"I can't believe I get to take the rainbow jersey home" - Shock for Gianni Vermeersch, the most recent World Champion

Gianni Vermeersch was a rider to take into consideration at the Gravel World Championships, however in the shadow the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Greg van Avermaet, he found himself within a shot at a rainbow jersey.

“We just rode all day with just the two of us," Vermeersch said after the race. "The moment we had five minutes, I knew we had a good chance of making it to the finish. We kept going until it was a hand-to-hand fight on the last lap." The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider found himself isolated alongside Daniel Oss in the front of the race, with a gap that massively grew into five minutes.

This saw the Belgian within sight of a possible victory, in an unexpected scenario. Vermeersch collaborated with Oss throughout most of the race and towards the end, he had the legs to make the difference. “The single track in the final was one of my favorite parts of the course. I just went full in, and I heard meter by meter that I was getting a little ahead of Daniel. From there I just went full to the finish.”

Vermeersch went solo inside the final ten kilometers, and from there on it was to be smooth sailing to the finish in Cittadella. He crossed the line alone, to take a strong win, and a very important title despite not being a rider that takes up gravel competition. A cyclocross expert however, he took advantage of his technique combined with endurance from the road to put on a show.

“I was a bit hesitant because I knew the last 500 meters were perfect for me," the Belgian explained. "But I also knew there was a group coming from behind, we heard the lead was two minutes and thirty seconds, so I just wanted to go full to keep the lead. Then he dropped, so I kept going.”

“It's unbelievable: it was one of the biggest opportunities for me to ever become a world champion. I can't believe I get to take the rainbow jersey home," he concluded, becoming the first UCI-sanctioned Gravel World Champion.