Two different finishes for two rainbow jerseys. Marianne Vos won alone on 10 October in Nannup; Magnus Bak Klaris triumphed in a sprint the following day. The first Gravel World Championships to be held outside Europe crowned the Dutchwoman and the Dane on the trails of Western Australia.
Vos makes the difference before the finish
The World Series race report describes a women’s race animated by Tiffany Cromwell. In her final professional event, the Australian opened up a lead of almost a minute before being caught as the riders entered the final circuit. The leading group then thinned out on the climbs.
Rosa Klöser and Marianne Vos crested the final climb together. The Dutchwoman attacked in the closing kilometres; the German, who had caught up again, crashed on a slippery bend. Vos completed the 125.6 km in 4 h 30 min 04 s. Klöser held on for silver, 27 seconds behind, and Larissa Hartog took bronze, 2 min 15 s back.
This is Vos’s second Gravel World Championship title, after her 2024 victory. The UCI’s tally gives her a total of fifteen elite world titles across cyclo-cross, road, track and gravel: a record of success extending beyond this one discipline.
Four men for three medals
In the men’s race, the World Series reports an initial three-rider breakaway, caught around twenty kilometres from the finish after the work of the group led by the Danes. Connor Swift accelerated on the final major climb, Foley.
The finale came down to Bak Klaris, Mads Würtz Schmidt, Florian Vermeersch and Swift. Würtz Schmidt had a minor crash before rejoining them. All four were given the same time, 4 h 09 min 05 s, after the 144 km race. The photo finish decided the podium: Bak Klaris ahead of Vermeersch, followed by Swift; Würtz Schmidt finished fourth.
As the defending champion, Vermeersch therefore remains on the podium but does not retain his title. For Bak Klaris, who had already won the final qualifying round in Sweden, Nannup brings a first world title.
Our preview of the Nannup courses outlined the terrain before the races. The results produced two different finales: an attack followed by a solo finish in the women’s race, and a group still together for the sprint in the men’s.
Sources
- UCI: report on the two elite races, 12 October 2026.
- UCI Gravel World Series: women’s race and results, 10 October 2026.
- UCI Gravel World Series: men’s race and results, 11 October 2026.
Sources consulted on 21 October 2026.
