{"id":798843,"date":"2026-10-11T05:28:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/798843\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T05:28:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:28:21","slug":"uci-gravel-world-championships-2026-elite-men-live-the-chase-continues-to-split-as-leading-three-becomes-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/798843\/","title":{"rendered":"UCI Gravel World Championships 2026 elite men LIVE &#8211; The chase continues to split as leading three becomes two"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>2026-10-11T05:26:48.439Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-5b56ce60-c534-11f1-b4a4-85307fb83186\">The chase it really on behind the leaders now with 1&#8217;05&#8221; between them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DMahBAfadFnEWHaf26ePjD.jpg\" alt=\"Picture by Zac Williams\/SWpix.com - 11\/10\/2026 - Cycling - 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships - Nannup, Western Australia, Australia - Men&amp;rsquo;s Elite - The chasing group\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DMahBAfadFnEWHaf26ePjD.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DMahBAfadFnEWHaf26ePjD.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: SWPix)<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:24:21.994Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-0dcc4e90-c534-11f1-ac30-f5e329353681\">Young still about 15&#8243; ahead of the chasers now as they&#8217;re on the penultimate major descent of the day.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:17:12.431Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-044336f0-c533-11f1-977a-affea04c77d5\">The chase now reduced to 10 riders.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:16:49.822Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-f699866c-c532-11f1-ab8f-7385ecf03f6b\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and co have been brought back but it is a very strung out group.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:15:41.292Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-40km-to-go\"\/>40km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-ce7c7496-c532-11f1-b232-778c0d8792ce\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">P\u00f6stlberger and Schulting now riding clear of Young and pushing towards the Glacier climb.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:14:40.866Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a9f51c22-c532-11f1-938c-abc6c86481d2\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt, Vermeersch, Swfit and Stosek have a gap in the chase and South is riding across to them.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:13:41.408Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8642c0e0-c532-11f1-aeb7-75d7fb55f4f4\">Young is the youngest out front and may have made some nutrition mistakes or he just doesn&#8217;t have the legs on the day.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:11:51.989Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-45055caa-c532-11f1-8337-31766192a561\">And Young is also starting to struggle out front.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:11:35.109Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-3af0bca0-c532-11f1-898d-5ba59b7bb24f\">The chase group is starting to split again after a short descent with W\u00fcrtz Schmidt pushing hard.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:09:53.938Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-fec519c4-c531-11f1-a123-e5565d0714d2\">Schulting struggling a little bit again on the descent with the road kicking up again and both he and P\u00f6stlberger skidding their wheels a little bit.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T05:09:02.897Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-e097505c-c531-11f1-9368-bba7a155ee9b\">Vermeersch refuses to pull through in the chase and the pace stalls hugely. The leaders gap is out to 1&#8217;44&#8221; again. The break have been out front for over 100km now.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:59:44.458Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-50km-to-go\"\/>50km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-9362baca-c530-11f1-8754-95abb8734957\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The gap increases again with the break now at 1&#8217;23&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:55:11.641Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-f0c2a4e2-c52f-11f1-8b46-7dc011f30c65\">Lindberg also returns to the chase group and immediately hits the front again for W\u00fcrtz Schmidt.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:54:02.750Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-c7adde0a-c52f-11f1-92f4-c7817550bfdc\">The chasing group of favourites had very clear sighting of the break up the road as the gap dropped to 44&#8243; with it going back to a minute again.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:51:36.508Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-7088df9e-c52f-11f1-8056-67703a280fea\">Swenson, Avancini and Voss all manage to get back onto the group of favourites.