South Limburg is this weekend the stage for the Bolero UCI Gravel World Championships 2025. This is notable because initially the Gravel World Championships were set to take place next week in Nice, France. However, they returned the organization last February, after which the Netherlands stepped in. The UCI in the Netherlands is looking for a successor to Mathieu van der Poel, who unfortunately will not be participating. WielerFlits looks ahead!
Gravel riding remains a young discipline in the cycling world. The first Gravel World Championship was held only four years ago in Italy’s Veneto region. There was immediately strong interest from the WorldTour peloton, with starters including Mathieu van der Poel, Peter Sagan, Magnus Cort, Greg Van Avermaet, and Alexey Lutsenko. Gianni Vermeersch emerged as a worthy winner. Van der Poel had to settle for bronze behind Italian Daniel Oss.
A year later, the gravel riders returned to Italy for a repeat of the previous year. This time, Slovenian Matej Mohoric beat Florian Vermeersch and Connor Swift. Also, Wout van Aert was part of the final group, but a puncture dashed his chances of victory. A new trend was set to gather the best road racers, cyclocrossers, and gravel specialists in early October in a discipline still in its infancy.
This had immediate results, with the 2024 World Championships for the first time landing in the quintessential cycling country: Belgium. Mathieu van der Poel appeared at the start and soloed to the world title, adding to his previous rainbow jerseys on the road and in cyclocross. Once again, Florian Vermeersch and Quinten Hermans joined him on the podium. This year, the Dutchman will not defend his title despite the World Championship being held on home soil. He was ready for rest after the Mountain Bike World Championships.
In 2024, the World Championships started in Halle, Belgium, for a 182 km race finishing in Leuven. Especially Belgium had significant strength in depth, with then-reigning world champion Matej Mohoric and Mathieu van der Poel as main contenders. Quite early, a group of sixteen riders took the lead, including almost all the favorites. MVDP was clearly eager, launching his first attack 115 km from the finish.
Just over 60 km from the line, the Dutchman made another huge effort to break up the front group. Half an hour later, Florian Vermeersch attacked. Only Van der Poel responded. At 13.5 km from the finish, the Dutchman launched a scorching acceleration on a forest climb. Vermeersch could not answer, and Van der Poel soloed to the world title.
The 2025 Gravel World Championships, taking place in the heart of South Limburg, will lead riders on a loop of roughly 50 kilometers through Beek, Beekdaelen, Voerendaal, Meerssen, and Valkenburg, passing picturesque spots such as Castle Wijnandsrade, the Vaeshartelt estate, and the Sint Hubertus mill. Key challenges include the Heggerweg near Spaubeek, Bronsdalweg, the side of the Raarberg, and the tough combination of Blokweg and Stevensweg in Houthem.
Just outside Beek at De Haamen, the main loop of the course starts, which depending on categories will be ridden one and a half to three and a half times. Almost immediately after leaving Beek, riders face the Adsteeg climb. This is followed by a loop featuring multiple climbs, open roads where the wind plays a big role, and varied surfaces. After completing the loop several times, the finale will lead the riders to the finish on De Groene Loper, a renewed pedestrian and cycling boulevard in Maastricht.
Of course, it's a shame that Mathieu van der Poel and also Wout van Aert will not be at the Bolero UCI Gravel World Championships 2025. But that certainly doesn’t dampen the excitement, as there are plenty of top contenders among road riders, full-time gravel specialists, and former pros eager to make their mark. With all these big names at the start in Beek, the World Championships promise to be spectacular. Especially because the Adsteeg climb comes straight away, leaving little advantage if you line up at the front.
Given the course, weather conditions, and his excellent season, we crown Tim Wellens as the top favorite. Earlier this year, he finished third in Strade Bianche, became Belgian road champion, won a stage in the Tour de France, placed third in the Renewi Tour, and was recently fourteenth in the CRO Race. The form of the UAE Emirates XRG rider is clearly solid. Moreover, he won Marly Grav (UCI World Gravel Series) earlier this year, which took place in the same region.
One rider for whom the course potentially suits even better, as a former cyclocrosser with its many turns, is Quinten Hermans. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has also been in good form in recent weeks. The puncheur was eighth in Gran Piemonte last Thursday and was twice among the top twelve in the Canadian WorldTour races: GP de Québec and GP de Montréal last month. Last year, Hermans also finished third at the World Championships. His strong sprint finish is a significant weapon.
Normally, we would have named Tom Pidcock as top favorite here. As a former cyclocross world champion and former winner of the Amstel Gold Race, he finds the perfect blend of these two disciplines at the Gravel World Championships. Add to that his two Olympic mountain bike titles, and there are few arguments to dispute this. He is also in good form, as shown by his second place in last year's Giro dell'Emilia. One unknown: Pidcock is racing the Tour of Lombardy on Saturday before the Gravel Worlds.
Recent years have shown that road riders often have the advantage over full-time gravel pros. Mads Würtz Schmidt falls somewhere in between. The 31-year-old Dane was a pro with Israel-Premier Tech until last season but did not receive a new contract. This year, he focuses mainly on gravel, with great success. Würtz Schmidt has won four UCI World Gravel Series races, became European gravel champion three weeks ago, and won The Traka 200 in early May.
