Swift sixth at Gravel Worlds

Connor Swift produced a strong and impressive ride to finish sixth at the World Gravel Championships in Leuven.

The Brit rode his way into the group which battled it out for third place in front of a packed Belgian crowd. The Grenadier added to his bronze medal 12 months earlier with a spirited ride that saw him at the forefront of the race.

After making the early lead selection, Swift was the only rider able to follow an acceleration from eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) with 60km to go. The pair combined briefly before the move came back. Ultimately Van der Poel pushed clear again alongside Florian Vermeersch (Belgium), before forging clear to win solo.

Quinten Hermans (Belgium) won the sprint for third, with Swift initially hitting the front in the final metres.

Elsewhere, Sunday also saw the finale of the CRO Race. Ben Turner battled hard in the final kilometre and sprinted to fourth place in Zagreb. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) made sure of the overall victory on the day, with Kim Heiduk finishing 12th as the highest placed Grenadier on the GC.