Magnus Bak Klaris wins the UCI Gravel World Championships 2026!
500 metres to go.
On paper, Vermeersch is the fastest, but this has been a brutal day out. Can he become the first rider ever to retain a gravel world title.
That is the gravel done and dusted. It is all about the road into Nannup as Würtz Schmidt catches Vermeersch, Swift and Bak Klaris.
2km to go as Würtz Schmidt is just a few metres off the back.
Swift now pushes hard on this descent with Vermeersch as they try and get rid of Würtz Schmidt but they are just dragging Bak Klaris along.
Apologies, now they are on the final kilometre of the Tank 7 Climb.
One final kick and that may end the chances for Swenson and Stosek unless they really stall out front.
Swift pushing hard with the two Danes but Vermeersch is getting back to them. Swenson and Stosek are getting back to them too!
Beers does make it back in again. 10 riders now lead the race.
Onto the Tank 7 Climb they go with Würtz Schmidt leading the way.
Matt Beers may get back on! He is just off the back after being dropped umpteen times today. The stamina and perseverance is incredible.
The race could see more riders come back yet as the leaders lull.
Dewulf goes all in for Vermeersch and brings the leaders back again with 12km to go.
Back onto the gravel with 15km to go with Swift, Würtz Schmidt, Bak Klaris and Stosek leading and Vermeersch, Voss, Swenson, Schulting and Dewulf in chase at 8″.
Hardly any gap at all between the leaders and the chase. It looks like it may come back together to make a group of nine riders as they go onto a short asphalt section.
This race is by no means done. There is the climb of Tank 7 before the descent back to Nannup, but the chasing group of five are not far away at all.
Swift pushing hard on the front after doing nothing all day thanks to having Young in the break.
The leading group now down to four with Swift, Würtz Schmidt, Bak Klaris and Stosek.
Vermeersch dropped. The defending champion can’t hold on.
Bak Klaris and Würtz Schmidt set up an attack as the breakaway is finally caught.
Swift, Stosek, Würtz Schmidt, Bak Klaris, Voss and Vermeersch about to catch the leaders.
Five riders pull clear of the chase group.
Bak Klaris brings Stosek back and is pushing over the top of the Czech rider.
Stosek is pushing hard and has gapped the rest in the chase.
Young also losing touch with the chase group.
Stosek is pushing the pace at the front and testing his rivals in the chase group. South starting to struggle for Switzerland.
Through the final feed and onto the Folly climb with great crowds out to see the racing. The chase behind are now 30″ down.
The riders are continuing to ride on this asphalt section heading towards Nannup and the Folly climb.
Onto one of the longest sections of asphalt left on the course that saw several attacks in the women’s race. But it all seems to have stalled in the men’s as Young is caught by the chase group.
The chase it really on behind the leaders now with 1’05” between them.
Young still about 15″ ahead of the chasers now as they’re on the penultimate major descent of the day.
The chase now reduced to 10 riders.
Würtz Schmidt and co have been brought back but it is a very strung out group.
Würtz Schmidt, Vermeersch, Swfit and Stosek have a gap in the chase and South is riding across to them.
Young is the youngest out front and may have made some nutrition mistakes or he just doesn’t have the legs on the day.
And Young is also starting to struggle out front.
The chase group is starting to split again after a short descent with Würtz Schmidt pushing hard.
Schulting struggling a little bit again on the descent with the road kicking up again and both he and Pöstlberger skidding their wheels a little bit.
Vermeersch refuses to pull through in the chase and the pace stalls hugely. The leaders gap is out to 1’44” again. The break have been out front for over 100km now.
Lindberg also returns to the chase group and immediately hits the front again for Würtz Schmidt.
The chasing group of favourites had very clear sighting of the break up the road as the gap dropped to 44″ with it going back to a minute again.
Swenson, Avancini and Voss all manage to get back onto the group of favourites.
The leading trio are still riding very well but the favourites are closing fast now.
The break has now seen their advantage slashed again to just over a minute with Würtz Schmidt, South, Vermeersch, Stosek, Swift, Bak Klaris and Dewulf pushing clear of the rest of the chasers.
Würtz Schmidt is pushing hard in the peloton dropping Beers, Avancini, Swenson.
For this entire climb the leaders have been looking over their shoulder as they expect to see the bunch coming. But they still have a substantial lead.
Voss manages to get back onto this favourites group.
