LEUVEN TURNED ORANGE

Let’s say you are asked to be the national coach of the Dutch gravel selection and you have all this experience in the world of gravel. What do you do? You make sure the party is as big as the event itself.

Yes, there was of course official stuff to do in the months and weeks before the race, like the selection itself - choosing which riders were invited based on their performances and which riders were given a wildcard. There was the obligatory need for uniform orange clothing and the organization of handing out the water bottles and gels. But what was most important, was to make sure everybody was going to have a good time. Before and after the race, preferably also during.

TeamNL set up camp in the city of Waterloo, a house with a big yard, so riders could camp out with their vans and campers. On Thursday the whole team of women and men were invited to do a recon together. That evening, there was a big barbecue to get in the proteins needed for the next few days. A chance to get to know the colleague-athletes, participating all together in this crazy game called gravel cycling. The youngster with only a few personal sponsors chatting with the former pro cyclist, the wildcard gravel enthousiast meeting the top female cyclists. Because, let’s be honest, in what other discipline do you get to mingle with all the athletes, from different levels and age groups?

Tactics? Not really. Try not to push a team mate into the barriers. Gravel cycling is and will remain an individual sport and athletes should always try to get the best out of their performance. The thing is: it should be okay to have a beer together one day and chase each other on the trails the next day. That’s sports.

Now, as for the riders, TeamNL was very lucky to have a big group of podium candidates. Riders such as Marianne Vos, Lucinda Brand & Rianne Marcus are known for their skills and were keen on performing on Saturday at the women's race. The biggest competition came from Belgium, in the likes of Lotte Kopecky. An intense finale and a close sprint decided on this year’s World Champion Gravel: Marianne Vos.

On Sunday, it was time for the men to perform. A dazzling 300 men had registered for the race in Leuven, with 8 elite men starting in the front, first row. The rest was called to the front individually with a few minutes in between each age group. The parcours was going to be hard, sometimes technical and mostly very narrow, leaving just enough space for maybe two riders next to each other. There was a constant line of riders, with men getting kicked off at the back, not being able to keep up the pace. TeamNL had one big ace up her sleeve and by the looks of it, everything was going perfect for him. After Florian Vermeersch took the initiative to attack from a smaller group of mainly Belgian riders, Mathieu van der Poel joined him and together they took off. With 15 km to go, Mathieu took his chance, lost Florian and ended solo on the finish line.

Two out of two. Let’s say you’re the national coach of the Dutch gravel selection and you bring home both the women’s and the men’s rainbow jersey. You make sure the town turns orange. Now, to get back on that party: it was big. At the Ladeuze square, the riders were honored on the podium and Live Slow Ride Fast hosted the afterparty with beers and music. For riders and fans. Just like it is supposed to in gravel.