![\"Dutch](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/UNKAavqjJpq5SHzZZuYar.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\nRefresh <\/p>\n
2025-10-11T10:28:28.904Z<\/p>\n
There are a couple of riders less than a minute off the back who could get back on if the pace continues as it is. They are Signe Andersen (Denmark) and Oliwia Majewska (Poland).<\/p>\n
2025-10-11T10:26:44.947Z<\/p>\n
That section of climbing is done. It’s now an undulating portion of the race. Expect the selection to be made later on.<\/p>\n
2025-10-11T10:22:28.955Z<\/p>\n
It’s tight for space on these narrow, winding gravel sections. Julia Kopecky, Marianne Vos and Rosa Kl\u00f6ser jostle for position on a right-hand bend.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
2025-10-11T10:20:07.572Z<\/p>\n
The Dutch are still dominating the front of the bunch. 14 of their riders are in the first 20 positions currently, with Schreurs still tapping away in the wind.<\/p>\n
2025-10-11T10:18:24.553Z The pace has slowed a bit and a few riders have latched back on to the bunch. There are now 90 riders in contact with the front of the race.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T10:12:52.690Z<\/p>\n The bunch are now taking on a section with four short, steep climbs in quick succession. They will return to this part of the course on the second lap with around 50km to go.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T10:10:19.825Z<\/p>\n Marianne Vos is sitting further back in the group currently, as is young road star Paula Blasi (Spain). It will be fascinating to see how the new under-23 European women’s road race champion gets on today.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T10:06:46.040Z<\/p>\n Lorena Wiebes has been 3rd and 5th in her previous Gravel Worlds appearances. Can she improve on that today?<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:59:50.085Z<\/p>\n After almost an hour of racing, there are still 86 riders left in the bunch. Latvian rider Kitija Siltumena is chasing back on though.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:58:31.364Z 31km down, 100km left.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:57:38.042Z<\/p>\n Australian contender Nicole Frain is currently on the front of the group alongside Julia Kopecky. The riders are now on the flat section of road before the next hilly part.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:55:19.341Z<\/p>\n It’s been a controlled start to the race. The average speed so far is around 32km per hour.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:52:12.562Z<\/p>\n It’s a Dutch shut-out at the front of the bunch, with just Czechia’s Julia Kopecky joining them at the head of affairs. You can also see some riders being distanced on this climb.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:49:38.670Z<\/p>\n The riders have taken on a series of short hills in this opening 25km. Soon, they will descend into a flat portion before the next challenging section.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:46:13.787Z<\/p>\n Rosa Kl\u00f6ser and Nicole Frain lead the bunch with a flotilla of Dutch riders just behind.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:43:01.214Z<\/p>\n The front group is down to 86 riders, with all the favourites still ensconced in the peloton<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:41:45.787Z The Dutch are still at the front of the race, with the group led by Geertje Schreurs and Wendy Oosterwoud.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:40:26.634Z<\/p>\n This is the fourth edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships. The three previous winners of the women’s elite race were Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot (2022), Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (2023) and Vos (2024) – the Dutchwoman is the only former champion at the race this year.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:34:22.235Z<\/p>\n The peloton is already stretched out on the opening, narrow sections<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:30:41.625Z<\/p>\n Another view of the start in Beek around 30 minutes ago.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:28:24.751Z<\/p>\n The riders have already taken on the opening paved climb of the Adsteeg (700m @ 5%). They only race this climb on this opening lap.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:26:22.716Z<\/p>\n The group is already thinning. The likes of Sofia Schugar (USA), Viktoria Dehler (Germany) and Violette Irakoze Neza (Rwanda) are dropped for now.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:25:04.496Z<\/p>\n Reigning champion Marianne Vos is sitting back in the group in around 15th place, with several team-mates for company.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:23:59.221Z With the first road section of the race nearly complete, Germany’s Rosa Kl\u00f6ser is now stretching things out at the front, with Wiebes and Silvia Persico on her wheel.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:22:23.503Z<\/p>\n If you’re a road fan and you’re trying to get your head around the course today, think of the Amstel Gold Race. The race is taking place in the same region of the Netherlands, Limburg, and features a similar series of leg-sapping short climbs.