Mads Würtz Schmidt goes solo to defend men's European gravel title as Femke Markus sweeps up women's jersey in Houffalize sprint

Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark) continued to make himself at home on the top step of the podium, going solo to defend the men’s elite UEC Gravel European Championships title on Sunday, while Femke Markus (Netherlands) was victorious in the three-way sprint that decided the elite women’s race in Houffalize.

The 138km elite title races with 2,190m of elevation gain played out over three laps of a 70% off-road loop, starting and finishing in Houffalize, taking in forest roads and with the the climbing concentrated in the first half of each lap.

Würtz Schmidt came into his elite men’s title defence with the confidence of a string of big name victories this season, including The Traka 360 and Unbound 200, and also having won the UCI Gravel World Series round in the same location last year.

“It’s a really hard course but it suits me very well,” said Würtz Schmidt in an interview shared on race social media. “I had a plan and I stuck to it and luckily for me I could take the win.”

The two-time European champion made his move in the second half, breaking away to claim victory after 4:09:57, with more than a minute gap to Wout Alleman (Belgium), who has worn the Marathon Mountain Bike European jersey.

Belgian gravel champion Niels Vandeputte was third, more than two minutes back from Würtz Schmidt but in a close battle for the final podium spot with Eddy Le Huitouze (France).

In the elite women’s race the top four were all within 30 seconds and the podium was decided by a sprint.

Markus, fellow Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij – who on the road is swapping from Lidl-Trek to Canyon-SRAM in 2027 – and Axelle Dubau-Prévot (France) all charged toward the line together. The Dutch gravel champion and her compatriot Van Anrooij gapped Dubau-Prévot on the uphill run to the line.

SD Worx-Protime rider Markus proved the strongest in the sprint, with the WorldTour racer crossing the line with a two second winning margin as she threw her arms up in celebration. Larissa Hartog added to the Dutch strength at the top of the results table, crossing the line 23 seconds back to take fourth.

"OMG I can call myself the European Champion Gravel," said Markus in a social media post, adding that she would wear the jersey with pride.

Last year's winner, Erica Magnaldi (Italy) crossed the line in seventh.

The European title race is also part of the UCI Gravel World Series, providing riders with a chance to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Western Australia on October 10 and 11.