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:50:37.842Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-4da04864-c52f-11f1-8f7f-9de952e853ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Swenson and Avancini battling hard to try and get back to the W\u00fcrtz Schmidt group. Swenson came into this race as one of the big favourites but it has been a busy year for the American&#8230;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/keegan-swenson-adds-uci-gravel-world-championships-to-crowded-schedule-after-mtb-marathon-worlds-defence\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/keegan-swenson-adds-uci-gravel-world-championships-to-crowded-schedule-after-mtb-marathon-worlds-defence\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/keegan-swenson-adds-uci-gravel-world-championships-to-crowded-schedule-after-mtb-marathon-worlds-defence\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Keegan Swenson adds UCI Gravel World Championships to crowded schedule after MTB Marathon Worlds defence<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.85%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gxP7fe33QTVRwefbc8cdE8.png\" alt=\"Keegan Swenson on the move at Sea Otter Classic Gravel in April 2026\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gxP7fe33QTVRwefbc8cdE8.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/gxP7fe33QTVRwefbc8cdE8.png\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Life Time)<a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:47:14.155Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d437b0ca-c52e-11f1-af57-31f9df427cb0\">The leading trio are still riding very well but the favourites are closing fast now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2FjXHSTy8tMQQAu3oY4vDd.jpg\" alt=\"Picture by James Raison\/SWpix.com - 11\/10\/2026 - Cycling - 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships - Nannup, Western Australia, Australia - Men&amp;rsquo;s Elite - Lukas P&amp;ouml;stlberger (Austria), Peter Schulting (Netherlands), Jenson Young (Great Britain)\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2FjXHSTy8tMQQAu3oY4vDd.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2FjXHSTy8tMQQAu3oY4vDd.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: SWPix)<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:46:14.500Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b09d9436-c52e-11f1-a478-7740354c2233\">The break has now seen their advantage slashed again to just over a minute with W\u00fcrtz Schmidt, South, Vermeersch, Stosek, Swift, Bak Klaris and Dewulf pushing clear of the rest of the chasers.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:43:16.174Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-4658467a-c52e-11f1-8eb9-4fe35d9173cd\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt is pushing hard in the peloton dropping Beers, Avancini, Swenson.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:41:59.627Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-18b27bbe-c52e-11f1-b801-3dfe3423a8df\">For this entire climb the leaders have been looking over their shoulder as they expect to see the bunch coming. But they still have a substantial lead.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:40:57.049Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-f369c24a-c52d-11f1-9869-556a4af59d66\">Voss manages to get back onto this favourites group.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:39:40.464Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-c5c026ea-c52d-11f1-aa63-47ab485e2642\">Multiple riders being dropped on the climb in the peloton including Paul Voss (Germany), Griffin Easter (USA), Tjulander and others.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:38:17.132Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-94223a38-c52d-11f1-b413-d77b1b6adc02\">The break head onto the penultimate major climb of the day as we are well beyond halfway now. Ellis Creek is a brutal ascent with 1&#8217;58&#8221; splitting the leaders and the peloton now.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:35:08.231Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-60km-to-go\"\/>60km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-2382f812-c52d-11f1-a7ae-219ee332601a\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After a rather wet and muddy section, the break is now back onto more compact and dry gravel. The gap is still sitting at 2&#8217;33&#8221; back to the peloton that is being pushed on by Denmark but not intense enough.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:32:38.596Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-crash\"\/>Crash<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-ca7911a2-c52c-11f1-b1b7-bb4515ab56eb\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Mark O&#8217;Brien (Australia)<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The home rider has come down on the same corner that almost took Schulting down in the break. He&#8217;s now covered in mud on his hands, bottles, cleats. Not ideal. He is back riding, though.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:30:47.800Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-884c5da2-c52c-11f1-b291-1f9a2bf88299\">Meanwhile, back in the peloton, the Australian wildlife is getting involved as a wallaby jumps in front of the peloton. All okay, thankfully.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:29:42.814Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-618fc80c-c52c-11f1-b733-0ddbac23c0e4\">The break went into a corner there that was covered in very wet and loose mud. Schulting has to take the foot out and had to slide to the right of the road but they are all still riding hard.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:27:18.338Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-0ba3e928-c52c-11f1-918d-51fe1a2c3978\">Lawrence Naesen (Belgium) has made it back into the peloton but he looks just to be hanging on for the time being.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:26:05.720Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-e024332a-c52b-11f1-a85b-6325326abd41\">The peloton are still unable to close this gap up to the leaders with 2&#8217;42&#8221; with the second hour of this race being at just over 35kph.