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:20:06.330Z<\/p>\n Bj\u00f6rg H\u00e1konard\u00f3ttir of Iceland is one of the first riders to be tailed off the back of the group in the opening portion of the race<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:17:17.650Z<\/p>\n The riders are currently on paved roads, the gravel doesn’t begin until the Adsteeg climb in a few kilometres.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:15:16.284Z<\/p>\n The bunch is all together in the opening kilometres, but the Dutch are already showing their strength, with Wiebes, Femke Markus and Geertjie Schreurs taking up the first three positions, as Kl\u00f6ser sits just behind.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:12:57.075Z<\/p>\n Early positioning is crucial on the gravel. Thanks to their placing in the UCI Gravel Series and other criteria, these riders had the fortune of start on the front row:<\/p>\n Marianne Vos (Netherlands) 2025-10-11T09:10:11.289Z<\/p>\n Quite an orange looking front row at the start. Will the Dutch dominate the race today?<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:05:06.937Z<\/p>\n And here’s a look at the finish straight on the Groene Loper in Maastricht<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Jackie Tyson)<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T09:01:36.747Z The riders are underway! The 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships elite women’s race has begun.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:56:40.759Z<\/p>\n Former Unbound 200 winner Rosa Kl\u00f6ser is all too aware of the threat posed by the Dutch squad today. Here’s her assessment of the race tactics.<\/p>\n “If you have like 30 Dutch people sitting back, and one Dutch person rides away, and it’s a person with potential to win, nobody will do anything. That’s basically what happened last year. So yeah, don’t let the Dutchie go! I guess that’s the story.”<\/p>\n Don’t let the Dutchie go’ – Germany’s Rosa Kl\u00f6ser wary of home team at this year’s Gravel World Championships<\/a><\/p>\n \n Rosa Kl\u00f6ser rides to victory at 2025 Ranxo Gravel, and series title at Gravel Earth Series (Image credit: \u00a9 GravelEarthSeries \u2013 Ranxo Gravel \u2013 Roger Salanova)<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:53:14.387Z<\/p>\n It’s less than 10 minutes until the start<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:50:58.201Z<\/p>\n \u201cI feel excited, maybe nervous…I think I can feel confident in my ability, but I know you always need some luck in gravel too<\/p>\n One rider who has been going well all season in the UCI Gravel series is Australia’s Nicole Frain.<\/p>\n She’s an outsider today, but crucially will begin the race with a good start position due to her placing in the UCI standings.<\/p>\n Answering the ‘what if’ \u2013 Nicole Frain launches into Gravel World Championships with confidence rediscovered<\/a><\/p>\n \n Nicole Frain on her way to victory at Houffa Gravel 2025\u00a0 (Image credit: Thibaut Debelle \/ Houffa Gravel)<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:45:19.634Z<\/p>\n The riders will take on a 50-kilometre circuit two-and-a-half times, with the hardest climb of the lap being the Bronsdalweg, which averages 8%.<\/p>\n Here’s all the details of the course:<\/p>\n UCI Gravel World Championships 2025 route includes pass of Wijnandsrade Castle, Bronsdalweg climb and finish on gravel path<\/a><\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:41:44.879Z<\/p>\n The riders have to cover 131km today with 1,190 metres of climbing on the course. It will be up and down pretty much all day. No long climbs, just short, steep hills.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:39:20.350Z<\/p>\n As ever, the Dutch team looks remarkably strong. Alongside Vos, the likes of Lorena Wiebes and Puck Pieterse will also be wearing orange today on home roads.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:35:22.880Z<\/p>\n Marianne Vos is back to defend her title from 2024. She’s one of a number of road stars on the start-line.<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:31:09.478Z<\/p>\n We’ve got exactly 30 minutes to go until the elite women’s race begins in Beek<\/p>\n 2025-10-11T08:22:39.790Z<\/p>\n Don’t be surprised if you see more roadies than gravel stars at the start, though.<\/p>\n Our columnist Lauren De Crescenzo wrote about why many gravel specialists haven’t made the trip to the Netherlands for the UCI World Championships.<\/p>\n
\n90km to go<\/p>\n
\n100km to go<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wb9PqMHkRHcnGfxisYdY6e.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"Dutch](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/hAxgErtAWXbVCAPmjRR3XM.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n110km to go<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ycPHdmPwbSPthgyVoVpZqK.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n120km to go<\/p>\n
Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands)
Nicole Frain (Australia)
Wendy Oosterwoud (Netherlands)
Jade Treffeisen (Germany)
Rosa Kl\u00f6ser (Germany)
Sophie Wright (Great Britain)<\/p>\n![\"finish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HZCGrZskRQYoJx8qD3sRVG.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n131.3km to go<\/p>\n![\"Rosa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/YWUy2AJHMwesU7NbHXVa9c.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wguq4vseWnxpdesLcN3DzL.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n