Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)made a commanding return to gravel racing on Sunday 10 May 2026, winning the men’s elite race and qualifying for the world championships at the fourth edition of the Marly Grav in Valkenburg, Netherlands — his first appearance since claiming Paris-Roubaix four weeks earlier.
Racing for the first time since his landmark victory at the Hell of the North, the Visma-Lease a Bike star 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 150km men’s race from the early kilometres, but the decisive move came inside the final 25km, when he attacked out of a forest path and immediately opened daylight on his rivals. By the 16.8km-to-go mark, he had built a 30-second lead over a chase group containing Niels Vandeputte, Rick Ottema, Jonathan Vervenne and gravel world champion Florian Vermeersch. Van Aert crossed the line in 4:08:24, with Vandeputte second 44 seconds back and Ottema third in the same time.
In the women’s elite race, reigning world champion Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) successfully defended her Marly Grav title, finishing the 135km course in 4:22:33. The result came in a tightly contested sprint, with Larissa Hartog and Ilse Pluimers crossing the line in the same time, while Amandine Muller arrived just 2 seconds adrift in fourth.
The 105km age-group race produced a notable footnote. Udo Bölts, the German Tour de France veteran who publicly confessed in 2007 to using EPO and growth hormones in 1996 and 1997 during his time with Team Telekom, took overall victory in the shorter route, finishing in 3:27:13 in the Men 60–64 category — nearly 6 minutes clear of second-placed Chris Maas.
Around 1,800 riders were entered across all categories, with the top 25% in each category earning qualification spots for the UEC European Gravel Championships in Houffalize on 30 August and the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Australia on 10-11 October.
In a clear sign gravel racing is now mainstream, for the first time the race was broadcast live internationally on Eurosport, HBOMax and TNT Sports.
Photo Credit: Visma-Lease a Bike
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