Florian Vermeersch takes breakaway victory to win the men’s Gravel World Championships

After finishing second in the two previous editions, Florian Vermeersch finally took victory at the World Gravel Championships in Maastricht on Sunday.

The Belgian rider dropped Dutchman, Frits Biesterbos with 18km of the day remaining, on one of the course's numerous short climbs, after the pair survived from the day’s breakaway. While Biesterbos initially kept Vermeersch in sight, the Belgian, who rides for UAE Team Emirates-XRG on the road, eventually showed his class, riding clear and eventually finishing 1.23 ahead.

The pair had worked brilliantly to hold off a chase by 2023 world champion, Matej Mohorič (Slovenia) and Félix Stehli (Switzerland), who had tried in vain to chase the leaders down. After dropping Stehli with 15km to go Mohorič eventually finished in third place, 1.23 behind the winner.

Vermeersch’s win will have been extra sweet after his winning move was almost a carbon copy of that which Mathieu van der Poel did to him to win last year’s title.

The win came from the only breakaway to get established, four riders going clear with 120km of the day remaining and escaping the main group. While two of the escapees were dropped, the remaining duo managed to coordinate their effort, while behind them a series of groups grew and shrank, the race in a constant state of chaotic flux.

The chasers weren’t helped by the attritional course, where narrow trails and paths conspired with constant changes in direction to prevent any organised chase, even making keeping a group together almost impossible.

Biesterbos, who rides for the BEAT Cycling Continental team on the road and mountain bike, becomes the first Continental level rider to finish on the podium at Gravel Worlds.

Tom Pidcock was the top British finisher, taking 6th place, part of a small group which crossed the line 1.41 behind Vermeersch, his efforts thwarted by the constant presence of Belgian riders disrupting his efforts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After Nice pulled out of hosting the event, the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships was moved to the Dutch province of Limburg, the finish in Maastricht only 100km from last year’s championships in Leuven.

Starting in the small town of Beek, the Elite men covered a 180km route which was around 62% off-road, riding 3.5 laps of a 47km loop before a final stretch into the city.

Peppered with short, sharp climbs, the circuit was relatively lumpy, and the race offered a total of 1,450m of vertical ascent, but the day’s toughest climb was tackled on the homeward leg. Topping out only 10km from the line, the Bronsdalweg averaged 8% over its one kilometre, emerging onto a short stretch of tarmac used each year as part of the Amstel Gold Race, before dropping down into the eastern edge of Maastricht.

The opening stages were a cagey affair, a peloton of more than 100 of the 255 starters finishing the first lap together. British national gravel champion, Connor Swift, was among a small group to get away on that opening circuit, though they they were soon brought to heel by a peloton which was quickly being reduced.

With 60km ridden, Vermeersch’s winning move went up the road, and a further 10km on he had been joined by Belgian compatriot, Floris Van Tricht, Nils Politt (Germany) and Frits Biesterbos (Netherlands) and had 90 seconds on the chasing bunch. At one point the leaders’ advantage extended to almost two minutes, but by the time the race entered its final 80km a strong, aggressive and fracturing peloton was back within one minute and it seemed the break would be caught.

With 67km left to race Matej Mohorič (Slovenia) and Félix Stehli (Switzerland) attacked what remained of the peloton, the pair collecting Politt who had suffered a mechanical, but though they got close, they were unable to get within 30 seconds of the leading trio.

Further back, Tom Pidcock made repeated attempts to bridge but was repeatedly chased down by a phalanx of Belgians, the chase stalling each time the Briton was caught, and the group struggled to get within 50 seconds of the front. Indeed, that group soon slipped further back and out of contention.

Quinten Hermans (Belgium) did manage to get away from Pidcock’s group, first alone, before being joined by compatriot Tim Wellens and Rick Ottema (Netherlands), while the race changed complexion ahead of them when Van Tricht was dropped from the leading group.

This made no difference though, Mohrič and Stehli slipping inexorably backwards and even when Pidcock dragged Timo Kielich (Belgium) across to the Hermans group, they were unable to dent the leaders advantage.

RESULTS

UCI GRAVEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - ELITE MEN, BEEK > MAASTRICHT (180.9KM)

1. Florian Vermeersch, Belgium, in 4:39:12
2. Frits Biesterbos, Netherlands, +40
3. Matej Mohorič, Slovenia, +1:23
4. Floris Van Tricht, Belgium, +1:40
5. Félix Stehli, Switzerland, +1:41
6. Tom Pidcock, Great Britain, at same time
7. Tim Wellens, Belgium, 1:46
8. Rick Ottema, Netherlands, +2:46
9. Timo Kielich, Belgium, at same time
10. Magnus Bak Klaris, Denmark, +3:59