"Kastelijn, this is so incredibly stupid" - Dutch pundit suggests Dutch rider may have been payed to chase down Shirin van Anrooij at Gravel World Championships

The outcome of the Gravel World Championships was not a fully unexpected one with Lorena Wiebes taking the victory over Marianne Vos after the two were part of a select group that made it through the gravel sectors of the race in Limburg, however the way in which these two arrived at the first places was very controversial. After the chasing down of Yara Kastelijn to her compatriot, there are questions on why that was the case.

Over social media there was heavy criticism immediately over the work of Kastelijn in the last few kilometers which brought back her compatriot Shirin van Anrooij, for no apparent reason, as she burned her chances of taking a medal and chased down a teammate to favour two other teammates.

Many members of the Dutch community specifically, despite having a first and second at the end of the day in the results sheet, were very unhappy with the way the final kilometers played out and how van Anrooij had the victory taken from her in such an unusual way.

"With this action, at this point in the race, I don't think Kastelijn is riding for herself. But for whom? That's the question," Roxane Knetemann said in the Het Wiel podcast. "I was watching too and thought 'Kastelijn, this is so incredibly stupid'. But she's being called such a scumbag now, which I find scandalous. She doesn't deserve that."

Ultimately it is hard to understand the reasons behind the Fenix-Deceuninck rider's tactics, as an attack would've been her sole chance at a medal in that group, and she was not teammates on the road with either Wiebes or Vos - besides being literal teammates with van Anrooij only two weeks ago at the Kigali World Championships.

"I do hope she analyzes this herself and looks back. If it had been her own action, she should have chosen a different moment in those last 11 kilometers. Or she rode for Wiebes or Vos and got paid. I think she simply lost it and didn't ride for anyone, because what she did in the 500 meters was ridiculous."