Multiple riders being dropped on the climb in the peloton including Paul Voss (Germany), Griffin Easter (USA), Tjulander and others.
The break head onto the penultimate major climb of the day as we are well beyond halfway now. Ellis Creek is a brutal ascent with 1’58” splitting the leaders and the peloton now.
Meanwhile, back in the peloton, the Australian wildlife is getting involved as a wallaby jumps in front of the peloton. All okay, thankfully.
The break went into a corner there that was covered in very wet and loose mud. Schulting has to take the foot out and had to slide to the right of the road but they are all still riding hard.
Lawrence Naesen (Belgium) has made it back into the peloton but he looks just to be hanging on for the time being.
The peloton are still unable to close this gap up to the leaders with 2’42” with the second hour of this race being at just over 35kph.
On one of the toughest sections now with very narrow tracks and lots of ruts, foliage on the course and a lot of potholes. This is around the section that saw Geerike Schreurs and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio crash out of the race yesterday.
Now time for the Lewana climb which is 1.5km long and an average of 5.3%.
One of the Dutch riders with a dropped chain in the peloton. That will likely see his day end at the front of the race now the pace is really on.
The peloton splitting to bits on this descent with several riders looking like they are struggling to follow the Danish trio out front.
The rain is starting to fall now and it is making it a bit skittish with Pöstlberger saving a slide on a hairpin having to take a foot out.
The leaders are now descending Arcadia. More rutted tracks with a big lock up of the back wheel by Young.
Denmark now takes full control of the peloton with all three riders on the front. The gap is at 2’38” up to the leaders.
Lindberg tried a move off the front of the peloton but he was heavily marked by Habets and Avancini with the rest coming back across as well.
Over the top of Arcadia and the gap has been sliced again with Bak Klaris and Würtz Schmidt taking it down to 2’10”.
Würtz Schmidt hit the front of the peloton and he has absolutely obliterated the group losing around 12 riders from the bunch.
Multiple riders being spat out of the peloton including Sweden’s Michael Tjulander. Likewise Luxembourg’s Loïc Bettendorff.
The peloton are now 3’03” down on the leaders with 29 riders in the bunch.
Stehli now being distanced off the back of the peloton.
This is the loop that was not used in the women’s race. The Arcadia climb is a brutal ascent and, like all the climbs on the route, has a nasty plateau over the top before descending.
The peloton just rode through a feed zone and have been given an update on the time. Immediately the pace in the pack is upped by Denmark.
Arcadia climb now at 2.5km long with an average gradient of 8.4% with an absolutely astonishingly steep max kick of 34%.
Several Dutch riders in the peloton including Adne Koster at the back. He has had quite the season including 6th at Unbound.
Andreas Stokbro Nielsen (Denmark) off the back of the peloton at the moment. A rider we would expect to still be right up there but he may have had an issue.
Couple of spots of rain on the course at the moment as the riders were treated to a small section of asphalt before returning to the gravel and a few deep potholes.
There has been some great crowds out in Western Australia so far.
Pöstlberger and Young gapping Schulting on this descent as the track is very rutted and churned up.
There’s an new split in the peloton. Almost perfectly in half. It will stitch back together but a lot of looking around.
For the first time, the leading trio now are said to have a gap of 3’09” on the peloton. That is a very big gap to give riders of the quality of Young, Schulting and Pöstlberger.
After some undulating and a few kicker climbs the riders are finally going to get another proper descent. This is the way of all the climbs on the route, they don’t go downhill properly after the top, they drag on and plateau for a bit with a few climbs dotted along the undulating way to the descent.
Felix Stehli (Switzerland), Roman Holzer (Switzerland) and Ole Theiler (Germany) sitting at the back of the peloton currently.
All three big names who were off the back at Brockman, Beers, Avancini and Vermeersch, are now all at the front of the peloton.
The peloton has regrouped a little bit as the likes of Vermeersch, Beers and Avancini appear to be back in there.
Onto the Shale climb. Named for the shale style gravel which is much more traditional to what we see in Europe, especially the UK.
Now onto the Mader climb at 750m with an average of 12% on more traditional gravel compared to the pea gravel. The time gap is said to be 2’33” but we’ll take that with a pinch of salt after the live timings at the top of Brockman.
Daan Soete (Belgium) is another big name who is out of the back. He is even further off the back than Vermeersch, Beers and Avancini.
