As the race season heads into summer the pressure on gravel and fondo cyclists still aiming to qualify for the world championships is ramping up…

Many of them all world over will be trying to punch their ticket and qualify for the 2025 UCI World Championships at 5 different events this weekend.

Beginning Saturday in Japan the Niseko Classic will offer 1000 fondo riders not only a chance to qualify for this year’s world championships, but also a preview of the 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championship course.

Meanwhile at Gravel Challenge Blaavands in Denmark, 600 European graveleurs will race 130 kilometers along the western coastline in their bid to qualify for the gravel worlds taking place nearby in the Netherlands.

Further south, much further south, Safari Gravel Race in Kenya of will take 450 wanna-be world champions into the wildlife rich Hell’s Gate National Park on a rugged 111 kilometer route.

Gravel qualifying continues on Sunday in France for 800 riders, including former Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra, who will tackle the 130 kilometer Wish One Gravel course in the Grand Causses region in Aveyron.

One of the oldest and largest UCI gran fondos, Maraton Franja in Slovenia, returns for a 44th edition on Sunday with their classic 156 kilometer route. The race will be live streamed HERE, with over 3000 riders from 32 nations trying to qualify for the world championships.

Riders finishing in the top 25% of their UCI age/gender category at any of the above races automatically qualify for for the 2025 UCI World Championships in October – UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Australia or the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands.

Photo Credit: UCI

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