VAN DER POEL'S GRAVEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WIN ON THE GRAIL MAKES IT 3 OUT OF 3 FOR CANYON

Following Vermeersch in 2022 and Niewiadoma in 2023, Van der Poel secures a hat-trick of World Championship triumphs for Canyon's CFR race bikes

In the late-October sunshine Mathieu van der Poel dispatched his rivals one by one in Leuven, Belgium, to add another World Championship discipline to his burgeoning collection of titles. 

After relinquishing his Road World Championship title on an unfavorable parcours last weekend, Van der Poel clearly missed the sight of the rainbow jersey in his wardrobe, racing to a memorable solo victory for the Netherlands from an elite group containing four of his Belgian rivals. 

While cycling fans will be used to seeing Mathieu win road races on the Canyon Aeroad or cyclocross races on the Inflite, a gravel victory for Mathieu on the Grail is one for the collectors and the connisseurs.

His 2024 Gravel World Championship victory was Mathieu’s only gravel race of the year and for it he chose a custom-painted pearl white version of the Grail CFR, Canyon's Factory Racing line, borne out of countless hours of real-world test riding with professional athletes and Canyon engineers.

Mathieu's bike is similar to the Grail CFR models on Canyon.com, albeit with some subtle differences as per his sponsorships, such as full Dura-Ace (52-36T) gearing, Vittoria Terreno 38c tyres and a Selle Italia Flite saddle. Mathieu also eschewed the Grail's in-frame storage, going instead for a CO2 canister taped to the back of his Grail seat post for faster access in the event of a flat tyre. 

Mathieu was joined on the podium by fellow Canyon rider Quinten Hermans (3rd) and two other Canyon riders (Gianni Vermeersch and Timo Kielich) inside the top 10. A special mention needs to go to Canyon rider and F1 racer Valtteri Bottas, who represented Finland, finishing in a provisional 133rd place. 

Talking to Cycling News about his victory, Mathieu said: “It was a big goal for me. It's super nice to add another rainbow to the collection, in another discipline as well, so I'm super happy with this one. It's super nice also to finish the season like this. It's amazing. 

"I just wanted to make the race as hard as possible because I knew on the local lap with a big group it could be a difficult situation for me. I tried to put everyone on the limit. When Florian [Vermeersch] went, we had a good cooperation. My legs were also hurting. You never know in a sprint, especially on a gravel bike, so I tried one last time on the hardest section of the course, and it's always nice when you find yourself alone like this."

Mathieu’s win now makes it three World Championship wins in the last three years for Canyon, coming after Kasia Niewiadoma’s win last year and Gianni Vermeersch’s victory in 2022, proving that the Grail’s innovative Double Drop handlebar, and performance-orientated, aerodynamic frame design make it one of the world’s leading bikes in gravel performance racing. 

For more on the Grail CFR, see Canyon.com here, or for exciting race content from Leuven, see the Canyon Road Instagram channel. 

1. All photos via permission from @Fellusch / I am Fellusch.