Van Aert steps off his Roubaix cloud and immediately wins again at the Marly Grav
CyclingSunday, 10 May 2026 at 14:27
Wout van Aert has won the elite men’s Marly Grav race in the Dutch province of Limburg. The Visma | Lease a Bike Belgian entered the gravel race through South Limburg as a late addition, and while he admitted himself that his preparation had been far from thundering, he still rode clear to win solo.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was quite the surprise when it emerged on Saturday that Van Aert would cut his break short to appear in Limburg. He would line up at the Marly Grav Race, a round of the UCI Gravel World Series. Alongside him at the start in Valkenburg: gravel world champion Florian Vermeersch, as well as Niels Vandeputte, Pascal Eenkhoorn and Joris Nieuwenhuis, among others.
The rolling Limburg landscape made for a demanding race with plenty of climbing, and the field quickly began to thin out. By halfway through, only twenty riders remained at the front — Van Aert among them, as were his named rivals. But that first group would not stay together for long.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read on below the video!
Van Aert thins out the field and then goes it alone
ADVERTISEMENT
It was Van Aert himself who lit the fuse with 60 kilometres to go. The expected names were on the right side of the split: Vermeersch, Eenkhoorn and Vandeputte were there, as were Jonathan Vervenne and gravel specialist Rick Ottema. The six rapidly pulled clear of their rivals, with Nieuwenhuis and the rest quickly conceding a gap of around two minutes.
With 20 kilometres to go, Van Aert surged again — and this time nobody could respond, not even Vermeersch in his rainbow jersey. With enormous power through the pedals, Van Aert quickly carved out a commanding lead and the race was effectively over. He crossed the line solo, just moments after the women’s race had finished.
Continue reading below the video
Wiebes wins the Women’s race
ADVERTISEMENT
The women’s race also featured a strong line-up, headlined by world champion Lorena Wiebes. She had claimed her world title in Limburg and was hungry to strike again at her home race. After 40 kilometres, a sizeable lead group had formed, including Wiebes alongside Larissa Hartog, Ilse Pluimers, Amandine Fouquenet and a dozen other riders.
With 50 kilometres to go, only around seven riders remained at the front — Wiebes among them, joined by compatriots Hartog, Pluimers and Maaike Coljé. Germans Nele Laing and Carolin Schiff and Frenchwoman Amandine Muller were also in the mix. Wiebes eventually won the sprint from a group of five.
Results Marly Grav Race 2026
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
ADVERTISEMENT
IDL-productions
Casper van Uden won the first sprint stage at last year's Giro — can he do it again today?
Dylan Groenewegen, from a Bulgarian family hotel, on the unique Giro opportunity for himself and Unibet Rose Rockets
British, American, Canadian and Australian riders to watch at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
'Fresher than ever': why Leemreize could be Picnic PostNL's secret weapon at the Giro
'Women's cycling is built on fragile foundations' — The Cyclists' Alliance president Grace Brown calls on the UCI to act
Latest Cycling News
Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 3 Preview | A sprint — in theory — but with a sting in the tail
Limburg gravel lures Van Aert to the Netherlands: 'Van der Poel will come one day'
Giro d'Italia's horror crash medical reports - Yates withdraws, Vine suffers elbow fracture and Soler a pelvic fracture
'It was just ridiculous' — Plapp, Paret-Peintre and Rodríguez speak out as Romandie moto ride suspended
Van der Breggen and SD Worx reflect on a Vuelta Femenina to be proud of
Popular Cycling News
🎥 Terrible crash in stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia. Vine and Soler out, Yates loses 13 minutes
Giro d'Italia's horror crash medical reports - Yates withdraws, Vine suffers elbow fracture and Soler a pelvic fracture
🎥 Giro Stage 1 crash updates: Groenewegen partially dislocated shoulder — but he starts stage 2
Giro stage 3 fines and time penalties: Scaroni in trouble and fines for riders urinating
Giro d'Italia 2026 start list so far: Four abandon after horrific stage 2 crash
Latest Comments
- The only cyclist who can beat Tadej is Tadej.
Brucegel09-05-2026 - Enough of this b.s. already.Just tell the world all you suspicious people what would satisfy you that he is not doping.live real time urinating and testing?.Live real time blood draws 5 seconds after a race is over?.Fecal analysis.WTF will satisfy you?Brucegel03-05-2026
- This suspicion could be laid to rest by what? What would make all doubters happy that Pogi is clean? Just tell the world all you Frenchmen et al what you want as protocol.You will never be satisfied.That is your level of mindless groundless suspicions.Brucegel03-05-2026
- Here is a novel idea......it's a road bike race, stick to smooth asphalt courses! Cobble is like mild off-road cross riding!!!!Germanrazor14-04-2026
- To lose a race like that on a mechanical problem in this day and age is unforgivable. Why aren't all riders using the same (interchangeable) gear? It is the job of the team manager to manage and reduce risk variables. The fact that he not only didn't pick up on the potential issue but actually ok'd it is just madness.fatehasfans13-04-2026
- Rider X, y and z? Could you update?yaNzKEWL21-03-2026
- Can anyone help me understand the thinking behind the two punishments? Are the commissaires saying you get thrown out of the race for a second inadvertent disposal of a bidon (even to the delight of fans) but that as long as you can afford it you can show off your phalangeal cuticles all day long on international TV? Aking for a friend.packfiller7112-03-2026
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
Loading
