Lorena Wiebes (NL) doesn't have many milestones left in her resume to make a solid career as a women's World Tour rider. But until she took on gravel at the UCI Gravel World Championships on Saturday, she had never won a medal at a World Championships in eight full seasons.

The reigning European road champion is a member of the SD Works-Pro Time team and has 35 podium finishes on the road this season. She won her hometown Ronde van Drenthe for the fourth time, won Gent-Wevelgem, won three stages and the GC title at the RideLondon Classic, and won five out of six stages and the GC title at the Baloise Ladies Tour, She finished second in the points standings at the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift.

Although she rarely competes on gravel, her one-day classic skills and solid finishing speed give her an edge in off-road racing, and last year she won the European Gravel Championship title. In only his second appearance at the Gravel World Championships, Vives finally made it to the podium and earned a medal.

“I am very happy because this is my first medal at the World Championships. I'm also happy that Marianna (Bos) won. And I'm also happy that Marianna [Bos] won.

At last year's Gravel World Championships in Italy, Demi Vollaring took the bronze medal, followed by Yara Castellane and Wiebes, in 134 km of mixed terrain with sharp cobbled climbs followed by a long paved road to the finish at Bongenottenrand.

Eleven riders were selected from the Netherlands, including Wiebes, Puck Pieterse, Marianne Vos, and Lucinda Brand. From Italy, Letizia Borgesi and Soraya Paladin, from Luxembourg, Marie Schreiber and Christine Majerus, and the trio of Lotte Kopecky (Belgium), Romy Kasper (Germany), and Emma Norsgaard (Denmark) were in the running.

After the midpoint of the race, Vives remained in the lead with Vos, Kopecky, and Paladin. Narrow roads through the side of farms and forests offered few chances to attack.

“I had a terrible moment on the climb when Lotte was in front of me. When Lotte was in front of me on the climb, I had a moment of awfulness. I got back in the group with Pac Peterset. [Pac attacked on the last cobblestone climb, but I was still in good shape, so I tried over it,” he explained, explaining that he regained his legs in Leuven and kept the momentum of the lead group going.

Vos and Kopecky rode in tandem apart to fight for the rainbow jersey. Vives won the final medal in a three-way sprint contest ahead of mountain bike world champion Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) and Kasper.

After the race, she said she did not scout Leuven's finish lap. She had expected a similar loop to last year's European Championships, but “it was completely different.”

“The first lap for Leuven was completely different. We didn't do any reconnaissance. At the end, I remembered this part of the European Championships, but again it was totally different."

Wiebes was crowned Dutch gravel champion again this year last week at the NK Gravel + Merida, an off-road race in the Dutch gravel series, as a tune-up for the gravel world championships.

“I do it more often, but not always at the same time. Sometimes it's a bit of a risk. But I like it, so if I can afford it, I'll continue next year,” she told Wielerfritz about her gravel inclination.

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