Brit Jenson Young in the lead group, favourites chasing: Here's how the Gravel World Championships have unfolded so far

So this year we’re not in, say, Leuven or Maastricht, but in Nannup. Na-what? Nannup, located in Western Australia. The course there is based on the well-known SEVEN Gravel Race route and is quite different in character from previous World Championships in Europe.

On Sunday, the men will cover 144 kilometers, during which they will have to climb a total of 3,713 meters. Eighty-four percent of the course consists of gravel paths, forest roads, and sections through eucalyptus forests and across private property.

Those 3,100 meters of elevation gain aren't so much the result of a single grueling climb, but rather a series of short climbs ranging from 1 to 4 kilometers in length, with gradients between 5 and 8 percent. These climbs follow one another in rapid succession.

Due to the distance involved, we saw fewer well-known names than in recent years, with “only” three WorldTour pros on the start list: Florian Vermeersch (UAE), Stan Dewulf (Decathlon), and Connor Swift of Netcompany INEOS.

We see plenty of gravel racers on Sundays. The Dutch riders Jordan Habets, Piotr Havik, Adne Koster, Matthijs Loman, Ruud Junior Nagengast, Rick Nobel, Peter Schulting, and Thijs Wemmers made the trip, as did the Belgians Aaron Van der Beken, national champion Daan Soete, Jo Pirotte, and Lawrence Naesen.

Any other well-known names? Matthew Beers (South Africa), Andreas Stokbro, and European champion and Unbound winner Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark), Freddy Ovett (Australia), Lukas Pöstlberger (Austria), Keegan Swenson (U.S.), Petr Vakoc (Czech Republic), and Germany’s Paul Voss.

At 10:10 a.m. local time (4:10 a.m. Dutch time), the riders set off from Nannup, and a four-rider breakaway formed fairly quickly.

It consisted of Lukas Pöstlberger (Austria), Jo Pirotte (Belgium), Jenson Young of Great Britain, and Peter Schulting of the Netherlands, known for riding for teams such as VolkerWessels and Parkhotel Valkenurg. Pirotte had to drop back fairly quickly, leaving us with three riders.

The three worked well together and built up a three-minute lead, while a strong group of pursuers bunched up behind them. Not in the mix? Piotr Havik, Freddy Ovett, Belgian champion Daan Soete, Felix Stehli, Andreas Stokbro, and Lawrence Naesen missed the break; as for the rest, we could say the peloton was still intact with 70 kilometers to go.

In that group, the Danes, who were riding at the front, narrowly avoided a crash caused by a kangaroo. The animal jumped onto the road just ahead of the group, forcing them to slam on their brakes.

In that group, the Danes riding at the front narrowly escaped being hit by a kangaroo. The mammal jumped onto the road just in front of the group, forcing them to slam on the brakes in the run-up to the toughest climb of the day: Ellis Creek.

On that climb, Jonas Lindberg took the lead ahead of European champion and Unbound winner Würtz Schmidt, causing the group to split. Swift and Vermeersch followed, while Beers, Swenson, and the other Dutch riders, among others, had to dig deep into their reserves there.

In the aftermath, things quieted down again somewhat, allowing Schulting and co.'s lead to increase to 2 minutes once more. Young, however, had to drop back at that point, 40 kilometers from the finish.