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:25:08.646Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-be193898-c52b-11f1-b2d4-e51080fcb3b8\">On one of the toughest sections now with very narrow tracks and lots of ruts, foliage on the course and a lot of potholes. This is around the section that saw Geerike Schreurs and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio crash out of the race yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:23:46.308Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8d06236a-c52b-11f1-b965-1529e2906e55\">Now time for the Lewana climb which is 1.5km long and an average of 5.3%.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:21:51.984Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-48e4c646-c52b-11f1-bf29-df1c18fd6de5\">One of the Dutch riders with a dropped chain in the peloton. That will likely see his day end at the front of the race now the pace is really on.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:19:43.110Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-fc0d8fe2-c52a-11f1-88f8-951f7f96c7ce\">The peloton splitting to bits on this descent with several riders looking like they are struggling to follow the Danish trio out front.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:18:39.838Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d65ab2ac-c52a-11f1-bc0a-017f68768a76\">The rain is starting to fall now and it is making it a bit skittish with P\u00f6stlberger saving a slide on a hairpin having to take a foot out.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:17:44.273Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b53eb35c-c52a-11f1-a3cf-4f112d9c55cf\">The leaders are now descending Arcadia. More rutted tracks with a big lock up of the back wheel by Young.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:17:03.752Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-9d1cce6c-c52a-11f1-961d-875293d9ad1b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt is hoping to add the rainbow jersey to his European, Traka and Unbound titles from this year and his Danish team are riding like he is very confident in doing it&#8230;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/full-focus-on-world-championships-mads-wurtz-schmidt-chasing-a-set-of-rainbow-bands-to-add-to-the-traka-and-unbound-titles-in-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/full-focus-on-world-championships-mads-wurtz-schmidt-chasing-a-set-of-rainbow-bands-to-add-to-the-traka-and-unbound-titles-in-2026\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/full-focus-on-world-championships-mads-wurtz-schmidt-chasing-a-set-of-rainbow-bands-to-add-to-the-traka-and-unbound-titles-in-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8216;Full focus on World Championships&#8217; \u2013 Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt chasing a set of rainbow bands to add to The Traka and Unbound titles in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.70%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/XpP9pExtmC3jqCnFf3w2Cd.jpg\" alt=\"Denmark's Mads Wurtz Schmidt rides in the pack during the men's elite race at the UCI Gravel World Championships 2025\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/XpP9pExtmC3jqCnFf3w2Cd.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/XpP9pExtmC3jqCnFf3w2Cd.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Getty Images)<a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:14:10.852Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-3617c2b2-c52a-11f1-8b7d-df43ff9fba8d\">Denmark now takes full control of the peloton with all three riders on the front. The gap is at 2&#8217;38&#8221; up to the leaders.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:11:57.889Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-e6cd9876-c529-11f1-b5b9-bd302e1f6721\">Lindberg tried a move off the front of the peloton but he was heavily marked by Habets and Avancini with the rest coming back across as well.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:10:35.414Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-75km-to-go\"\/>75km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b5ae78fa-c529-11f1-b825-57161daf2611\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Lead:<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Schulting (NED)<br \/>Young (GBR)<br \/>P\u00f6stlberger (AUT)<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b5ae78fa-c529-11f1-b825-57161daf2611-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Chase +2&#8217;10&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Bak Klaris (DEN)<br \/>W\u00fcrtz Schmidt (DEN)<br \/>Beers (RSA)<br \/>Swenson (USA)<br \/>Stosek (CZE)<br \/>Vermeersch (BEL)<br \/>South (CAN)<br \/>Avancini (BRA)<br \/>Swift (GBR)<br \/>Voss (GER)<br \/>Lindberg (DEN)<br \/>Dewulf (BEL)<br \/>Loman (NED)<br \/>O&#8217;Brien (AUS)<br \/>Habets (NED)<br \/>Bettendorff (LUX)<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:04:59.927Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-eda20854-c528-11f1-95fc-a972b314824b\">Over the top of Arcadia and the gap has been sliced again with Bak Klaris and W\u00fcrtz Schmidt taking it down to 2&#8217;10&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:04:12.139Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d1382072-c528-11f1-9b3e-d5deeb79170d\">W\u00fcrtz Schmidt hit the front of the peloton and he has absolutely obliterated the group losing around 12 riders from the bunch.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:03:32.756Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b9b5c24c-c528-11f1-915c-4b0e699f9bfc\">Multiple riders being spat out of the peloton including Sweden&#8217;s Michael Tjulander. Likewise Luxembourg&#8217;s Lo\u00efc Bettendorff.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T04:00:19.734Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-469e4b26-c528-11f1-ae29-9139cca5c43b\">The peloton are now 3&#8217;03&#8221; down on the leaders with 29 riders in the bunch.