Heartbreaking: Mathieu van der Poel just passed away in a plane crash including…more details

Seven days to get from Zurich to Leuven. The focus of cycling fans will switch to Italy the following weekend, where Tadej Pogacar will wrap up his first race wearing the rainbow jersey, and Belgium for the World Gravel Championship, which will begin with Mathieu van der Poel. This is after the incredibly thrilling World Road Championship in Switzerland. In this preview, IDLProCycling.com looks forward to the latter!

The UCI also made the decision to board the gravel train with a World Championship in 2022 as a result of its constantly rising popularity. Van van Poel erased his disappointment from the Australian World Championship at the time by finishing third at Citadella, Italy, behind teammate Gianni Vermeersch. Veneto was granted permission to host the World Championship once more the previous season, with Wout van Aert starting at the front. But the Belgian had horrible luck, as Matej Mohoric ended up winning much earlier than him.

Additionally, a number of elite road cyclists will start anew in 2024. It should be mentioned, though, that American early adopters are becoming less and less interested in going to Europe to compete in a world championship. Keegan Swenson and Lachlan Mortons are not in Leuven.