The definition of the so-called spirit of gravel, that most nebulous of concepts, seems to exist entirely in the eye of the beholder, but the unspoken rules of the road were certainly on show in the inaugural edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships, where Gianni Vermeersch (Belgium) claimed the crown.
Mathieu van der Poel‘s dexterity across all disciplines made him the obvious favourite to be fitted for yet another rainbow jersey in his first-ever gravel race in the Veneto, but the Dutchman found himself hemmed in behind the winning move due to the presence of Vermeersch, his teammate on the road at Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Vermeersch had forged clear with some 150km remaining in the company of Daniel Oss (Italy), and the benefits of their alliance of circumstance out in front were amplified by a felicitous confluence of interests behind. A strong Italian team, which included Alessandro De Marchi and Davide Ballerini, hindered the chase where possible, while Vemeersch’s compatriot Greg Van Avermaet and trade teammate Van der Poel were also never likely to marshal a pursuit.
By the time Vermeersch and Oss began the first of two laps of the finishing circuit around Cittadella with 54km to go, their lead still hovered north of five minutes, and it was obvious that the contest for the rainbow jersey was down to just two men.
Behind, Van der Poel was now free to race for the podium as he saw fit, and on the final lap, he helped force an elite group with Van Avermaet, De Marchi and Magnus Cort (Denmark). Only Van Avermaet could live with Van der Poel on the short, muddy kick into Cittadella, but the Dutchman dispatched him in the sprint to claim bronze, 1:28 behind Vermeersch.
“I think it was also possible to win, but that’s the race and it was tactical. Gianni Vermeersch isn’t a countryman, but he is a teammate. For sure, I’m happy for him,” Van der Poel said after the podium ceremony. “When those two went away, it was also pretty obvious that nobody wanted to chase them. When they got five minutes, you know the race is over, so I’m happy I could take bronze.”
Van der Poel never seems to race on any terrain simply to make up the numbers, but his first competitive outing on gravel surely had additional resonance after his travails at the Road World Championships in Wollongong two weeks ago.
The Dutchman abandoned that race early on after being arrested the previous night following an altercation with two teenage girls in his hotel. He was convicted of common…
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