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:59:00.001Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-172accf2-c528-11f1-9a7f-318e6b5c97a8\">Stehli now being distanced off the back of the peloton.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:57:11.080Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d633c118-c527-11f1-ab7b-bf6a96d28352\">This is the loop that was not used in the women&#8217;s race. The Arcadia climb is a brutal ascent and, like all the climbs on the route, has a nasty plateau over the top before descending.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:55:08.828Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8d4ea904-c527-11f1-a510-77da73ac0a6d\">The peloton just rode through a feed zone and have been given an update on the time. Immediately the pace in the pack is upped by Denmark.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:54:20.186Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-705aea88-c527-11f1-a6e7-fbd6eb10cca5\">Arcadia climb now at 2.5km long with an average gradient of 8.4% with an absolutely astonishingly steep max kick of 34%.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:53:34.138Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-54f4b616-c527-11f1-ad7d-37a663caf8b5\">Several Dutch riders in the peloton including Adne Koster at the back. He has had quite the season including 6th at Unbound.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:47:44.775Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-84bc8dac-c526-11f1-bc54-51c223bb9380\">Andreas Stokbro Nielsen (Denmark) off the back of the peloton at the moment. A rider we would expect to still be right up there but he may have had an issue.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:46:51.437Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-64e32946-c526-11f1-a7ba-ebd9ec996eb2\">Couple of spots of rain on the course at the moment as the riders were treated to a small section of asphalt before returning to the gravel and a few deep potholes.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:44:36.713Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-14abd306-c526-11f1-bc5e-e3e7598281f6\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Mechanical<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Harrison Bebbington (Australia)<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-14abd306-c526-11f1-bc5e-e3e7598281f6-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Looks like the rider who finished third in the World Series version of this race earlier in the year has some pedal issues.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:41:28.861Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-90km-to-go\"\/>90km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a49e647a-c525-11f1-a7db-4b05899e9f04\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Schulting gets back on to the wheels of P\u00f6stlberger and Young. Their gap back to the chasing peloton is sat at 2&#8217;34&#8221; currently.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:40:30.932Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-821a1278-c525-11f1-80db-ef4f20dbb20e\">There has been some great crowds out in Western Australia so far.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/nSKseeitpeWkCaMSPRkezN.jpg\" alt=\"Picture by Zac Williams\/SWpix.com - 11\/10\/2026 - Cycling - 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships - Nannup, Western Australia, Australia - Men&amp;rsquo;s Elite - The peloton\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/nSKseeitpeWkCaMSPRkezN.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/nSKseeitpeWkCaMSPRkezN.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: SWPix)<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:39:14.408Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-54765a16-c525-11f1-829d-bbb2cd42e7b1\">P\u00f6stlberger and Young gapping Schulting on this descent as the track is very rutted and churned up.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:35:17.258Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-c715b0a4-c524-11f1-bc33-6b8a50e0177b\">There&#8217;s an new split in the peloton. Almost perfectly in half. It will stitch back together but a lot of looking around.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:33:44.247Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-90dff1a2-c524-11f1-8795-77b779041ce3\">For the first time, the leading trio now are said to have a gap of 3&#8217;09&#8221; on the peloton. That is a very big gap to give riders of the quality of Young, Schulting and P\u00f6stlberger.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:32:37.485Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-67d71b0a-c524-11f1-a988-7b68b5b5e1d9\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">This is said to be the most pure gravel worlds we have seen, take a deeper dive into the worlds route in the link below&#8230;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/the-gravelliest-uci-gravel-world-championships-of-them-all-a-detailed-look-at-the-perfect-storm-of-terrain-that-riders-will-face-this-october-in-western-australia\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/the-gravelliest-uci-gravel-world-championships-of-them-all-a-detailed-look-at-the-perfect-storm-of-terrain-that-riders-will-face-this-october-in-western-australia\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/the-gravelliest-uci-gravel-world-championships-of-them-all-a-detailed-look-at-the-perfect-storm-of-terrain-that-riders-will-face-this-october-in-western-australia\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The gravelliest UCI Gravel World Championships of them all \u2013 A detailed look at the &#8216;perfect storm&#8217; of terrain that riders will face this October in Western Australia<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:74.89%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/3wJVEsixz2uxkQrn7Sc2Zm.jpg\" alt=\"The SEVEN Gravel Race from Nannup Western Australia, with the location hosting the UCI Gravel World Championships in 2026\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/3wJVEsixz2uxkQrn7Sc2Zm.