A European gravel title was up for grabs on Sunday, and while the elite men's field set off onto clear roads and tracks for the first lap of the 138km three-lap race from Houffalize in Belgium, it was a different scenario for the elite women's field.
The men's elite start – written into the UCI Gravel World Series regulations as being the first cab off the rank – was followed by every single men's age category racing the 138km distance, released in three minute intervals. Then there were also the men's 60 to 74 age categories racing the shorter 92km section and after that it was just five minutes later that the elite women headed off to chase a title.
