Van Aert steps off his Roubaix cloud and immediately wins again at the Marly Grav
CyclingSunday, 10 May 2026 at 14:27
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Follow us on GoogleWout 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.
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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.
Read on below the video!
Van Aert thins out the field and then goes it alone
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
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
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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