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/3wJVEsixz2uxkQrn7Sc2Zm.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Daniela Tommasi \/ SEVEN Gravel Race)<a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:31:18.052Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-387812ce-c524-11f1-ba83-759929c15f13\">After some undulating and a few kicker climbs the riders are finally going to get another proper descent. This is the way of all the climbs on the route, they don&#8217;t go downhill properly after the top, they drag on and plateau for a bit with a few climbs dotted along the undulating way to the descent.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:28:00.885Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-100km-to-go\"\/>100km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-c306f8f2-c523-11f1-b09b-4758514255df\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The gap is said to be at 2&#8217;28&#8221; and by the way they are riding it looks like it could be possible.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:27:03.155Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a0ad88e8-c523-11f1-b0e2-af8b02c1e143\">Felix Stehli (Switzerland), Roman Holzer (Switzerland) and Ole Theiler (Germany) sitting at the back of the peloton currently.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:25:03.440Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-594fb55c-c523-11f1-b95e-49f5fba9051e\">All three big names who were off the back at Brockman, Beers, Avancini and Vermeersch, are now all at the front of the peloton.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:24:05.326Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-36a5672c-c523-11f1-aef8-0de0d27ddb77\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Vermeersch hasn&#8217;t had the best start to the race losing touch on Brockman but he appears to be up towards the front again now&#8230;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/im-here-to-just-go-all-out-and-race-without-any-regret-florian-vermeersch-prepared-for-gravel-worlds-title-defence\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/im-here-to-just-go-all-out-and-race-without-any-regret-florian-vermeersch-prepared-for-gravel-worlds-title-defence\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/im-here-to-just-go-all-out-and-race-without-any-regret-florian-vermeersch-prepared-for-gravel-worlds-title-defence\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8216;I&#8217;m here to just go all-out and race without any regret&#8217; \u2013 Florian Vermeersch prepared for Gravel Worlds title defence<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.68%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/x8GLYyjaz7KKEftEVKyh2m.jpg\" alt=\"Belgium's Florian Vermeersch celebrates winning the men's elite race cycling event as part of the UCI Gravel World Championships in Maastricht, on October 12, 2025. (Photo by Marcel van Hoorn \/ ANP \/ AFP) \/ Netherlands OUT (Photo by MARCEL VAN HOORN\/ANP\/AFP via Getty Images)\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/x8GLYyjaz7KKEftEVKyh2m.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/x8GLYyjaz7KKEftEVKyh2m.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Getty Images)<a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:22:41.397Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-048b8ab4-c523-11f1-91e3-1dd9318f0ec8\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Beers is indeed back in the peloton and goes straight to the front. The South African will want a good result but he is also on the same trade team as W\u00fcrtz Schmidt with the Specialized often riding well together as a team across gravel.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">A perfect showing of this was W\u00fcrtz Schmidt and Swenson at Unbound when the Dane has a puncture so Swenson sacrificed his own chances to make sure the team got the win.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:18:53.822Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-7ce90654-c522-11f1-af26-a3ba67b45e55\">The peloton has regrouped a little bit as the likes of Vermeersch, Beers and Avancini appear to be back in there.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:17:41.884Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-52128c70-c522-11f1-8578-c1b200b9ddc0\">Onto the Shale climb. Named for the shale style gravel which is much more traditional to what we see in Europe, especially the UK.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:13:21.621Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-b6ed8826-c521-11f1-8ddc-4dfde46ccb07\">Now onto the Mader climb at 750m with an average of 12% on more traditional gravel compared to the pea gravel. The time gap is said to be 2&#8217;33&#8221; but we&#8217;ll take that with a pinch of salt after the live timings at the top of Brockman.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:11:07.809Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-6731015a-c521-11f1-a120-e31d1f83220e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It is not going to plan for Beers so far but perhaps he is coming back from an issue. He came to this race with a medal on his mind&#8230;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/matt-beers-ready-to-chase-a-medal-of-any-kind-as-he-picks-shot-at-gravel-world-championships-glory-over-life-time-grand-prix-finale\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/matt-beers-ready-to-chase-a-medal-of-any-kind-as-he-picks-shot-at-gravel-world-championships-glory-over-life-time-grand-prix-finale\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/matt-beers-ready-to-chase-a-medal-of-any-kind-as-he-picks-shot-at-gravel-world-championships-glory-over-life-time-grand-prix-finale\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Matt Beers ready to chase &#8216;a medal of any kind&#8217; as he picks shot at Gravel World Championships glory over Life Time Grand Prix<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FUbYDmC86uaoy5Y4gzPDBK.