Toon Aerts claimed a tight sprint with Piotr Havik in the elite men’s race at the Gravel Fondo Limburg, while Tessa Neefjes won the elite women’s title at the UCI Gravel World Series.
Neefjes, who has won multiple rounds of the series the past two seasons, carved out a gap of just over two minutes on Irina Lützelschwab while Wendy Oosterwoud came over the line nearly a minute-and-a-half later to take third in the 123km race with around 1,300m of elevation gain. Femke de Vries, who just two weeks before had been racing the roads of Limburg in the Amstel Gold Race, came fourth while it was fifth for Marjet Groen.
Jasper Ockeloen and Johnny Hoogerland came in together to take fourth and fifth, then there was a group of five led over the line – in the city that also provides the finish line for the Amstel Gold Race – by newly retired road professional Greg Van Avermaet.
“It wasn’t my first race around Valkenburg but it was the first one with a gravel bike,” said Van Avermaet in an Instagram post. “Managed to secure a solid sixth place despite the challenging wind. I guess this race put some extra tension on the legs for the next ones.”
Results
| Position | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toon Aerts | 2:57:10 |
| 2 | Piotr Havik | 0:00:01 |
| 3 | Adne Koster | 0:00:21 |
| 4 | Jasper Ockeloen | 0:02:45 |
| 5 | Johnny Hoogerland | 0:02:46 |
| Position | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tessa Neefjes | 3:21:48 |
| 2 | Irina Lützelschwab | 0:02:02 |
| 3 | Wendy Oosterwoud | 0:03:26 |
| 4 | Femke de Vries | 0:04:13 |
| 5 | Market Groen | 0:04:47 |
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