'A lot, a whole lot'; Marianne Vos emotional as World Gravel Championship wins caps off a tough 2026

Vos had already won the gravel world championship once before, in Leuven, Belgium, in 2024, but after everything she went through last year, the title in Nannup clearly meant even more to her. Vos lost her father, Henk, this past spring and, not long after, broke her collarbone in the Tour of Catalonia.

In Western Australia, Vos’s response to the first question (“What does this title mean, after everything you’ve achieved?”) was therefore telling. “A lot… a whole lot,” said Vos, visibly moved.

Amid all those emotions, Vos also immediately provided a spot-on analysis of the Gravel World Championships. From the start of the race, she was riding at the front of the pack.

On the decisive climb, she then followed top favorite Rosa Klöser. After Vos’s attack 3.5 kilometers from the finish, the German rider crashed, and the race was decided.

"It was muddier than we had expected, so we had to be careful on some very slippery sections," said Vos, who saw her compatriot Geerike Scheurs drop out after a hard crash and urged caution herself.

"Rosa was really strong, so I had to give it my all to keep up with her here. I knew that last turn leading to the top of that final climb was tricky, so I wanted to ride at the front and choose my own line," said Vos. "But of course, it's a shame that Rosa crashed there."

And so Vos adds yet another world title to her collection; immediately after the race, she fell into the arms of her coach, Jan Boven, and her partner, Moniek Tenninglo. “I was so happy when the World Championships were announced here. It’s a fantastic course here in Western Australia, so it’s amazing to win the rainbow jersey.”