Swenson, Van Aert, Vermeersch, Vollering, Gomez Villafañe, Wiebes headline packed elite fields for rainbow stripes
Lorena Wiebes, the winner of the first European Gravel Title, and Wout van Aert will be among those lining up at the UCI Gravel World Championships(Image credit: Getty Images)
After a first year of “wait and see”, an avalanche of preeminent riders from the top levels of road, mountain bike, cyclocross, and yes, even gravel, have changed the tide of interest to compete at the UCI Gravel World Championships, October 7-8.
Last year, it was a small field for the elite-women’s event on a course 54km shorter than the elite men, with the sprint coming down to a pair of world-class mountain bikers - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France) beating Sina Frei (Switzerland). On the following day the men competed over black tarmac and white crushed stone in north-east Italy, with Gianni Vermeersch (Belgium) distancing Daniel Oss (Italy) for the title. In that race, the top nine riders had WorldTour experience.
What seemed to be missing at the inaugural competition last year were not just the higher numbers in the elite fields but a depth in the field, including more gurus of the gravel. In fact, many of the US contingent, long considered the pioneers of the gravel peloton who survive debilitating all-day races, skipped the long travel to focus on more traditional off-road races.
Team USA, which had only 7 riders across the two elite races last year, but this year has announced a squad of 23, including newly-crowned national champions Keegan Swenson and Lauren Stephens.
The UEC Gravel European Championships took place in the Flemish town of Oud-Heverlee on October 1, and the start list for this inaugural mixed-terrain test was an indicator for the competition to come at the UCI Gravel World Championships. Lorena Wiebes took the women's title packed with competition from Fem van Empel and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Netherlands), as well as Carolin Schiff (Germany), Barbara Guarischi (Italy) and Tiffany Cromwell (Australia), who actually won the race even if the title went elsewhere.
Notable on the men's side at the European Championships were the 66 Belgian riders on the start line, fighting for the national title also on offer. Jasper Stuyven soloed to the double victory in the combined race while Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) out-sprinted Paul Voß to claim the silver medal for both championship events, and Gianni Vermeersch was in the sprint for fourth. Cyclocross stars like Eli Iserbyt and Laurens Sweeck were in the mix, as well as road warriors Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert.
While new organisers, Pedali di Marca, have provided a completely new course across Veneto, the two elite course distances from Lago Le Bandie to Pieve di Soligo. The influx of top-level WorldTour roadies in both the women’s and men’s field could lead to another round of dynamic group racing, but twice as much climbing from a year ago and a 3.9km climb near the finish could put familiar faces from 2023 gravel battles back in the mix. However, due to COVID-19, Ferrand-Prevot announced the day before the event that unfortunately she wouldn't be among those chasing the victory.
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Here are some of the versatile competitors to watch who could earn the rainbow jerseys the UCI Gravel World Championships.
Elite Women
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Lorena Wiebes on the podium of the women's elite race at the European Gravel Championships (Image credit: Getty Images)
With the defending champion of the inaugural Gravel World Championships, Pauline Ferrand-Prèvot, out of the running because of COVID-19 Lorena Wiebes is now increasingly in focus as the winner of the first European Gravel Champions jersey at the start of October. Despite being a huge threat on the road her form on the gravel was perhaps a bit of an unknown before the race in Belgium, although she did deliver a rather large hint by taking to podium in the 3Rides Gravel World Series race in May. The European title and her second place in the race overall behind the Australian Tiffany Cromwell, who was ineligible for the jersey, has however changed that.
The increase in climbing and technical sections of Saturday's course are likely to provide another big test for the Dutch rider, which on the face of it may make it a big ask for her to power toward another title this month. Her cyclocross experience could also help her on the rough terrain though she still may reap some advantage of the near 50/50 split between paved and unpaved surfaces given there is a strong Dutch contingent. If the squad do end up working as a team on the road sections they could help put Wiebes in contention for a sprint finish and her tally of 71 wins on the road deliver a pretty clear indicator of how any sprint she is part of is likely to end.
