Marianne Vos won the elite women’s race at the UCI Gravel World Championships on Saturday in Australia. She mastered a muddy, technical course in Nannup, Western Australia, to take another rainbow jersey.
The Dutch rider became the first rider to win the gravel world title twice. Her victory also lifted her career total to 15 rainbow jerseys across cyclo-cross, gravel, road and track.
Vos rode clear inside the final 4km after a tense duel with Rosa Klöser of Germany. Klöser crashed during the run-in after hitting a rut, but remounted and held second place.
UCI Gravel World Championships decided on technical finale
The Nannup course punished mistakes throughout the elite women’s race. Geerike Schreurs and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio were among the major names who crashed out.
Vos won solo two years after her previous gravel world title. She and Klöser broke away from a larger group with around 21km remaining. They quickly opened a significant gap on the chasers.
Klöser then raised the pressure on the final long climb of the day. The former Unbound Gravel 200 winner accelerated and caught Tiffany Cromwell of Australia. Only Vos could follow that move.
The German kept pressing in the closing kilometres, but she never distanced Vos. The Dutch rider, nine years older than Klöser, stayed in contact before making her own decisive move.
Vos tightened her shoes before launching the attack that settled the race. She moved ahead before a tricky corner near the top and the following descent. Klöser then hit a rut and crashed, ending her challenge for the win.
After the finish, Vos said the course was more muddy than expected. She also said riders had to manage slippery sections carefully. She described Klöser as really, really strong on the climbs.
Vos said she wanted to lead into the final corner and descent so she could choose her own lines. She also called the Western Australia route a fantastic course.
Hartog completes Dutch presence on podium
Larissa Hartog added another Dutch rider to the podium in third place. She out-sprinted Nele Laing of Germany after the pair finished 2:15 behind Vos.
Klöser crossed the line 27 seconds behind the winner. Hartog and Laing followed more than two minutes later after their fight for the final podium place.
Erica Magnaldi of Italy finished fifth at 4:17. Sofia Gómez Villafañe of Argentina took sixth, ahead of Irina Lützelschwab of Switzerland.
Cromwell finished eighth for Australia, 7:15 down on Vos. Elisa Serné of the Netherlands received the same time in ninth. Haley Smith of Canada completed the top 10 at 8:55.
Elite women’s top 10
- 1. Marianne Vos (Netherlands), 4:30:04
- 2. Rosa Klöser (Germany), +27s
- 3. Larissa Hartog (Netherlands), +2:15
- 4. Nele Laing (Germany), same time
- 5. Erica Magnaldi (Italy), +4:17
- 6. Sofia Gómez Villafañe (Argentina), +5:15
- 7. Irina Lützelschwab (Switzerland), +5:28
- 8. Tiffany Cromwell (Australia), +7:15
- 9. Elisa Serné (Netherlands), same time
- 10. Haley Smith (Canada), +8:55