
With all the drama and dust kicked up by the Dutch national team at the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships a week ago, it was easy to miss a significant finish by US rider Heidi Franz with 13th overall. She was only one of two riders in the top 15 who were not part of WorldTour or women's ProTeams.
The 30-year-old was the best in a 12-rider group who had chased a dozen others, including nine representing the orange-clad Netherlands squad, four of those Dutch riders in the top five in Maastricht, led by Lorena Wiebes, earning the world title for gravel.