UCI Gravel World Championships

UCI Gravel World Championships
Peloton during the women's elite race at the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships
StatusActive
GenreSports event
DateOctober
FrequencyAnnual
Inaugurated2022 (2022)
Organised byUnion Cycliste Internationale

The UCI Gravel World Championships are the world championship events for gravel cycling organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Competitors ride on courses with mostly unpaved roads, distinct from other cycling disciplines like road, cyclo-cross, and mountain biking. The championships are held in October at the end of the UCI Gravel World Series, which serves as a qualifying event.

The top three finishers at the world championships are awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals. The winner is also entitled to wear the rainbow jersey in gravel racing events for the following year. The competitors in the world championships represent national rather than commercial teams.

Regulations

The UCI requires a gravel cycling course consist of at least 60% unsurfaced roads, including gravel, forest, or cobblestone roads. Unlike the other off-road cycling disciplines of cyclo-cross and mountain biking, features such as stairs, drops, jumps, or steep sections requiring the rider to dismount are not allowed. For the gravel world championships, the UCI additionally mandates that all bikes have drop bars.[1]

To qualify for the world championships, a rider must finish in the top 25% of their age group category at a UCI Gravel World Series event.[1] Reigning national or continental champions are automatically qualified for the elite race, and each national cycling federation gets wildcard entries to grant to their best riders.[2]

History

Matej Mohorič winning the men's elite race in 2023.

Cyclist have ridden on unpaved roads since the invention of the bicycle in the 19th century, but gravel cycling as a distinct discipline only gained popularity in the early 2000s with the foundation of races like Unbound Gravel (originally called "Dirty Kanza") in Kansas.[3] These events were not sanctioned by any central body, although some events such as Gravel Worlds in Nebraska branded themselves as a world championship. In 2021, the UCI announced a sanctioned world championships and world series for the following year, officially adding gravel cycling as the 10th UCI discipline.[4]

In 2022, the inaugural championships were held in Veneto, Italy in 2022. Unlike many mass start gravel races, the men's and women's races were different distances—194 km (121 mi) for men and 140 km (87 mi) for women—and held on different days.[5] The event was criticized for only using gravel roads for 18% of the total course, with Lance Branquinho of Road.cc calling it "more akin to traditional road racing" than a "genuine" gravel race.[6] The inaugural champions were Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in the women's race[7] and Gianni Vermeersch in the men's race.[8] The 2023 championships were held in Veneto again, with a new course that featured twice as much climbing and more gravel roads.[9]

Editions

YearCountry[10]Venue Men Elite winner Women Elite winner
2022 ItalyVeneto  Gianni Vermeersch (BEL)  Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA)
2023 ItalyVeneto  Matej Mohorič (SLO)  Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL)
2024 BelgiumFlemish Brabant  Mathieu van der Poel (NED)  Marianne Vos (NED)
2025 NetherlandsSouth Limburg  Florian Vermeersch (BEL)  Lorena Wiebes (NED)
2026 AustraliaNannup TBD
2027 FranceHaute Savoie
2028 Saudi ArabiaAl-'Ula
2029 SwitzerlandVillars-sur-Ollon

All medals

Updated after 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships.
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Netherlands3238
2 Belgium2316
3 Slovenia1012
4 France1001
 Poland1001
6 Italy0224
7 Switzerland0101
8 Great Britain0011
Totals (8 entries)88824

References

  1. 1 2 "Regulations". UCI Gravel World Series. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Davidson, Robyn (9 October 2025). "UCI Gravel World Championships 2025 preview: Routes, how to watch, favourites and start lists". Cyclist. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "On the eve of the first-ever UCI Gravel World Championships, we chart the evolution of this exhilarating genre of cycling". uci.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "UCI announces gravel series and official world championships". cyclingnews.com. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Barry (6 October 2022). "UCI Gravel World Championships 2022 - Preview". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Branquinho, Lance. "UCI Gravel World Championships 2022 – Vermeersch and Ferrand-Prévot victorious". Road.cc. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Ryan, Barry (8 October 2022). "Ferrand-Prévot completes quartet of rainbow jerseys at Gravel World Championships". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Barry (9 October 2022). "Gianni Vermeersch wins Gravel World Championships with solo attack". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "UCI Gravel World Championships 2023 – everything you need to know". Road.cc. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "World Championships – UCI Gravel World Series". Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
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