Another overwhelming favourite to win the elite women's world title, Villafañe, has won some of the biggest gravel and off-road races in the US, including career wins at Unbound Gravel, Leadville Trail 100 MTB and SBT GRVL.
Last year, Villafañe finished 12th on a mostly flat route, but this year's course might suit her better with more gravel and undulating terrain where she can put her cyclocross and mountain bike skills to good use against some of the heavy-hitting road athletes on the start line.
A targetted approach to off-road racing, Villafañe trains specifically for her gravel and off-road season and might not have the same number of one-day and multi-day racing obligations as some of her riders on the start line. Her dedicated training intensity and miles will undoubtedly work in her favour at a race like the World Championships.
It is hard to know what to expect from Vollering on gravel, but it is also hard not to include her on the contenders list after the year she has had on the road. That Strade Bianche was on the long list of races she won this year is a promising sign.
Regardless that nearly 50 percent of the course is paved, it will surely help the Tour de France Femmes winner’s cause. So will the addition of a considerable extra amount of climbing this year, plus – if they decide to ride as a cohesive unit – a Dutch team replete with its traditional strength. Though, will she fare well enough in the technical sections to keep the gravel aficionados at bay? We will find out the answer to that question on Saturday.
The Canyon-SRAM rider may just have the perfect skill set for Saturday. She knows gravel and road racing, all the players and is adept at handling the pressure of the big moments in racing. Plus, she had a stellar year in the gravel sphere, with a string of UCI Gravel World Series wins that include SEVEN and The Gralloch, and her latest victory coming at the European Gravel Championships at the start of October – although of course being Australian she couldn’t claim the title.
In Belgium at the UEC Championships, she made clear that she had what it took to outperform a talent-packed field, so there will be plenty of eyes on her to try and stop another solo run to victory. The course, with its short, steep climbs, may not lean as much in her favour. However, knowing that she is a dangerous rider to let get away doesn’t mean that they will necessarily be able to stop her.
Tessa Neefjes (Netherlands)
When it comes to the UCI Gravel World Series, Tessa Neefjes is one of the most consistent performers, having claimed two victories and four podium places this year and never having finished lower than seventh. It is no surprise then that she has topped the points tally for the series, by a long way, which should deliver the benefit of a top position on the start grid. The multi-discipline rider has also proven she can be in the mix when the top challengers from on the road are involved.
Neefjes was the first of the riders from outside the Women’s WorldTour on the results table at the European Gravel Championships at the start of October with a finish in seventh place in a race where the terrain meant she opted for road tyres. However, from the feedback coming out of rider reconnaissance it appears that the terrain for this year's World Championships throws up some solid technical challenges, a factor that could give the Liv Cycling rider an advantage this Saturday.
Additional contenders
The list of potential contenders is long in 2023, and riders to watch include road pros Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland) and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (South Africa), who are bound to make the most of the climbs, as well as WorldTour rider Silvia Persico, who is part of a strong Italian team that has a reputation for working together. Also watch out for Pauliena Rooijakkers (Netherlands), as well as Carolin Schiff (Germany), Barbara Guarischi (Italy) and Danni Shrosbree, who was fourth at Unbound Gravel 200 at this year's muddy mess and second at the British Gravel Championships.
There are also a number of riders from North America have turned road or MTB careers into winning ways at signature events on the Life Time Grand Prix off-road series including a trio of US riders Lauren Stephens and Alexis Skarda. Stephens is both the reigning US national champion for gravel and Gravel Worlds (in Nebraska) champion, while Skarda was second at nationals and the US marathon mountain bike champion. Canadian Haley Smith, however, will bypass the Worlds for mountain bike World Cups while Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) was initially expected to be on the start list but that changed after a foot injury.
Elite Men
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2022 elite men's podium at UCI Gravel World Championships (L to R): second-placed Daniel Oss (Italy), winner Gianni Vermeersch (Belgium) and third-placed Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Wout van Aert didn't just win his first gravel race, Houffa Gravel, a month ago; he crushed the competition, riding the 80% gravel, 110km course nine minutes faster than fellow Belgian Daan Soete and German Paul Voß.
