Florian Vermmersch, the 26-year-old Belgian finished second in the last two editions of the Gravel World Championships, and transformed his two silvers in a rainbow jersey in tough race in Limburg. It is his first world title in any discipline, and only his second individual win ever as a professional.
Frits Biesterbos (The Netherlands) takes home the silver, who had been with Vermmersch until 19km to go, but couldn't close the gap to the Belgian. Former gravel world champion Matej Mohoric (Slovenia) took the bronze medal more than a minute and a half down on Vermmersch.
"It was a bit of a mental thing, because I came from my leg fracture last year, and I've done some really nice results this year. And I definitely had a good year. But to win, for me, now it is the end point of the injury, and now hopefully I can continue in winning ways next season.
Someone said: just try winning a race. The level here is incredibly high. It was one of the toughest race I've ridden. Hats off to Biesterbos, because we were in the attack all day. He hung around for a long time, so I got worried for a moment. The world title is the highest in cycling, if it's gravel or cyclocross or road. A jersey in a jersey."
-Florian Vermeersch
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