactics. With almost 30 Dutch women in the elite field, I only told them not to block each other\u2014and that a Dutch rider had to win.\u201d<\/p>\n Dutch dominance<\/p>\n The women\u2019s race ultimately became an all-orange affair, with seven of the top ten wearing Dutch colours, yet loyalty lay with trade teams.<\/p>\n Ten Dam has since floated limiting entries to ten riders per nation.\u00a0 This allows proper team selection and strategy. But UCI performance director Peter Van den Abeele downplayed the crisis. \u201cThese are growing pains,\u201d he told Sporza. \u201cWorld championships are for countries, not teams. It\u2019s up to national coaches to set strategy. Italy did it.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, gravel\u2019s open-entry ethos stays intact. \u201cThe beauty of this world championship is mass participation,\u201d Van den Abeele insisted. (Although there was a time when trade teams briefly raced the team time trial worlds.) \u201cWe\u2019ll discuss improvements.\u00a0 But we\u2019re keeping that spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n After the race, Kastelijn said \u201cI absolutely did not want to ride Shirin into losing,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I just wanted to get the maximum out of my own race.\u201d<\/p>\n (Except by chasing her down, she definitely contributed to her losing.) She said she was confused by Ten Dam\u2019s words before the race. \u201cOu national coach, had emphasized beforehand that the gravel worlds are not raced with the same mentality as a road European championship. Maybe I interpreted that a bit too literally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Devon Clarke was the top Canadian in the event. The 2025 national champion took an impressive 23rd amid many WorldTour and ProTeam riders.<\/a><\/p>\n