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Beers at the mountain bike marathon World Championships 2023\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FUbYDmC86uaoy5Y4gzPDBK.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FUbYDmC86uaoy5Y4gzPDBK.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Michal Cerveny\/SWpix.com)<a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:09:06.605Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-1ee365be-c521-11f1-b20c-ffbc1cdc9b42\">Daan Soete (Belgium) is another big name who is out of the back. He is even further off the back than Vermeersch, Beers and Avancini.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:08:37.916Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-0dc5f92c-c521-11f1-984e-7fd0e80950bb\">Now onto the Adina climb for the leaders.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:07:02.211Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d4b7a6ee-c520-11f1-8813-97a7e6eac7bd\">Defending champion Florian Vermeersch (Belgium) is out of the back with other big names Matt Beers (South Africa) and Henrique Avancini (Brazil). They&#8217;re a minute out of the back of the peloton.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:05:50.528Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-aa0d03d0-c520-11f1-a724-7fd267ff0b3f\">The gap updates on the timings and the peloton are now just 1&#8217;02&#8221; down with Connor Swift (Great Britain), Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt (Denmark), Keegan Swenson (USA) and Paul Voss (Germany) leading the way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BHhESdXRnQdhBVXKdCBq6d.jpg\" alt=\"Picture by James Raison\/SWpix.com - 11\/10\/2026 - Cycling - 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships - Nannup, Western Australia, Australia - Men&amp;rsquo;s Elite - The peloton, Denmark\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BHhESdXRnQdhBVXKdCBq6d.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BHhESdXRnQdhBVXKdCBq6d.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: SWPix)<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:03:37.956Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-5b012668-c520-11f1-8fc0-a3c4b4ffd48d\">The tempo in the peloton has seen 30&#8243; chipped off the advantage of the three leaders with 2&#8217;00&#8221; the new gap.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:02:51.178Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-3f1a4f6a-c520-11f1-ac33-4305af5093f2\">Piotr Havik (Netherlands) losing touch at the back of the peloton as well as multiple Danish riders but they still have numbers at the front with Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt, Magnus Bak Klaris and Andreas Stokbro.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T03:00:13.607Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-e13dbf08-c51f-11f1-b588-e3857cc5347a\">Pirotte is finally caught by the peloton with the Danish causing some damage here as the bunch is starting to split further.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:58:44.035Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-abd2ee1a-c51f-11f1-928b-b5c905fb5cb7\">These three out front are riding very well together as we get to see Pirotte for the first time in a while as he is still very much in no-mans-land.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ZJmRYWr77QoStAsi3VJMw8.jpg\" alt=\"Picture by James Raison\/SWpix.com - 11\/10\/2026 - Cycling - 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships - Nannup, Western Australia, Australia - Men&amp;rsquo;s Elite - Lukas P&amp;ouml;stlberger (Austria), Peter Schulting (Netherlands), Jenson Young (Great Britain)\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ZJmRYWr77QoStAsi3VJMw8.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ZJmRYWr77QoStAsi3VJMw8.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: James Raison\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:57:29.786Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-7f89a66e-c51f-11f1-8218-5977a39c4996\">Back in the peloton it is Denmark who have taken up the chasing for their leader and European champion Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:56:31.663Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-5cf38174-c51f-11f1-9448-49c0e2570a3c\">The first major climb of the day, it is the climb of Brockman, 1.7km with a hellish average of 12%. This really split things up in the women&#8217;s race but it was not decisive.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:52:40.890Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d363ec32-c51e-11f1-a551-c91bbd5d03a1\">One of the Australian riders just having a spill on the hairpin on the bottom of the descent. The peloton had split with a few riders now getting back in including Freddy Ovett (Australia).<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:49:00.780Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-120km-to-go\"\/>120km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-5026d794-c51e-11f1-998b-07b0c54e6fc6\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Young, Schulting and P\u00f6stlberger have 2&#8217;30&#8221; on the pack now.