After 182km of racing along the gravel roads of the Flemish Brabant around Leuven, Mathieu van der Poel emerged victorious after a dominant performance to seal the Gravel World Championship title.
The Dutchman was part of an elite early breakaway that quickly cemented an advantage over the rest of the field at the start of the race, which he then whittled down with an attack before going clear with Florian Vermeersch (Belgium).
The pair worked well together to extend their lead at the front until Van der Poel launched his inevitable attack with 14km to go, which the Belgian rider was unable to follow and was dropped instantly.
Van der Poel then soloed to victory in Leuven, lifting his bike aloft as he crossed the finish line as he claimed his first Gravel World Championships title to add to his road race and cyclocross titles, cementing him as one of the best multi-discipline riders that the sport has ever seen.
Behind him, Vermeersch crossed the line around a minute later to take second place, whilst in the fight for the bronze medal, Quinten Hermans (Belgium) won the sprint from the chasing group of five riders to complete the podium.
More to follow…
RESULTS: GRAVEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ELITE MEN’S RACE 2024, HALLE > LEUVEN (182KM)
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned), in 4:01:08
2. Florian Vermeersch (Bel), +1:03
3. Quinten Hermans (Bel), +2:44
4. Jasper Stuyven (Bel)
5. Gianni Vermeersch (Bel)
6. Connor Swift (GBr)
7. Matej Mohorič (Slo), all at same time
8. Tim Merlier (Bel), +3:12
9. Timo Kielich (Bel)
10. Toon Aerts (Bel), all at same time
