UCI Gravel World Championships: the all-terrain showdown

Riders from all horizons gather in Veneto

Riders from all horizons gather in Veneto for the second edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships. Who will succeed the versatile stars crowned in 2022?

The first edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships, in 2022, crowned a queen of versatility, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA), in the Women Elite race, while road specialist Gianni Vermeersch (BEL) made the most of his cyclo-cross background to take the Men Elite rainbow jersey. From Switzerland’s mountain bike specialist Sina Frei (second, Women Elite) to the Netherlands’ Mathieu Van der Poel (third, Men Elite), a diverse array of champions graced the podium.

Although not all are returning in 2023, an equally impressive line-up is expected this weekend in Veneto (Italy), with rainbow jerseys up for grabs in the different categories (Women and Men Elite, as well as the age classes) who will do battle on the course from Lago Le Bandie to Pieve di Soligo.

A hilly exploration of Treviso

Riders vying for the Women Elite title will be the first to set off on Saturday morning, as they take on a demanding 140km course. They will be followed the same day by riders from the Women 19-49 and Men 50-64 classes (136km), as well as Women 50+ and Men 65+ (93km). On Sunday, the Men Elite will battle over 169km and the Men 19-49 face 163km.

The start is set at Le Bandie lake, venue of the 2008 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships (when Peter Sagan took silver in the Men Junior race). All races begin with a loop of around 40km towards Pieve di Soligo, featuring the longest gravel stretch (a 21km section) of this edition set in the province of Treviso.

Riders will then take on different loops with the key ascents of the day, adding up to as much as 1,890 metres of elevation in the Men Elite race. The final ascent of every race, Collagu’ (1.4km at 11.8%, with a maximum gradient of 23% towards the summit), culminates 5km from the finish, after an intense sequence of climbing up San Vigilio, Le Serre and Le Tenade inside the last 30km.

Stars from every horizon

The reigning Women Elite UCI World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will not be starting due to illness, but there is no shortage of stars ready to succeed her.

From the road discipline, a main contender will be the Netherlands’ Demi Vollering (SD Worx) who has had plenty of road victories this year including Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition, Flèche Wallonne Féminine, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, not to mention prestigious stage races such as the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the Tour de Romandie Féminin and the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas. Meanwhile, Vollering’s Dutch teammate Lorena Wiebes was crowned European Champion for gravel last weekend and will be among those likely to be in the forefront in Veneto.

Also look out for Canyon//SRAM Racing’s Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), whose 2023 achievements so far include third at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

They will face confirmed gravel experts including USA Champion Laura Stephens, Argentina’s Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Australian Tiffany Cromwell, another icon of gravel with a solid background in road racing.

In the Men Elite event, Vermeersch will try to defend his title against his runner-up from last year Daniel Oss (ITA). Van der Poel is having “a rest period before building up to the cyclo-cross season,” according to his team Alpecin-Deceuninck.

This time, his close rival Wout van Aert (BEL) will try to add another UCI World Championships medal to his rich and varied tally. And the list of stars goes on with Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Matej Mohorič (SLO), and gravel specialists such as USA Champion Keegan Swenson and Petr Vakoč (CZE).

Dozens more seasoned gravel riders complete the cast after they qualified through the different events of the UCI Gravel World Series.