Dutch all-time cycling great Marianne Vos will return to Australia for the gravel world championships.
Confirmation that the 39-year-old will race at Nannup, south-east of Perth, is a significant boost for the October 10-11 event.
It will be the first time that the world championships for gravel, an emerging format in the sport, will be held outside Europe. Gravel events are held on mostly unsurfaced roads.
Vos holds the rare distinction of world championships across four disciplines - road, track, cyclocross and gravel. She has won 14 world titles and is also a two-time Olympic gold medallist.
After more than two decades of sustained success, Vos is one of the sport's most revered figures.
She competed at WA's Tour of Margaret River in 2016 and '17, and also raced at the 2022 Wollongong world road championships.
The gravel worlds were first held in 2022 and Vos won the women's race in '24. No rider has won the gravel world title more than once.
"The landscapes look beautiful, and with so much elevation, I'm expecting a challenging and selective race. I'm looking forward to exploring the course myself," Vos said.
"I want to go for the best possible result. Of course I'm dreaming of something beautiful, but I'm also realistic that it will be a challenge. I’ll give it everything I have and see what the day brings.
"I have such good and special memories of WA, especially from the Tour of Margaret River, so it feels really nice to be going back."
