Belgian cyclists Wout Alleman and Niels Vandeputte won the silver and bronze medals respectively at the 2026 UEC Gravel European Championships in Houffalize.
The Belgian Ardennes were a battleground on 30 august as Europe’s best gravel cyclists fought it out for the European title. A clearly victory-hungry Wout Alleman rode hard and kept up with defending European champion Mads Schmidt until the final lap, and Niels Vandeputte earned his third place in a sprint, going deep against Frenchman Eddy Le Huitouze some thirty metres from the finish line.
Alleman said he knew the roads they raced on quite well as he frequently goes there for training rides. That territorial knowledge paid off and he put on a performance for the many fans shouting encouragements along the course.
Gravel cycling is a relatively young discipline on which Belgians are already leaving their mark. Gianni Vermeersch won the first gravel world championship in 2022, Florian Vermeersch (no relation) is, at the time of writing, the reigning world champion, and the first official UEC Gravel European Championship was won by Belgian cyclist Jasper Stuyven. No doubt Belgium’s history with cyclo-cross – which sees riders tredge through mud and sand and over all kinds of obstacles – can explain in part why Belgians do so well in gravel.
