This is the Colnago G4-X with which Florian Vermeersch won the 2025 Gravel World Championship

With a strong pace and knowing how to sneak into the cut that would ultimately be the good one, Florian Vermeersch conquered the Gravel World Championship that had eluded him after two consecutive silver medals. The cyclist from UAE Team Emirates-XRG did it, as it could not be otherwise, riding a Colnago G4-X, the gravel machine built by the Cambiago firm.

Colnago G4-X a gravel bike with road genes to conquer the world

Colnago is a brand historically linked to road cycling, but new modalities such as gravel and the versatility of current cyclists have forced it to have a specific bike for this modality, which, as it could not be otherwise, still meets the excellence standards that the Italian brand has always shown.

The Colnago G4-X is a gravel bike with a clear orientation towards competition. No half measures or nods to other aspects of gravel. In fact, its geometry hardly differs from that used in road bikes with which UAE Team Emirates-XRG usually competes. Another good example of its orientation is that the tire clearance only allows up to 45 mm compared to the 50 mm that are becoming a common figure.

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In addition to that, the setup with which Florian Vermeersch conquered the Gravel World Championship is even more radical in terms of seeking speed, starting with the groupset, no specific GRX for gravel but Vermeersch used the same Shimano Dura-Ace that he uses on his road bike with the same 54/40 chainrings and an 11-34 cassette. A combination that, considering the nearly 40 km/h average speed at the finish line, didn't seem unreasonable.

Given the lack of technical difficulties in the World Championship course, Vermeersch also chose to keep his road pedals and thus have the largest support surface that these provide compared to mountain models with SPD cleats.

In the wheels, we find the same ENVE SES4.5 as the cyclists of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, sturdy enough for gravel use and with their 25 mm internal width allowing the installation of gravel tires without any problem, in this case, Continental Terras Speed in size 700x40. An interesting choice for being a model with tread in its central part, albeit low, aimed at use on hard terrain. This choice contrasts with the most common among competitors who, on technically simple routes like Limburg's, usually opt for semi-slick style tires.