Magnus Bak Klaris, racing the ELARA, won the UCI Gravel World Championships. I was glued to the race this morning at home in Girona, first on my phone making coffee, then on the iPad next to my computer where I was reading through the live feed catching up on what I’d missed while sleeping, before finally moving to the sofa to watch properly on TV. With each change of viewing perspective, my excitement grew, and by the final 5km I found myself standing, with my hands on my head, unable to stay still as I willed Magnus on.
I met Magnus for the first time after he crushed the opposition at Santa Vall, the opening race of the gravel season, in February 2025. He was racing a Factor OSTRO Gravel at the time, and we didn’t even sponsor him. We changed that immediately; he was the first rider I signed, and I suppose for that reason this win means so much to me personally. The thing is, with Magnus, we didn’t sign him up to Factor simply because he’s a brilliant gravel racer; there are a number of those, but because from that very first meeting it was clear to me, he was humble, thoughtful, and very focused. He keeps things simple; he’s a purist.
This is the guy who won the Danish National Champs in 2025 and said he didn’t want a custom paint job as he felt it was too flashy and might add unnecessary weight to the frame. That sums him up, and it’s the reason he became involved with the development of the ELARA. The engineers brought him into their entire project management system and listened and took on board everything he shared about what a gravel racing bike needed to be. The ELARA is a bike that was reset because Magnus’ feedback was taken seriously; he knew how to communicate to our engineers and earned their respect.
It wasn’t only Magnus out there though; his Danish teammate and fellow Factor racer, Jonas Lindberg, was key to Magnus’ win. Jonas spoke to Mads Wurtz and Magnus in the race when things were looking slightly out of control with a breakaway 3 mins ahead, and Magnus told him he was on a flyer, so Jonas took matters into his own hands to get the race back under control. It was Jonas that ripped the “peloton” to pieces, bringing over two minutes back almost single-handedly. By the time Jonas had emptied himself, there were only ten or so riders left, and the break was within reach. Jonas’ normalised power for the race was 400w, and he’s not a big guy, but that shows how intense it was out there.
In the final, it was Magnus and Mads who were looking the strongest, and although they were repeatedly moving off the front, they couldn’t break free. Eventually there were four riders left. Magnus, Mads, Conor Swift and defending World Champion, Florian Vermeersch. Out of those four, Magnus would not be the favourite for a sprint finish. Yet his lucidity allowed him to race masterfully; he was always in the right place at the right time. Magnus put himself in the winning situation, and when it came to the sprint, he was textbook perfect.
To say we are proud of Magnus and Jonas is an understatement. This win feels particularly special because of what it represents, how we have worked with Magnus, and how the bike he raced to victory is a bike he had a say in. Magnus Bak Klaris is Gravel World Champion, and maybe, just maybe, he’ll let us put some rainbow stripes on his ELARA next year.
Article courtesy of FACTOR International.