Take2 days ago
Vermeersch loses the Worlds title in the final kilometre
Magnus Bak Klaris won the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup in 4 hours 9 min 5 sec, outsprinting Florian Vermeersch, Connor Swift and Mads Würtz Schmidt, who all finished at the same time. Defending champion Vermeersch finished second, his third silver at the event, and said a small mistake in the sprint, being on the wrong side of the winner's wheel, cost him the win. «It was a bit disappointing because until 1K to go I think I did the perfect race».
What this means
Bak Klaris is the first gravel specialist to win the UCI Gravel World Championships, ending five years of road pros winning it since 2022. He said he paid his own way to Nannup and qualified himself.
Vermeersch won in 2025 and was second in 2023 and 2024, so he arrived in Nannup with a perfect podium record at the event. He missed the defence of his title, finishing second. The winner had no sprint to lean on: Bak Klaris says he usually doesn't have a really good sprint and just tried to find the wheel. The group of four came to the line together, so a small positional error in the final metres decided it. Bak Klaris had spent most of the race working for Würtz Schmidt, closing attacks, and stayed with his fellow Dane after Würtz Schmidt's crash with just over 3 km to go. Würtz Schmidt rejoined with about 1.4 km remaining and finished fourth. Cyclingnews also calls Bak Klaris the first gravel specialist to win the title, ending five years of road pros winning it since 2022.
Sources
'Until the last kilometre I did the perfect race' – Florian Vermeersch misses defence but keeps his Gravel World Championships podium record intact in NannupBak Is the Future as Danish Outsider Bak Klaris Surprises to Win UCI Gravel WorldsGravel World Championships: Magnus Bak Klaris sprints to huge victory in thrilling elite men's raceThe gravel specialist gets it – A surprise win for Magnus Bak Klaris breaks domination of road pros on top step of Gravel World Championships podium
Analysed 4 sources, written and summarised with AI · How we work