Mathieu van der Poel Gravel World Champion 2024

Mathieu van der Poel replaces Matej Mohoric as the bearer of the rainbow jersey in gravel for the third occasion in which this championship is held. The Slovenian put up a fight but could not do anything against a Mathieu van der Poel who dominated this 2024 Gravel World Championship at will, selecting the race when he wanted and riding solo for the last 15 kilometers to win a jersey he did not have and adding to the titles achieved in road and cyclocross.

Rainbow finish to Mathieu van der Poel's 2024 season

Although these days it seems that there is no cyclist other than Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel has claimed his share of the spotlight with a resounding victory in the 2024 Gravel World Championship that allows him to close a season that can only be described as brilliant, with the double of Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the spring and a very meritorious bronze medal in the Road World Championship, adding to this rainbow jersey in gravel that surely reignites his passion for cyclocross in the prelude to the mud season where his presence in the circuits seems to be up in the air.

The race proceeded calmly during the first hundred kilometers, with a peloton that was being selected, both naturally and by some accelerations caused by Mathieu van der Poel, more with the aim of reducing the number of cyclists at the front, especially from the numerous Belgian army that could really do damage.

We had to wait until, with 60 kilometers to go, the first serious attack came from the Dutchman, which was answered by the British rider Connor Swift. The Belgians, playing it cool, left Matej Mohoric to close the gap, but eventually had to collaborate with him to thwart this first attempt.

An attack that served to definitively select the leading group that remained with just 7 units: Van der Poel himself, Connor Swift, Matej Mohoric, and the Belgians Gianni and Florian Vermeersch, Jasper Stuyven, and Quinten Hermans who made a final pass through the finish line in Leuven.

However, the attack that would decide the race would not be the work of Van der Poel but, with 40 kilometers to go, it would be Florian Vermeersch who would try to surprise taking advantage of the numerical superiority of the Belgian squad. But Van der Poel easily latched onto his wheel and continued the Belgian's offensive. Mohoric jumped behind to try to close the gap, but was blocked by Florian's teammates, which was decisive for the leading duo to start consolidating their lead.

From there, what usually happens in these cases. Behind, there were unsuccessful attacks and stops that had the secondary effect of gradually increasing the advantage of Van der Poel and Vermeersch.

With a Mathieu van der Poel who gave the impression of not giving it his all, it only remained to see how the race would end. Would he wait for the sprint where he was clearly superior to the Belgian, or would he attack before? We didn't have to wait long to find out, as just over 13 kilometers from the finish, on one of the last climbs, Mathieu van der Poel attacked and dropped his rival without any opposition to go solo for the victory.

Only the occupant of the third step of the podium remained to be known, which would be decided in a sprint between the 3 Belgians, the Slovenian, and the British rider. There was a lot of vigilance in the narrow streets of Leuven, within the last kilometer. Mohoric launched the first attack from afar, Swift caught his wheel, and behind all the Belgians were coming back, with Quinten Hermans being the fastest of them to secure the bronze medal.

Gravel World Championship Classification

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) 4h41'24''
2. Florian Vermeersch (Belgium) +1'03''
3. Quinten Hermans (Belgium) +3'47''
4. Jasper Stuyven (Belgium) +3'47''
5. Gianni Vermeersch (Belgium) +3'48''
6. Connor Swift (Great Britain) +3'48''
7. Matej Mohoric (Slovenia) +3'48''
8. Tim Merlier (Belgium) +4'15''
9. Timo Kielich (Belgium) +4'15''
10. Toon Aerts (Belgium) +4'15''