The UCI announced on Friday that a new host for the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships has been secured. The Zuid-Limburg region of the Netherlands will hold the races on October 11 and 12.
In February, a surprise announcement from the UCI declared that Nice, France, originally slated to host the championships, had withdrawn as organisers.
"I'm delighted that the South-Limburg region, in the province of Limburg, will be involved in the organisation of the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships and would like to thank them for submitting their bid after the city of Nice withdrew," UCI President David Lappartient said.
"By hosting the UCI Gravel World Championships, the province of Limburg has further enhanced its standing as a leading cycling region at the international level, while contributing to the development of gravel, a discipline that is still quite new and has considerable potential for growth," he said.
The new organisers, Golazo, have collaborated with the UCI in the past hosting the cyclocross World Cup rounds, and are co-hosting the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda. Golazo also manages the UCI Gravel World Series, among other events.
The province of Limburg also has had close ties with the UCI, hosting the 2018 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, the UCI Road World Championships in 1938, 1948, 1979, 1998 and 2012, and the UEC European Cycling Championships. The Amstel Gold men's and women's races are among 50 cycling events in the region which is also home to the Tom Dumoulin Bike Park.
Limburg will be hosting the fourth edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships, first held in Veneto, Italy in 2022 and 2023. Flanders, Belgium hosted last year's event.
"Golazo is extremely proud to organize the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships in the beautiful region of Zuid-Limburg, an iconic cycling area," said Christophe Impens, Director of International Cycling at Golazo.
"Golazo has been managing the UCI Gravel World Series on behalf of the UCI since 2022, and we have recently renewed that agreement until 2030. Our passion for this fast-growing cycling discipline also resulted in the organisation of the 2023 UEC Gravel European Championships and the 2024 UCI Bolero Gravel World Championships in Flanders."
