Nicole Frain (RCC-Factor) punched the air as she won the elite women’s rae at Bolero Turnhout Gravel from a three rider front group. Jarno Bellens (Baloise verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) rode solo across the line for the elite men’s victory in the Belgian round of the UCI Gravel World Series.
It was a dry day for the second edition of Turnhout Gravel, with a 72.1km circuit covered twice for 144.2km, with sections of cobbles and narrow canal paths north of Turnhout, Belgium. A long section of 15km along the canal was a new addition for 2026, and proved decisive in the women’s race.
More than half of the women’s 47-rider field remained within a handful of minutes of the front group after the first lap. It was along the singletrack dirt next to the canal where separations opened, with Frain, Anne Knijnenburg (VolkerWessels) and Wendy Oosterwoud (PAS Racing) pushing away from the next trio of contenders of Romy Kasper, Kirstie Van haaften and Maaike Coljé.
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From the 10-rider chase group, Martinš Pluto (Energus Cycling) took second and Lander Loockx (Unibet Rose Rockets) sprinted ahead of Piotr Havik (Classified x Rose) to close out the podium.
Other notable men’s riders in the field were Petr Vakoč, who finished 11th, Daan Soete in 12th, Greg Van Avermaet in 19th and Harry Tanfield in 36th. Former Unbound Gravel 200 champion Ivar Slik finished nine minutes back inside the top 65.
Results
|
Pos. |
Name |
Time Behind |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Nicole Frain |
4:09:17 |
|
2 |
Anne Knijnenburg |
+0:01 |
|
3 |
Wendy Oosterwoud |
+0:02 |
|
4 |
Kirstie Van Haaften |
+0:10 |
|
5 |
Maaike Coljé |
+0:11 |
|
6 |
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