Further information on the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships, now only four weeks away, has been revealed with the UCI announcing the start and finish locations of the October 7 and 8 races.
It's long been known that the race for rainbows would again be held in the Veneto region of Italy, which was also home to the first World Championships last October. However, as the time to the race drew closer and route details were still not announced, reports started circulating in the Italian media that there would be a last minute change of organisers and planning for an entirely new course was underway.
In 2022 the race, organised by Filippo Pozzato and his PP Sport Events company, started in Vicenza then passed through Padova before arriving in the municipality of Cittadella.
A dispute has lead to a late change in location. This year races will set off from the Le Bandie lake near Treviso and then head to Pieve di Soligo, where riders will take on different gravel loops.
"The course starts with a long flat section, predominately on gravel, from Treviso to Pieve di Soligo where the athletes will pass over the finish line a first time," the UCI announced.
"They will then complete a loop including more paved sections and more elevation – thanks to several short steep climbs - before a second passage across the finish."
The final loop will start with a flat gravel section followed by two punchy ascensions in the final 20km, the last of which has its summit 6km from the finish line. In total, the riders will tackle more climbing than at the first edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships."
The women's races will unfold on Saturday, October 7 along with the men's 50+ categories while the remainder of the men's events will take place on Sunday, October 8. Last year the elite women's race covered 140km while the elite men's race was 194km long.
Race distances and full race routes have still to be revealed.
"More details about the routes of the UCI Gravel World Championships will be released shortly," said the UCI.
Changes to race organisers were not an issue broached by the UCI release but Italian media, including Tuttobici website, reported that it would now be a collaboration between Massimo Panighel's Pedali di Marca, Lucio Paladin's Ciclistica Provinciale di Treviso and the Treviso Provincial Committee of the Italian Cycling Federation, with the support of the Veneto Region.
Riders earn the right to race in the UCI Gravel World Championships either by qualifying through the Gravel World Series or receiving a wild card from their national federation.
In 2022 Gianni Vermeersch claimed the first elite men's title while Pauline Ferrand-Prevot secured the women's rainbow jersey.