We should also definitely keep an eye on Gianni Vermeersch. The 32-year-old Flemish rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck will forever remain the very first Gravel World Champion (2022). Earlier this year, he finished seventh in Strade Bianche, second in the GP de Denain, and fifteenth in the Tour of Flanders. Although he hasn't achieved many top results in recent months—he did place fifth at the Belgian Gravel Championships in August—Gianni Vermeersch has never finished outside the top 11 in the first three Gravel World Championships.
With Matej Mohorič, another former world champion is at the start. The experienced Slovenian classics specialist recently renewed his contract with Bahrain Victorious, despite admitting he suffered the worst season of his career. His results back this up. Only in the final stage of the Tour de France (third) and GP de Québec (fifth) did we see flashes of his class. “Maybe I’m not the favorite, but I think I can contend for a good result here,” he says.
So there is a strong starting field, especially packed with many road pros and cyclocrossers. However, it's difficult to say who is currently in peak form. Therefore, we also highlight some full-time gravel riders, starting with former pro Petr Vakoč. The 33-year-old Czech raced on the road as a pro until 2021 with teams including Alpecin-Fenix. This year, he finished in the top five in eighteen of nineteen gravel races. Unbound Gravel (15th) was the only exception. He also won The Gralloch in Great Britain.
One rider who somewhat straddles road and gravel cycling is Magnus Bak Klaris. The 29-year-old Dane is a strong competitor in the Continental circuit and has also been focusing on gravel since 2023. He continues to combine road and gravel this year. He raced three UCI World Gravel Series events, finishing second twice and winning the race along Wörthsee, organized by Johnny Hoogerland. He has recently been in good shape, finishing fourth in the Slag om Norg, among others.
“Third time's the charm” is a well-known saying, and Florian Vermeersch would love to see it come true. The 26-year-old Belgian claimed silver at the last two World Championships. However, it is not clear if that will be possible again. The Belgian has not been in top form recently but did finish fifth in Paris-Roubaix, fourth in GP de Denain, and sixth in the Baloise Belgium Tour earlier this year. He will be allowed to race for himself here, a rare opportunity.
The Netherlands also brings many strong riders to the start, but both in quantity and quality somewhat less impressively than Belgium. One rider who stands out in the sprint is Tibor Del Grosso. The 22-year-old Alpecin-Deceuninck rider is the current Under-23 cyclocross world champion and made his WorldTour road debut this year. He performed quite well, including sixth in Dwars Door Vlaanderen, fifth in the Antwerp Port Epic, third in Dwars door het Hageland, and ninth in the Renewi Tour. Two weeks ago, he was also second at the Dutch Gravel Championships. He seems to be the Netherlands' main trump card.
Fortunately, the Gravel World Championships are not entirely predictable, though the strongest rider will undoubtedly win. Still, we want to highlight a number of riders: Pepijn Reinderink, Senna Remijn, Rick Ottema, Mathijs Loman, and national champion Frits Biesterbos. Belgium can open a whole drawer: Tim Merlier, Toon Aerts, Belgian champion Niels Vandeputte, Laurens Sweeck, Emiel Verstrynge, Timo Kielich, and Jenno Berckmoes. If national interest counts, Belgium has a handful of strong cards.
More road pros at the start include Adam Ťoupalík, Fabio Christen, Alexys Brunel, Matevž Govekar, Connor Swift, Decline Irvine, and Nils Politt. Certainly, Swift has earned his stripes at past Gravel World Championships, and Politt’s power should make him a factor here. Former pros like Ramon Sinkeldam (winner of Gravel Locos this year), Niki Terpstra, Johnny Hoogerland, Zdeněk Štybar, Greg Van Avermaet, Jan Bakelants, Romain Bardet, Lukas Pöstlberger, and mountain biker Henrique Avancini will also be looking to make their mark.
Sunday promises a fair contest. The weather conditions are perfect, with temperatures rising to seventeen degrees Celsius around midday and no rain throughout the day. Additionally, there will be only a moderate northeast wind at force three, which is negligible. Moreover, the wind in the finale will mostly be at the riders’ backs. A real man-to-man battle will therefore determine the new world champion.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Florian Vermeersch |
| 2024 |  Mathieu van der Poel |
| 2023 |  Matej Mohorič |
| 2022 | Gianni Vermeersch |
UCI Gravel World Championship | Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:41:23 | |
| 2 | + 01:03 | |
| 3 | + 03:47 | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | + 03:48 | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | + 04:15 | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
UCI Gravel World Championship BeekMaastricht
photo: fotopersburo Cor Vos
Pidcock took third in Vuelta a España - photo: Cor Vos
Vermeersch was the first ever Gravel World Champion - photo: Cor Vos
Florian Vermeersch finished second in the last two World Championships - photo: Cor Vos
Del Grosso is one of the biggest talents in the Netherlands - photo: Cor Vos
UCI Gravel World Championship 
