"What a brutal race!" - 2024 Gravel World Championship recap
On 6 October 2024, Leuven transformed to World Gravel Capital. The best pro riders and amateurs from over of the world gathered to ride the World Gravel Championship. Among the 292 elite riders who came to the start, there were four riders from Team Flanders - Baloise. Alex Colman, Lars Craps, Dylan Vandenstorme and Gilles De Wilde rode the World Championship on an Eddy Merckx Pévèle.
With Mathieu van der Poel, the gravel circus got its dream winner. In his wake, it was also a memorable day for our four riders. We asked them how the race had gone for them, and that resulted in the answers below.
Dylan Vandenstorme: ‘Top 50 is better than I hoped for’
"It was a tough but beautiful day for me. I had to start at the very back, and immediately after the start I shot a big cartouche to get to the front. Then I ended up in a nice group. That group initially included my teammate Alex Colman at first.
Once we arrived in Leuven, it became a drop-off course. Then it was a matter of not blowing your engine up but finding the right pace. It was a hard race, a protracted five-hour effort. To finish in the top 50 on my first gravel race surprises me in a positive way. And it gives me good courage for next weekend, when I will participate in the European Gravel Championship."
Lars Craps: ‘Puncture at the wrong time’
"It was full throttle from start to finish. I was in the second group when I punctured at 80 kilometres from the line. I pulled firmly during a breakaway to put pressure on the group. During that manoeuvre, I hit a big stone and punctured. The sealant in my tubeless tire sealed the puncture, but after that I had to stop twice to pump air.
Too bad, because if I hadn't had a puncture, I could have fought for a place in the top 20. Afterwards, I was always alone or in small groups. That meant I couldn't recover at any time. When I look back at my values, I notice that I pushed my body for five hours yesterday. The Pévèle was a good companion in that. It is a very responsive bike, which is extremely suitable for fast courses like this one in Leuven. The WC was an interesting first introduction to gravel. Once I am fully recovered, I will be able to tell whether it tastes like more or not. It's too early for that now."
Alex Colman: "What a brutal race"
"It was a brutal day. I had to start at the back of the box, but immediately after the start I fought my way back to the head of the race. To get there, I took some risks. While doing that, the bike and I took quite a few hits. And in that battle I had some issues with the rear hanger, causing my wheel to drag against the frame at times. I managed to fix it, but a good classification was gone . Still, I insistently wanted to finish, also because of the top atmosphere and cheers along the course.
Next week, with the gravel European Championships in Asiago, Italy, there is another chance for a good result. That is a shorter course but with more altimeters. Hopefully I will be spared from bad luck."
De Wilde: "Riding on intuition, great fun"
"It was my first gravel race. I really enjoyed it, although it was extremely hectic, especially at the start. I had to start at the very back, but gradually managed to move up to eventually finish in place 90.
It was racing on intuition, because unlike in a road race, you hardly get any information about the position you are in. It was a very fast race, even leaning towards road racing. I was constantly racing against the limit. The course was well laid out, although at some points there were narrowing sections that caused a funnel. At those points I even had to stop for a while, only to go full speed again. All in all, I look back on a fine Sunday, which tastes like more."
