Stuyven and Wiebes are the first European gravel champions, as Australian Cromwell 'messes it up'

Jasper Stuyven (Belgium) and Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands) became the first European champions in gravel on Sunday, although it was an Australian, Tiffany Cromwell, who beat the latter to the line in Belgium.

The inaugural edition of the UEC European Championships doubled up as the national championship for Belgium, but privateer riders and amateurs were also allowed in the mix, and it was raced in trade team kits rather than national colours.

Cromwell, wearing her Canyon-SRAM kit, issued a devastating attack from an elite select group on the final off-road section with just under 3km to go, before soling home and punching the air in delight.

20 seconds or so later, Wiebes, one of the world's top sprinters on the road, out-paced fellow Dutchwoman Fem van Empel in the sprint for the gold medal, even though it was technically second place on the day. The bronze medal went to Italy's Elena Cecchini.

Speaking beyond the finish line, Cromwell alluded to the slightly awkward situation of the European Championship race being won by a non-European.

"I guess I messed it up for them," she said. "They were worried I might win and that it would mess up the European Championship… Sorry."

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Wiebes sprints to victory

The women raced over 131km on a combination of two laps around Leuven, two times around the shorter loop of 28km, once around the longer loop of 47, and then back for a final lap of the shorter loop. The going was dry and - despite some puddled and rutted sections in the woods - fast.

Cromwell, Wiebes, Van Empel, and Cecchini went clear from distance, and it came down to the final dusty off-road sector, with Cromwell surging away. The race's conflicting elements then came into play as the remaining trio, appeared unconcerned by the fleeing Australian, and more pressed by fighting each other for the European title, even if none of them would cross the line first.

In the end, after Cromwell had finished the job - picking off male amateurs in the crowded home straight - it was Wiebes who was the quickest to the line, with Van Empel unable to emerge from the slipstream and Cecchini tailed off at the last.

The Belgian title went to Marthe Truyen, who placed ninth on the day and eighth in the European Championship.

The men's race

The men's race didn't see so many complications, with Stuyven crossing the line first, and claiming both the European and Belgian titles in one swoop.

The Lidl-Trek rider has had a long run without a victory, stretching back to his Milan-San Remo triumph of early 2021, but he found success on this early taste of gravel, and even hinted he could skip Paris-Tours to take part in the UCI Gravel World Championships next weekend.

Soudal Quick-Step sprinter, and fellow Belgian, Tim Merlier took the silver medals after Stuyven had soloed home, while Germany's Paul Voss claimed the final step of the podium.

Like the women's race, the men's event saw a number of well-known road pros form the leading group, including Belgians Gianni Vermeersch – who's also the world champion in gravel – and Greg Van Avermaet, although Voss flew the flag for the more traditional gravel riders.

The men rode a total of 159km, doing the same route as the women but doing an extra lap of the shorter loop at the end. After a mechanical ruined Van Avermaet's chances in the woods, the race came down to a group of 11.

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Stuyven solos home

It was Vermeersch who kicked off the hostilities on the penultimate lap, with Merlier responding, but towards the end of the lap it was Stuyven who managed to surge clear. He opened a gap as he took the bell and he picked off long-range attacker Alex Colman (Belgium), and he never relented or made any technical mistake on the final lap.

"I felt good from the start. It was one of those days where you can keep pushing. I started to feel the group was looking at each other but also there was some tired legs, so I decided to keep going on the good moment and in the end it was a nice solo," Stuyven said.

"I just had a few spots in mind [to attack]. Technically, I'm not the best of the group, but I knew this was going to happen and I didn’t want to take too many risks and lose it all. I knew on the technical bits I had to be in front to not lose too much time on the really good guys, then on the other parts I knew with the power and the long distance that I could make a difference, which I did today."

Like Wiebes, Stuyven pulled on the European champion's starred jersey, with thoughts now turning to what he does next weekend, with the Worlds taking place in Italy next Sunday.

"I have no idea. I think the team expects me to be in Paris-Tours but you never know what can happen."

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The men's podium