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:48:01.977Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-2d2f10a8-c51e-11f1-9a42-614419a4bc7b\">Few more riders out the back of the peloton including a couple from Canada as well as Rick Nobel (Netherlands). It is a real war of attrition out there.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:46:56.184Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-05fa8256-c51e-11f1-81ab-978cffada50a\">The first descent is on now as they go down Killarney. All the riders out front are giving plenty of space to each other and making sure they get down this slightly damp and skittish descent.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:41:06.173Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-354a04b0-c51d-11f1-85b0-b967d198b1fb\">Two riders have kicked out of the peloton. Another Dutch rider as well as one from Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:36:35.997Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-944436ee-c51c-11f1-9f98-3bcdf3c1d2a6\">They are now on the first climb of the day, the Killarney climb. P\u00f6stlberger, Young and Schulting have 2&#8217;09&#8221; now on the bunch. This could be very dangerous as all three leaders are very capable with P\u00f6stlberger and Young both winners of World Series races this year.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:31:52.446Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-130km-to-go\"\/>130km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-ec1410f2-c51b-11f1-b174-2351d45dc251\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The leading trio have 1&#8217;40&#8221; on the peloton now as there&#8217;s a couple of riders already struggling at the back of the pack.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:29:47.650Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a0e29428-c51b-11f1-9878-65ecbcf0e85c\">P\u00f6stlberger and Young went up against each other earlier in the year with the Austrian taking the win at The Gralloch in Gatehouse-of-Fleet and the Forest of Galloway up in Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:26:12.740Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-gravel-starts\"\/>Gravel starts<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-21078524-c51b-11f1-b3ee-51670972ebcc\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">This is very typical racing to the European scene. They are absolutely flying. Usually in Europe the race goes out fast due to narrow tracks whereas in the US it tends to be a slower start due to the wide tracks, which we do have here, but the racing is rapid.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:24:54.778Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-f2598902-c51a-11f1-8c18-8b7431e45ca2\">After briefly losing pictures we go back to the break and see that Pirotte is no longer in the break who have 58&#8243; on the peloton. Maybe a mechanical or just dropping back.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:18:35.599Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-106743a4-c51a-11f1-8e94-01c4350636e0\">P\u00f6stlberger and Young are joined Peter Schulting (Netherlands) and Jo Pirotte (Belgium).<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:17:20.997Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-e3cbd79c-c519-11f1-9d1b-c1775fd55f76\">A few more counter attacks coming out of the peloton trying to get ahead before the gravel even starts.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:16:52.140Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d29176e4-c519-11f1-b258-c17abe8d6155\">One of the Danish riders is trying to bridge but is struggling to get to the four leaders who have 46&#8243; on the peloton.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:14:46.832Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-87f971ae-c519-11f1-a4bd-abe8aff51030\">One of the Lithuanian riders tried to be involved but has already been distanced. Two riders from Lithuania racing today, they are Martynas Tomkus and Valdemar Volodko.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:13:15.949Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-attack\"\/>Attack<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-51cc060a-c519-11f1-98be-435326553daf\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Lukas P\u00f6stlberger (Austria)<br \/>Jenson Young (Great Britain)<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Plus four others go clear early.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:11:37.859Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-173f3a52-c519-11f1-b32f-b1bc098fd962\">They have 9km of asphalt to begin before the gravel. The route is 85% gravel and hardly ever flat.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:10:37.082Z<br \/>\n<a id=\"elk-143-7km-to-go\"\/>143.7km to go<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-f3043002-c518-11f1-b3b6-37136bc0938a\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Racing begins for the World Gravel Championships 2026 in Nannup, Western Australia as the sun makes a rare appearance at these championships.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:08:21.749Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-a262f994-c518-11f1-acfc-d1e3f93dd513\">The route is 143.7km but an absolutely brutal 3713 metres of elevation.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T02:07:01.427Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-727c0e32-c518-11f1-9d42-9b7bae754579\">There are a few road riders at the race, it is not just Vermeersch. Stan Dewulf (Belgium), Connor Swift (Great Britain), Andreas Stokbro (Denmark), Anton Stensby (Norway), Cameron Scott (Australia) and Ole Theiler (Germany).