Gravel World Championship 2025 - Women: Wiebes sprints into the rainbow jersey

The Dutch national anthem echoed across the square on the edge of the Koningsplein in Maastricht - not entirely surprisingly. The Netherlands is the pre-eminent nation in women's cycling - both on the road and in the young discipline of gravel. A beaming Lorena Wiebes stood on the top step of the podium at the 2025 Gravel World Championships. Shortly beforehand, she had won the sprint of a small leading group on the finishing straight - ahead of compatriot and defending champion Marianne Vos. After 131 kilometres of racing, around half of which was on a non-asphalt course, the Italian Silvia Persico rode to third place.

The strongest road sprinter can also do gravel

Wiebes, currently by far the strongest sprinter on the road, is the fourth gravel world champion in the fourth edition. Attempts to shake off the powerful cyclist on one of the climbs failed. On the supposedly decisive Brondsdalweg climb around 14 kilometres before the finish, she rode at a controlled pace and Vos' attacks were ineffective. In the final, however, compatriot Shirin van Anrooij got away. The Czech Julia Kopecky, who like Wiebes normally rides for the professional team SD Worx-Protime, then took over the chase and sacrificed her own chances to enable the Dutchwoman to win the world title, which almost seemed to have slipped away. "Part of this rainbow jersey belongs to her," said world champion Wiebes after the award ceremony.

Disappointed: Shirin van Anrooij

It was a memorable finale: Shirin van Anrooij already looked like the future world champion in the final kilometres to Maastricht. But in the last few metres before the finish line, she was caught by her own team-mates. "I turned round and only saw orange," she said. The Gravel World Championships are run in national teams - having your own team-mates chase a female racer is a no-go. Previously, Yara Kastelijn, also visually part of the Dutch national team, had played a key role in her own team-mates snatching the gold from van Anrooij in the final metres. She sat heavily disappointed on the ground behind the finish line. "The team tactics are a bit different here than at the European Championships or World Championships on the road. But I don't understand it. I was leading solo. It would have been different if I had been at the front with a racer from another country," she told TOUR after she had come to terms with her initial disappointment. Others benefited. "They chased each other. I say thank you to them," said the Italian Silvia Persico as a smiling third. "I understand that it's hard for Shirin. But at least we have the world champion in the team," said second-placed Vos. "I'm happy with silver. It wasn't clear all week whether I would be able to start," she said about her own performance. She had recently had to cancel several race starts due to family matters.

Best German: Romy Kasper in tenth place

Romy Kasper was the best German in the end. The 37-year-old from Lusatia was temporarily in the lead of the race - surrounded by four Dutch women. After the very steep Bronsdalweg, the fifth-placed athlete at the 2024 World Championships was unable to find her way back to the top. "I wanted to be on the podium. But with so many strong riders at the start, it was clear that the race was going to be brutally difficult," said Kasper after catching her breath behind the finish line. The race was tough, the course was considered comparatively easy for a gravel race. "The course suited me. Maybe there were a few stretches that were too steep and hurt me the most," said Kasper. Rosa Maria Klöser, who came third in the European Championships, had to abandon the race 20 kilometres before the finish due to health problems.

The World Championship result women elite (131 kilometres)

1 Wiebes Lorena (NED), 3:58:16 hrs.
2 Vos Marianne (NED), gl. time
3 Persico Silvia (ITA), +0:02 min.
4 Kastelijn Yara (NED), +0:04
5 van Anrooij Shirin (NED), +0:10
6 Kopecký Julia (CZE), +0:19
7 Markus Femke (NED), +0:43
8 de Vries Femke (NED), gl. time
9 Hartog Larissa (NED), +1:36
10 Kasper Romy (GER), +1:38

The previous world champions

2022: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA)
2023: Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL)
2024: Marianne Vos (NED)