Third last year when Marianne Vos took the title, Lorena Wiebes outsprinted her Dutch compatriot to win the fourth edition of the UCI Gravel Worlds Championships at Maastricht in the Netherlands. Italy's Silvia Persico took the bronze medal.
In a race dominated by home riders, Shirin van Anrooij looked like she would claim a solo victory after attacking with 13km remaining from the seven-rider lead group that contained five Dutchwomen. Van Anrooij pushed her lead out to 20 seconds, but her advantage was gradually reduced approaching the finish.
With a kilometre left, Van Anrooij's cushion was still 10 seconds. But after first Julia Kopecky (Czech Republic) and then Yara Kastelijn (Netherlands) upped the pace, Wiebes launched the sprint with 200 metres remaining, swept by the faltering Van Anrooij, then held off the final thrust by defending champion Vos.
Vastly outnumbered by orange Dutch jerseys for the second half of the 131km race, Persico fully deserved her bronze medal, with Kastelijn fourth. It was impossible, though, not to feel disappointed for Van Anrooij, who rolled across the line in fifth when she’d seemed so close to her first world title at elite level.
Right from the start, Dutch riders dominated proceedings, setting the pace, marking any rider who wasn’t kitted out in orange. Wiebes signalled her intentions at the halfway mark, when she lifted the pace on the front of the large lead group, Persico tracking her, splits appearing behind them.
With 60km remaining, Wiebes was one of five riders who went clear alongside compatriots Femke Gerritse, Maud Rijnbeek and Vos, Germany’s Romy Kasper the odd one out. A chase group of 15 formed behind as the leaders pushed their advantage out to almost a minute.
With 40km to go, seven of those chasers began a more determined pursuit. No fewer than five of them were Dutch – Femke De Vries, Larissa Hartog, Van Anrooij, Kastelijn and Femke Markus – with Persico and Kopecky also in there.
With 23km left, Vos attacked and Wiebes was the only rider to respond, although the sprint specialist struggled to hold her compatriot’s pace. On the climb that followed, Wiebes rode up alongside Vos, which prompted another acceleration by the defending champion.
Behind this pair, the remains of the lead group was swept up by the chase group, Persico jumping clear with 19km remaining. The Italian then impressed by bridging up to the two leaders, followed soon after by Van Anrooij, Kastelijn, Markus, Hartog, De Vries and Kopecky.
On the next climb, with 15km left, Kastelijn and then Vos upped the pace. Wiebes and, soon after, Persico, bridged up to the two leaders, Van Anrooij and Kopecky joining them too.
With 13km to the finish, Van Anrooij bolted away on a short road section. Her departure left the five riders behind looking at each other until Vos and then Kopecky took up the chase. With 10km to go, Van Anrooij’s advantage had reached 20 seconds.
Despite Kopecky’s pace-setting efforts on behalf of her SD Worx-Protime teammate Wiebes, Van Anrooij maintained her cushion until 6km out, when it gradually began to dwindle. With 3km left it was down to 14 seconds, but Kopecky, still leading the pursuit, was visibly wilting.
The Czech, though, still had something left. When, with 2km to the finish, Kastelijn had jumped by her and taken the rest of the group with her, Kopecky looked finished. But she not only managed to get back on, but also started to lead the chase behind Van Anrooij again.
She reduced the gap to 10 seconds with a kilometre to the finish, her effort bringing Van Anrooij within range of the speedy Wiebes and Vos. Two hundred metres out, Wiebes made her move, Vos the only one able to stay in her slipstream.
Van Anrooij was rapidly overhauled by the two Dutch rivals, Wiebes having enough speed and strength left to fend off Vos for the title, her celebrations including a long hug with Kopecky, who had done so much to set up her success.
RESULTS
2025 WOMEN’S WORLD GRAVEL CHAMPIONSHIP:
BEEK - MAASTRICHT (131km)
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) in 3:58:16
2. Marianne Vos (Ned), at st
3. Silvia Persico (Ita), +2s
4. Yara Kastelijn (Ned), +4s
5. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned), +10s
6. Julia Kopecky (Cze), +19s
7. Femke Markus (Ned), +43s
8. Femke De Vries (Ned), at st
9. Larissa Hartog (Ned), +1:36
10. Romy Kasper (Ger), +1:38