Now onto the Adina climb for the leaders.
Defending champion Florian Vermeersch (Belgium) is out of the back with other big names Matt Beers (South Africa) and Henrique Avancini (Brazil). They’re a minute out of the back of the peloton.
The gap updates on the timings and the peloton are now just 1’02” down with Connor Swift (Great Britain), Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark), Keegan Swenson (USA) and Paul Voss (Germany) leading the way.
The tempo in the peloton has seen 30″ chipped off the advantage of the three leaders with 2’00” the new gap.
Piotr Havik (Netherlands) losing touch at the back of the peloton as well as multiple Danish riders but they still have numbers at the front with Mads Würtz Schmidt, Magnus Bak Klaris and Andreas Stokbro.
Pirotte is finally caught by the peloton with the Danish causing some damage here as the bunch is starting to split further.
These three out front are riding very well together as we get to see Pirotte for the first time in a while as he is still very much in no-mans-land.
Back in the peloton it is Denmark who have taken up the chasing for their leader and European champion Mads Würtz Schmidt.
The first major climb of the day, it is the climb of Brockman, 1.7km with a hellish average of 12%. This really split things up in the women’s race but it was not decisive.
One of the Australian riders just having a spill on the hairpin on the bottom of the descent. The peloton had split with a few riders now getting back in including Freddy Ovett (Australia).
Few more riders out the back of the peloton including a couple from Canada as well as Rick Nobel (Netherlands). It is a real war of attrition out there.
The first descent is on now as they go down Killarney. All the riders out front are giving plenty of space to each other and making sure they get down this slightly damp and skittish descent.
Two riders have kicked out of the peloton. Another Dutch rider as well as one from Belgium.
They are now on the first climb of the day, the Killarney climb. Pöstlberger, Young and Schulting have 2’09” now on the bunch. This could be very dangerous as all three leaders are very capable with Pöstlberger and Young both winners of World Series races this year.
Pöstlberger and Young went up against each other earlier in the year with the Austrian taking the win at The Gralloch in Gatehouse-of-Fleet and the Forest of Galloway up in Scotland.
After briefly losing pictures we go back to the break and see that Pirotte is no longer in the break who have 58″ on the peloton. Maybe a mechanical or just dropping back.
Pöstlberger and Young are joined Peter Schulting (Netherlands) and Jo Pirotte (Belgium).
A few more counter attacks coming out of the peloton trying to get ahead before the gravel even starts.
One of the Danish riders is trying to bridge but is struggling to get to the four leaders who have 46″ on the peloton.
One of the Lithuanian riders tried to be involved but has already been distanced. Two riders from Lithuania racing today, they are Martynas Tomkus and Valdemar Volodko.
They have 9km of asphalt to begin before the gravel. The route is 85% gravel and hardly ever flat.
The route is 143.7km but an absolutely brutal 3713 metres of elevation.
There are a few road riders at the race, it is not just Vermeersch. Stan Dewulf (Belgium), Connor Swift (Great Britain), Andreas Stokbro (Denmark), Anton Stensby (Norway), Cameron Scott (Australia) and Ole Theiler (Germany).
Around 15 minutes until the race gets underway.
There’s also former mountain bike world champion Henrique Avancini (Brazil) riding. He has had a superb road season winning the GC at the Tour of the Gila as well as finishing in the top 10 at the Tour du Rwanda. He also won the Brazil gravel and has looked strong on the tracks. One to watch.
The gravel specialists will be hoping they can take the win this time, though. The likes of Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark), Jenson Young (Great Britain), Daan Soete (Belgium), Matthew Beers (South Africa), Keegan Swenson (USA) and others will all hope to better the ‘roadies’ today.
Much like in the women’s side of the sport, the worlds have been dominated by road riders with Vermeersch being the current holder of the rainbow bands after Gianni Vermeersch, Matej Mohoric and Mathieu van der Poel.
Unfortunately, after travelling to Australia for the race Czech rider Petr Vakoč has had to pull out of the race due to illness. He is one of eight riders down as a DNS so far today.
It was extremely muddy yesterday for the women but it did help on the unique pea gravel that is on most of the course here. When dry it is like riding on ice. Very slippery and unpredictable. When wet it compacts down and is far more manageable.
Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews‘ live updates of the men’s elite UCI Gravel World Championships 2026 from Nannup in Western Australia.