'It's great to take the rainbow jersey' – Marianne Vos wins Gravel World Championships as Rosa Klöser crashes
Vos takes 15th world title on brutal course in Western Australia
Marianne Vos won the elite women's race at the UCI Gravel World Championships on Saturday in Australia, becoming the first rider to win the title twice.
The Dutchwoman attacked within the final 4km, putting distance into her rival at that point, Rosa Klöser of Germany, who then went on to crash in the run-in. Vos's title in Nannup, Western Australia, means that she has now won 15 rainbow jerseys across cyclo-cross, gravel, road and track.
Two years on from her previous title, Vos won solo on a very technical course, which saw big names like Geerike Schreurs and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio crash out. The eventual winner and Klöser attacked out of a larger group with around 21km to go, quickly building up a significant gap; the latter accelerated on the final long climb of the day, pegging back Tiffany Cromwell of Australia, with only Vos able to follow.
However, as former Unbound Gravel 200 winner Klöser put pressure on Vos in the final, she was never able to distance the rider nine years her senior. After tightening her shoes, Vos put in the decisive attack, and Klöser hit a rut and crashed out, although was able to remount and chase for second.
Larissa Hartog of the Netherlands out-sprinted Nele Laing of Germany to take third spot on the podium.
"It was more muddy than expected, actually," Vos said post-race on TV. "We had to be careful and some really slippery parts. And Rosa was really, really strong, so on the uphills I had to dig deep to follow.
"I knew that that final corner around the top and then the descent were going to be tricky, so I wanted to be in front and take them my own lines. But of course it's unfortunate that Rosa crashed there.
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"I was really happy when the World Championships were announced here, and it's a fantastic course here in Western Australia, and it's great to take the rainbow jersey."
More to follow...
Results
UCI Gravel World Championships 2026, elite women's race (125.6km)
1. Marianne Vos (Netherlands), in 4:30:04
2. Rosa Klöser (Germany), +27s
3. Larissa Hartog (Netherlands), +2:15
4. Nele Laing (Germany), at same time
5. Erica Magnaldi (Italy)m +4:17
6. Sofia Gómez Villafañe (Argentina), +5:15
7. Irina Lützelschwab (Switzerland), +5:28
8. Tiffany Cromwell (Australia), +7:15
9. Elisa Serné (Netherlands), at same time
10. Haley Smith (Canada), +8:55
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
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