'Fingers crossed for that scenario' - Dutch squad aligned for Marianne Vos to recapture rainbow jersey at Gravel World Championships

Don't look for Lorena Wiebes in Nannup this Saturday to defend the elite women's title at the UCI Gravel World Championships, or last year's elite men's silver medallist Frits Biesterbos to try to go one better, but do watch the orange kits of the Netherlands to swarm again, especially on the women's side.

The squad brings a total of 16 elite riders to Western Australia, just one less than the host nation, comprised of seven women to compete Saturday in their 125.6km race and nine men for Sunday's 144km race. Absent from the Dutch rosters are Wiebes and Mathieu van der Poel, the 2024 elite men's gravel champion.

The leading Dutch rider in either elite division for a rainbow jersey is Marianne Vos. She's competed twice in the newest UCI championship event and finished on the podium both times, with the win in 2024. And she's a favourite on any surface, with 14 rainbow jerseys across four disciplines - eight in cyclo-cross, plus a complement from gravel, road and track.

"The moment I phoned her about this, she announced to me that she will go on altitude [training] so she's all-in for the Gravel World Championship," Dutch coach Laurens ten Dam told Cyclingnews.

"Also, the moment I told Lorena that Marianne is going, she was really happy. She was like, 'OK, if she can take the jersey for me, that would be awesome'. So let's hope, fingers crossed for that scenario."

The numbers game has helped the Netherlands at the last two Gravel World Championships, last year the women taking two medals - gold for Wiebes, silver for Vos - and 10 others in the top 20. The year before, when Vos won the title, Wiebes took bronze, and Puck Pieterse was fourth.

It will be an interesting scenario for the Dutch squad, who again bring multiple riders with the ability to position Vos, or win the world title outright, most notably gravel specialist Geerike Schreurs. Last year the Dutch squad chased down a late attack by compatriot Shirin Anrooij and then Wiebes outsprinted Vos for the title. In the one head-to-head matchup between Vos and Schreurs this year, at the Sea Otter Europe gravel race a month ago, it was Vos taking the sprint for third ahead of Schreurs. However, Dutch rider Larissa Hartog was four minutes faster and took second, behind winner Rosa Klöser of Germany.

Schreurs, who used to race on the road, has only one Specialized Off-road teammate in the race, Argentine Sofia Gomez Villafañe, and the duo went one-two at Unbound Gravel, with Schreurs as the runner-up.

Schreurs has won The Gralloch in the UCI Gravel World Series and four other events in the Gravel Earth Series for that overall title, so it remains to be seen which alliance will be made in Nannup.

Wiebes will focus the week on the three-day Tour of Chongming Island and the UCI Track World Championships, immediately following in Shanghai. Van der Poel ended his season with a bronze medal in the road race at UCI Road World Championships in Montréal.

"The thing with the Worlds schedule is, I think for the men there are four races that weekend, like Lombardia, Paris-Tours, the China stage race [Tour of Guangxi], and then the weekend after the two Holland starts [Chrono des Nations]. It's so busy for the WorldTour teams that it's difficult for them to release riders."

Riejanne Markus, who rides for Lidl-Trek, was seventh at the UCI Gravel Worlds in 2024. She recently supported Demi Vollering at both the Road Worlds Championships and the UEC Road European Championships, and was on the start line at Tuesday's Tre Valli Varesine Women's race.

Other now-gravel specialists include Larissa Hartog, who used her victory at The HIlls and runner-up spots at The Traka 200 and The River to go second overall in the Gravel Earth Series. Wendy Oosterwoud won Gravel Adventure and scored 12 other top-10s at UCI Gravel World Series races, while Tessa Neefjes had four top-10s at UCI GWS races.

Riders for the Dutch team were expected to arrive in Australia on October 7, three days before the elite women's race. Ten Dam delayed his flight to Western Australia from Slovenia to complete his coaching duties at the time trial races for the European Road Championships.

"So I'll arrive Friday morning, 1 a.m., and drive to Nannup. Then I fly out Monday again, so it's a short trip for me," he said.

The Dutch Federation goes all-in for the World Championships, including gravel, and will house athletes and support staff in several homes, with as many as 30 beds. Vos, along with her Visma-Lease a Bike coach Jan Boven, will stay with the Dutch squad for the handful of days in Nannup.

Dutch roster for UCI Gravel World Championships 2026

Elite women

• Larissa Hartog
• Riejanne Markus
• Tessa Neefjes
• Wendy Oosterwoud
• Geerike Schreurs
• Elisa Serné
• Marianne Vos

Elite men

• Jake Griffin
• Jordan Habets
• Piotr Havik
• Adne Koster
• Mathijs Loman
• Ruud Junor Nagengast
• Rick Nobel
• Rick Ottema
• Peter Schulting

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