The UCI in collaboration with organizer Golazo has announced details for this year’s Gravel World Championships taking place in Belgium 5-6 October for amateur age group competitors, as well as Pro/Elite riders.

Starting in Halle and finishing in Leuven, the point-to-point route covers many of the same gravel roads and forest paths used at the 2023 European & Belgian Gravel Championships last autumn.

All categories start in Halle with a 12km loop around the city before heading towards Leuven, where men 65+ and women 50+ will finish after racing 86km on Saturday. The other women’s categories, including Pro/Elite, will add one 47km loop around Leuven before finishing. On Sunday the remaining men’s age categories, plus Pro/Elite men, will follow the same path to Leuven and then ride two 47km loops around the city for a total of 179km with ~1200m of ascent.

The finish loops around Leuven will be decisive, presenting several technical sectors including a leg breaking cobblestone climb, urban street gravel, passaging through a train station (where some riders will have their ticket punched) and navigating across a city park.

Just like springtime classic races in Flanders, rambunctious “fanzones,” filled with Belgian beer drinking spectators snacking on frites and watching live racing on big screen, will be set up around the course.

For now, potential gravel world championship competitors can preview 95% of the course, excluding some private lands and urban segments on the finishing loop which are not accessible until race day.

Age group riders looking to race in the world championships need to qualify first at a UCI Gravel World Series qualifying race by finishing in the top 25% of their age/gender category.

Additional 2024 UCI Gravel World Championship information and GPX route files HERE.

Photo Credit: weilerkrant.be

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