'They are going to be hard to beat for sure' – Marianne Vos toes the line against a field packed with discipline specialists at the UCI Gravel World Championships

When Nannup was first announced as a venue for the UCI Gravel World Championships, one rider who immediately looked forward to the 2026 rainbow jersey race in Western Australia was Marianne Vos. It wasn't close to home, far from it, and it wasn't the perfect parcours, but it was definitely somewhere she wanted to be.

While Vos wouldn't go so far as to call herself familiar with the area, she does have history, after coming out for the Margaret River Tour, which swept through the region multiple times around a decade ago. The organising team for that race then shifted focus to SEVEN and, almost as soon as the UCI got into gravel, put up their hands to host a series race and were in the queue for a World Championships.

"I already knew that SEVEN was the event they were doing every year, but being held in May it was always difficult to get here in the road season," Vos told Cyclingnews as the event neared. "But as I did also do Gravel Worlds over the last two years, when it fitted my road schedule and when it fitted the team schedule, I was very keen to also do it now."

"When it first got announced, I was already excited back then."

It has, however, unquestionably been a difficult season for Vos, with a limited racing schedule for Visma-Lease a Bike as her priorities were necessarily placed elsewhere following the loss of her father. The challenging season perhaps makes this rainbow jersey race mean even more.

"First, yes, I wanted to go here because it's here," said Vos of the Nannup location for the world title battle. "Next to that, just to get here and try and get to the best level I can, especially after a difficult season. I know winning will be difficult and really hard, but trying my best and getting the best out of the race – that is the goal and the focus."

Vos already knows what it is to win a Gravel World Championships, just one of four elite women in that category, as she claimed the rainbow stripes in 2024 and she also came second to compatriot Lorena Wiebes in 2025.

Vos therefore has form but is pragmatic about what's ahead in Saturday's 125.6km race with 84% gravel and 3179m of vertical elevation gain. There are a number of obstacles littering the path to the top step of the podium at the fifth edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships.

"If you look at the altitude metres of the race, there's no doubt that it's hard and there's also no doubt that the climbs, although they are not long, add up all the time. In the end it will be a challenge," said Vos.

"I think in gravel it's a combination of physique, a bit of tactics, a bit of technique, and that combination is what I like most about gravel. And, in the end, on this course for sure, the best riders will end up in front. I guess besides mechanicals or crashes, normally the best rider will win, so that's a good thing. It will be a fair and honest race."

A gravel gathering

The nature of the course and location has also delivered another challenge, because while Vos' eyes may have lit up at the prospect of a Nannup adventure, the same goes for several other riders eyeing the rainbow jersey.

Riders like 2024 Unbound winner Rosa Klöser, who won at Sea Otter Europe in the middle of last month, where Vos was third, and this year's Unbound winner Sofia Gomez Villafañe, who has barely been off the top step this year, are among the field heavy in gravel specialists who have been drawn to an event which is expected to open the door for them.

It would, of course, be ridiculous to question Vos' off-road prowess – she has, after all, won eight cyclo-cross world titles to go along with the gravel rainbow jersey – but it's not been her day in and day out in recent times.

"All the disciplines get more and more specialists, so does gravel, and there are some roadies, some mountain bike riders, so it's still a combination of the different disciplines. But for sure, the gravel riders, they are experienced in gravel riding. So in this kind of racing, when it adds up, when you have to constantly be alert on the course, it will be tough competition," said Vos.

"I mean they do this all year and they are going to be hard to beat for sure."

Then there is also another element at play. The Gravel World Championships is a different set-up to the road, with the same selection, funding and team dynamics, so while riders wear their national kit, there can be a question mark over whether they are racing as a team or are just a collection of individuals wearing the same kit.

"I think it's an honest course, so in the end, the better riders will end up in front, so tactics can play a role for sure and as a Dutch team, you want to help each other as much as possible," said Vos. "You for sure don't want to be in each other's way. But on this kind of course, I guess in the end it's also about individual qualities. So there is this combination of riding for the country and trying to get the best out of yourself on the day."

'If it was easy then it wouldn't be fun'

Whatever that is, after the race celebrations or commiserations, the prolific world title winner will be taking some time off to reset as she looks forward to a more settled year ahead.

"I'm looking forward to next season, yes for sure," said Vos. "To rest first and to have a proper build-up again ... just getting back to the normal routine and trying to get the best out of yourself."

No matter what that best looks like, in an evolving women's cycling environment where it's getting tougher and tougher to cross the line first.

"It is, but of course, as a team you try and make a plan to get the best result possible, and that's what you work towards. Actually, all these changes in women's cycling and the growth, and also it getting more and more professional, also means you need to adapt and focus and refocus, and in the end just get 100% out of yourself to be competitive," said Vos. "That's maybe the main reason to still also have this extra motivation and spark to go for it because it's never the same and there's so many new races and the competition is tough, and teams have changed."

READ: All you need to know about the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships

Vos is now 39, and it is two decades since she won her first elite world titles, but the rider with a lifetime contract at Visma-Lease a Bike's genuine enthusiasm for the sport is showing no signs of waning.

"It's a constant challenge, which keeps it also very exciting and, yeah, it's not easy to win, but if it was easy then it wouldn't be fun. So when things work out – even though sometimes it might take a while, or even though there's also difficulties – that's still pretty exciting. The racing itself is beautiful, and also the training is something I like. I think it's a combination of things that keeps me excited and motivated, and I still have fun."

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