He dropped the last of them, the surprising Frits Biesterbos, on a gravel climb 18 km from the finish line and gradually wore down the persistent Dutch rider to win by 40 seconds. Slovenia’s Matej Mohorič, who beat Vermeersch in 2023, took the final podium spot, 1:23 behind the winner.
A comeback victory
“It was a really hectic start,” said Vermeersch, who lost last year’s championship to Mathieu van der Poel. “After 10 km, I had a puncture, but luckily, 20 km later, I could get back to the peloton, and I saw a good moment, and I went for it. I didn’t see much of the peloton; I was always chasing or in the front, and then once we got away with three and then ultimately four, I knew it was only one way to the finish.”
Vermeersch broke his leg in February of last year in a crash and missed the next four months of the season. Though he has had some good results with UAE this year – after riding with Lotto for seven years – this was his first win in two years.
“It was a bit of a mental thing because I came from my leg fracture last year, and I’ve done some really nice results this year,” he told Cyclingnews. “And I definitely had a good year. But to win, for me, now it is the end point of the injury, and now, hopefully, I can continue in winning ways next season.”
Pre-race favourite Tom Pidcock came to the start after finishing sixth in Saturday’s Il Lombardia and started the race without having seen the course. This was also his first-ever gravel world championship, and he has spent very little time on his gravel bike recently due to his busy road schedule. “It’s a bit of everything. It’s something new for me, something different,” he told Cyclingnews.
He was caught out by Vermeersch’s early attack and probably a bit undone by the many narrow trails and paths and repeated changes of direction, all of which did not help the chasers. He finished sixth, 1:41 behind, a decent finish considering all the riding he has done in the second half of the season.
Three times was a charm for Florian Vermeersch, who won Sunday’s Elite Men’s Gravel World Championship after finishing second the previous two years. © Profimedia
Drama, suspense and disappointment
The women’s race, run on Saturday, was dramatic, suspenseful, thrilling, shocking and even baffling. With 35 km left to ride on the 131 km course from Beek to Maastricht, the race was down to two lead groups of five and seven riders, respectively, nine of whom were Dutch. The three exceptions were Romy Kasper of Germany, Italy’s Silvia Persico and the 21-year-old Czech Julia Kopecký.
In those final 35 km, the lead group of five consistently held a lead of around 20 seconds on the seven-rider chase group. About 20 km from the finish, Lorena Wiebes and defending champion Marianne Vos attacked from the lead group, which changed everything. Because Persico chased and caught them at 16 km, and she dragged riders from both groups with her. Eventually, a lead group of eight riders formed, which was temporarily cut in half on a short, steep climb.
With 12 km left to ride, the young Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij burst out of a lead group of six and soon opened a gap. With 9 km left to ride, she led by 21 seconds; at 7 km, the lead was down to 17 seconds as the young Kopecký led the chase, clearly giving up her own chances for one or more of the Dutch riders. But for whom?
Well, Kopecký rides for the SD Worx–Protime team, as does Wiebes. It was the Czech rider who dragged the Dutch riders after van Anrooij, who looked to be on the verge of the first major victory of her career. But when Kopecký tired with 2 km left to ride, van Anrooij’s Dutch teammate Yara Kastelijn took up the chase until, 200 meters from the line, Wiebes burst past her and van Anrooij, as did the irrepressible Vos. Wiebes was too strong and held off the legend, preventing her from taking the 259th win of her amazing career. Wiebes may yet catch her in that race too, because the victory was her 118th, that’s 10 more than Tadej Pogačar, and the Dutch rider is six months younger.
Van Anrooij was crushed after being chased down and overtaken by her fellow Dutch riders and finishing fifth, 10 seconds behind the winner. “My chance to win the world title has been taken away from me,” she told NOS. “I just don’t understand why it has to be closed down now. It’s clear: if someone is leading the race and is certain to become world champion, and they’re from the same country, you let them go.”
Well, no. Not always. Dutch team head coach Laurens ten Dam told Cyclingnews, “It’s a gravel race, so tactics look strange, but at the end, it’s also more or less individual [racing]… I feel for [van Anrooij] too, you know, like for that disappointment. So the feelings are mixed. It’s just half an hour after the finish, those feelings are all dashed. I really feel for her.”
That didn’t do it for the unhappy van Anrooij, who went on to say: “Ultimately, I think I was strong enough to stay ahead of them and become world champion here. I don’t want to say too much about it; I don’t want to say anything wrong. But I think this was my chance at the world title, and it was taken away from me.”
On Sunday, Kastelijn apologised for her part in her teammate’s defeat. “I absolutely didn’t want to make Shirin lose,” she said through her Fenix-Deceunick team, according to Wielerflits. “I just wanted to get the most out of myself. Laurens ten Dam, our national coach, had also made clear before the race that the Gravel World Championships aren’t raced with the same mindset as the European Road Championships. I took that a bit too literally in the final. I regret it now, though.”
Results 2025 Elite Men’s Gravel World Championship
Florian Vermeersch, Belgium 4:39:12
Frits Biesterbos, Netherlands +0:40
Matej Mohorič, Slovenia +1:23
Floris Van Tricht, Belgium +1:40
Félix Stehli, Switzerland +1:41
Tom Pidcock, Great Britain “
Tim Wellens, Belgium +1:46
Rick Ottema, Netherlands +2:46
Timo Kielich, Belgium “
Magnus Bak Klaris, Denmark +3:59
Results 2025 Elite Women’s Gravel World Championship
Lorena Wiebes, Netherlands 3:58:16
Marianne Vos, Netherlands “
Silvia Persico, Italy +0:02
Yara Kastelijn, Netherlands +0:04
Shirin van Anrooij, Netherlands +0:10
Julia Kopecký, Czechia +0:19
Femke Markus, Netherlands +0:43
Femke De Vries, Netherlands “
Larissa Hartog, Netherlands +1:36
Romy Kasper, Germany +1:38