<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:56:26.682Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-f82371b2-c516-11f1-bace-5d10f8e992fe\">Around 15 minutes until the race gets underway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/qQ9qm23AGrFTQziND6xnfH.jpg\" alt=\"Picture by Zac Williams\/SWpix.com - 11\/10\/2026 - Cycling - 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships - Nannup, Western Australia, Australia - Men&amp;rsquo;s Elite - Riders line up on the start line\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/qQ9qm23AGrFTQziND6xnfH.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/qQ9qm23AGrFTQziND6xnfH.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: SWPix)<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:56:05.441Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-eb80e1b0-c516-11f1-8dcf-b721e64eeb9d\">There&#8217;s also former mountain bike world champion Henrique Avancini (Brazil) riding. He has had a superb road season winning the GC at the Tour of the Gila as well as finishing in the top 10 at the Tour du Rwanda. He also won the Brazil gravel and has looked strong on the tracks. One to watch.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:53:22.628Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8a7bca1a-c516-11f1-902e-7be8b502eba1\">The gravel specialists will be hoping they can take the win this time, though. The likes of Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt (Denmark), Jenson Young (Great Britain), Daan Soete (Belgium), Matthew Beers (South Africa), Keegan Swenson (USA) and others will all hope to better the &#8216;roadies&#8217; today.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:50:53.264Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-316d9f70-c516-11f1-8e01-03fd62742c4f\">Much like in the women&#8217;s side of the sport, the worlds have been dominated by road riders with Vermeersch being the current holder of the rainbow bands after Gianni Vermeersch, Matej Mohoric and Mathieu van der Poel.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:47:14.922Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-af4d795c-c515-11f1-bd84-b33caad5603f\">Unfortunately, after travelling to Australia for the race Czech rider Petr Vako\u010d has had to pull out of the race due to illness. He is one of eight riders down as a DNS so far today.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:33:53.795Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-d1c85ae4-c513-11f1-b686-579b291b3d07\">It was extremely muddy yesterday for the women but it did help on the unique pea gravel that is on most of the course here. When dry it is like riding on ice. Very slippery and unpredictable. When wet it compacts down and is far more manageable.<\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:29:01.515Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-23978c92-c513-11f1-a119-17563d22ce4b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">First things first, let&#8217;s relive the action from yesterday and that absolutely brutal women&#8217;s race won by the great Marianne Vos. Her 15th world title across four disciplines won with one of the most impressive rides from the Dutch star in some time&#8230;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&gt;&gt;&gt; <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/gravel-world-championships-marianne-vos-solos-to-another-rainbow-jersey-after-rosa-kloser-crashes-out-of-finale-in-elite-womens-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/gravel-world-championships-marianne-vos-solos-to-another-rainbow-jersey-after-rosa-kloser-crashes-out-of-finale-in-elite-womens-race\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/gravel-world-championships-marianne-vos-solos-to-another-rainbow-jersey-after-rosa-kloser-crashes-out-of-finale-in-elite-womens-race\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gravel World Championships: Marianne Vos solos to another rainbow jersey after Rosa Kl\u00f6ser crashes in finale of elite women&#8217;s race<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.67%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ZyE9qz6ynNWV5qvKXSACBj.jpg\" alt=\"Picture by Zac Williams\/SWpix.com - 10\/10\/2026 - Cycling - 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships - Nannup, Western Australia, Australia - Women&amp;rsquo;s Elite - Marianne Vos (Netherlands) wins to become World Champion\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ZyE9qz6ynNWV5qvKXSACBj.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ZyE9qz6ynNWV5qvKXSACBj.jpg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: SWPix)<a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2026-10-11T01:25:16.836Z<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-1d96d57c-c1b3-11f1-82eb-3d0b9bad9ec4\">Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews&#8217; live updates of the men&#8217;s elite UCI Gravel World Championships 2026 from Nannup in Western Australia.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-9024fa8e-c513-11f1-8412-af8b15570b11\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">An update from our Australia Editor Simone Giuliani on the ground in Nannup:<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">In Nannup there have been a few short sprinkles of rain this morning, but the sun is now making an appearance and with very little rain in the forecast and a top temperature of around 16\u00b0C it looks like we will have a far drier race for the elite men than the elite women faced yesterday. Though there is bound to still be mud out on course.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-10-11T05:26:48.439Z The chase it really on behind the leaders now with 1&#8217;05&#8221; between them. (Image credit: SWPix) 2026-10-11T05:24:21.994Z&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":798844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-798843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}