A minimum 80% gravel and relentless elevation are the promises coming out of Nannup, Australia, where this year’s historic UCI Gravel World Championships will be held.
The event, held on the weekend of 10-11 October, will be the first time the Gravel Worlds have been held outside of Europe, and course details have now been revealed by cycling’s world governing body. The organisers are billing the races as offering “wide gravel roads, breathtaking climbs and encounters with iconic Australian wildlife” – although the riders will presumably be hoping those encounters aren’t too close, at least during the racing.
The men will race over 141km (87.6 miles) with 3,625m of elevation, while the women will tackle 123km (74.5 miles) and 3,100m, using the same course minus a small loop at the north end. These are some serious climbing metres for courses of this length – on a par with a Grand Tour Queen stage, pro rata. Much of it comes from constant, short climbs of between 1km and 3.5km that are spread evenly throughout each course.
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(Image credit: UCI)
Race director Stephen Gallagher said in a statement: “At most races, the biggest challenges come early. Not here. The climbing is relentless from start to finish, with the hardest kilometres saved for last – the final summit just 3.5km from the finish line.”
A former pro cyclist, Gallagher was the technical director of the Giro d’Italia Grande Partenze in 2014, and is currently head of performance at women’s WorldTour team Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto.
He added: “With a minimum of 80% gravel on every route, and wide roads that open the race up for genuine bunch racing, these courses offer a tactical dimension rarely seen at this level and a gravel experience unlike any previous World Championships.”
The women’s course will also be used in the over-50s men’s age group races, and there is a shorter 90km (56 miles) course with a still very taxing 2,000m of climbing for the 65+ men and 50+ women.
Riders and fans might recognise the medium course from the Seven Gravel World Series event, which will be held on May 16 on the same tracks. And while there is a certain amount of private land involved in the course which means it’s not open for training, there are training routes in the area available for a bit of practice, for locals or those arriving early.
