Results Marly Grav 2026 | Wout van Aert wins on return and beats another UAE rainbow jersey in first race since Paris-Roubaix victory
Gravel
Wout van Aert made a winning return to racing at the Marly Grav, riding clear in the closing stages of the 150km gravel race in Valkenburg to underline his form four weeks after conquering Paris-Roubaix.
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike star was racing for the first time since his landmark victory at the Hell of the North and quickly turned his surprise appearance in the UCI Gravel World Series into another show of strength on rough terrain.
Van Aert had already shaped the race from the early kilometres, but the decisive move came inside the final 25 kilometres. After spending much of the day in the key front group, the Belgian attacked on the run out of a forest path and immediately opened daylight on his rivals.
By the final 16.8 kilometres, Van Aert had built a 30 second lead over Niels Vandeputte, Rick Ottema, Jonathan Vervenne and gravel world champion Florian Vermeersch. Pascal Eenkhoorn followed at one minute, while the next group was already at 2:45. Inside the final kilometre, Van Aert still held a lead of more than half a minute, with the chase group left to fight for the podium behind.
Van Aert drops UAE’s rainbow jersey in Limburg
For a road audience, there was an obvious echo to Van Aert’s previous race. Four weeks after winning Paris-Roubaix, he again finished off a race on rough roads after distancing a UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider in the rainbow jersey.
This time it was Vermeersch, the reigning gravel world champion, rather than Tadej Pogacar, and the stakes were very different. Still, the image was hard to miss: Van Aert alone in front, powering across broken terrain, with UAE’s rainbow jersey behind him.
The race had been active from early on. Van Aert moved to the front after just eight kilometres, then made a major acceleration with more than 100 kilometres still to race. Vermeersch was initially the only rider able to follow, before the race later settled into a larger front selection.
With around 80 kilometres remaining, Van Aert was in a four rider move alongside Vermeersch, Jonathan Vervenne and Georg Egger. That group was later joined by Vandeputte, Eenkhoorn and Ottema, before the front was gradually reduced again in the final phase.
Van Aert tested the group once more with around 60 kilometres to go, briefly going clear before being brought back. The winning attack came much later, after Eenkhoorn had already lost contact and the remaining leaders were beginning to look at each other.
For a rider whose last race ended with one of the biggest wins of his career at Roubaix, this was a very different kind of return. But Van Aert still turned it into a familiar picture: alone off the front, powering across rough terrain, with everyone else left chasing.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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