The 2025 edition of the Bolero Houffa Gravel in Houffalize had a newly designed course of 47km which riders had to do 2 or 3 times depending on the category.
In the men’s race, a lead group of 6 got away halfway the first lap, but it was Danish Mads Würtz Schmid who was the best man, powering away from the rest to build up a steady gap that was more than 3 minutes at the finish line. Dutch ranking leader Mathijs Loman finished second while Belgian Kevin Panhuyzen had to let him go in the final to secure third spot at 4m20.
The women race saw Dutch Esmee Peperkamp opening strong to pass solo at the finish line after one lap. Australian Nicole Louise Frain managed to keep the gap within 30 seconds to close it during the second lap and making her move at the beginning of lap 3 on the Côte du Saint Roch to finally win with a large 10 minute margin to Peperkamp while Dutch series’ lead Wendy Oosterwoud move away in the final from her competitors to take spot 3 at 12 minutes.
With his second place, Loman takes a good step forward in securing the top position in the ranking at the end of the season. Loman’s nearest opponent, Petr Vakoc, rode the national championships this weekend and didn’t score points. Mathematically it is still possible for a rider to close the gap, but with only 5 remaining events spread over the next 3 weekends, the victory for Loman seems quite safe.
In the women’s ranking, Oosterwoud’s nearest opponent Nicole Frain reduced the gap to 145 points. The battle for the win there is still totally open.
