Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 4:04 PM
Marianne Vos is the new clay court world champion. The 37-year-old rider, who previously won numerous world titles on the road, in the field and on the track, was too fast for Lotte Kopecky in a sprint-à-deux in Leuven. Third place went to Lorena Wiebes, while Puck Pieterse took fourth place.
Lotte Kopecky, Silvia Persico, Puck Pieterse, Marianne Vos, Fem van Empel, Lorena Wiebes… The field of participants of the Women’s Gravel World Championships was to die for. We knew after 135 kilometers of racing which of these top athletes would receive the rainbow jersey. The start was in Halle, the finish in Leuven.
Favorites move early
Soon after the departure from Halle, a leading group of eleven emerged. This includes the aforementioned Kopecky, Pieterse, Vos and Wiebes, but also Lucinda Brand, Emma Norsgaard, Marie Schreiber, Christine Majerus, Romy Kasper, Letizia Borghesi and Soraya Paladin. Van Empel had missed the battle, as had Shirin van Anrooij and Riejanne Markus, among others. However, they were later able to return to the somewhat stagnant peloton, which grew again to about forty riders. Outsider Tiffany Cromwell had already been released at that time.
Kopecky, Pieterse and Van Empel before the start – photo: Cor Vos
About seventy kilometers from the finish, a leading group of four emerged. While Van Empel lost a lot of ground after a flat tire, Wiebes, who also suffered a puncture, managed to get into the leading group. She was there together with Soraya Paladin, Lotte Kopecky and Marianne Vos. Not much later, the last two, Kopecky and Vos, ran off together. Wiebes tried to come back on her own, but eventually fell back into a group with her compatriot Pieterse, Soraya Paladin (Italy), Nicole Frain (Australia) and Romy Kasper (Germany).
Duel between Vos and Kopecky
The five pursuers lost more and more ground on Vos and Kopecky, who initially worked well together. The super duo already had almost three minutes on the quintet with thirty kilometers to go. In this phase, Vos did not ride with Kopecky for a while. The Belgian didn’t look up or back and continued to pound stoically. Later Vos came to help again, but after a few turns she decided to attack her competitor. However, the small hole she made was quickly closed by Kopecky.
Lorena Wiebes – photo: Cor Vos
In the meantime, there were also developments in the rear. First Frain went overboard, then Paladin released. Wiebes then also drove away from Pieterse and Kasper, but the latter closed the gap again. They were already working on the bronze, because Kopecky and Vos were now four minutes ahead of them. Vos occasionally took over from Kopecky, but mainly tried to save. We saw no more attacks before entering Leuven.
Two-man sprint
This changed in the city itself. Vos accelerated on the Ramberg – the last, short slope on the course – but could not get Kopecky off. The Belgian then took the lead and did not relinquish it until the final straight line. It would be a sprint-à-deux. Vos was the first in that sprint. She created a gap with Kopecky, who continued to compete, but ultimately had to bow her head. This is how Vos conquered the world title. The silver went to Kopecky.
Wiebes rode to bronze behind the two protagonists. She had left Pieterse and Kasper behind in the ultimate final. Pieterse came fourth, Kasper fifth.