Though the Worlds course is 88km longer, the Classics-like rolling terrain suits Van Aert, having won big one-day races such as Strade Bianche (2020), Amstel Gold Race (2021) and Gent-Wevelgem (2021). He's won four cyclocross world titles, three as an elite rider. But he has a lot of silver medals in big races, from 2022 Paris-Roubaix to this year's road race World Championships.
Van Aert may only have one official gravel race in the books, but he is dangerous. Look for him to be in any front group on the final series of climbs on the final circuit into Pieve di Soligo.
The gravel world could get its wish with a Van Aert versus Keegan Swenson matchup on the elite men's side. The US off-road super-star is a formidable competitor, having won the majority of his races in the past two years.
This season, he has already dominated the first four events in the Life Time Gran Prix - Sea Otter Classic's Fuego XL 100k, Unbound Gravel 200, Crusher in the Tushar and Leadville Trail 100 MTB. He won a second consecutive SBT GRVL and then scored the stars-and-stripes jersey at the elite men’s US gravel championships.
He is undaunted by WorldTour riders in the field, as he skipped the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships to represent the USA in the Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, finishing as the second-best US rider. He does not have a world title across any discipline, so the stimulus to cross the finish line first is huge.
The former WorldTour rider now blazes a trail at gravel races around the world, from the shorter events of the Gravel World Series to the longe-range benchmark events in the US.
The year, he was second at both Unbound Gravel 200 and SBT GRVL and was sixth at Gravel Locos. He won two of the three UCI Gravel World Series events in which he competed - Gravel Adventure in Poland and La Monsterrato in Italy. Vakoč also confirmed his form when he came sixth at the European Gravel Championships.
The former road professional has redirected his big motor to gravel racing and will be one of the contenders for the German squad. Last weekend, Voß finished third in the UEC Gravel Championships, outsprinting world champion Gianni Vermeersch for the podium spot.
He had a full calendar of eight major gravel competitions across the year, scoring three podiums in four of the UCI Gravel World Series events including a win at 3RIDES Gravel on home soil. Voß also topped the points tally for the series. The longest gravel ride he completed was The Traka 200, which he won by more than five minutes over riders he will face again Sunday, including Nathan Haas and Ivar Slik. His experience from mass-start events on and off road will be an advantage for the 14-rider German team.
The 29-year-old Belgian is the defending champion for the elite men at the Gravel World Championships and he could easily repeat. He comes into this year’s Veneto edition off a strong performance at the European Gravel Championships in his home country with a fourth-place finish among a bunch sprint of five who were chasing winner and his compatriot Jasper Stuyven.
Similar to last year, Vermeersch put in a long road season with Alpecin-Deceuninck, filled with one-day events, including 11th place at Paris-Roubaix, and a smattering of stage races, though this year he was not part of a Grand Tour. Minus the pounding of a three-week stage race, the Belgian could be fresher this time out and looking to make a point on a route that suits his Classics style.
Additional contenders
There won’t be a shortage of big names with big engines in the men’s competition. However, the start list could have exploded off paper had it not been for calendar conflicts the same weekend with a mountain bike World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Québec, Canada - where Tom Pidcock will race - and road riders lining up at legendary Il Lombardia and Paris-Tours - the latter where World road champion Mathieu van der Poel had looked to race, but is now taking a break from racing ahead of his cyclocross commitments.
The WorldTour and ProTour pros will still swoop into the mixed-terrain madness for a modest 164km event against a lot of big gravel stars to whom they have not been able to measure. Look for Milan-Sanremo winner Matej Mohorič this year for Slovenia, plus Jayco-AlUla's Alessandro De Marchi on the italian team, who will be joined by his gravel-specialist cousin Mattia De Marchi, although the distance is bound to be too short for him to really hit his straps.
Alejandro Valverde (Spain) came out of retirement to race, and win, a pair of gravel races in his home country, Ranxo Gravel and La Indomable. Connor Swift (Great Britain), who was recently edged at the line by Joe Blackmore for the British Gravel Championships victory, should be in the mix.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
