Gravel grid anomalies, national teams in name only and self funding – Explaining the workings of a UCI Gravel World Championships

The UCI Road World Championships have nearly a century of history and in mountain bike there have been decades to carve out the lay of the land. However, the global cycling body has only introduced a gravel battle for the rainbow jersey in recent years, making the discipline of uneven surfaces also one where the ins and outs of the competition for the title also aren't as smoothly paved into the collective memory of the cycling world.

The handlebars may be curled and road racers may have dominated the top steps, but there are some vast differences between the race for a road rainbow jersey and a gravel one, not least of all the role of national teams. Nor does it replicate the set-up of mountain bike title races, where riders from other disciplines are often completely on the back foot because of the grid position which leaves them well back on the start grid.

Gravel has carved out a path all of its own. It is one that has kept evolving since the first edition in 2022 as the process of identifying pitfalls and problems continues.

The changes also aren't likely to be at an end, as the relatively new introduction has delivered a scale of popularity and attention on the UCI Gravel World Championships that means it's not going anywhere soon, but it also exists in an environment that is far from settled. There is a tug of war between the sanctioned and unsanctioned system, an evolution of the professionalism plus an inconsistent and complex environment when it comes to teamwork, or the lack of it.

There are many complications, nuances and barriers but somehow what has evolved as riders, teams, federations and the UCI work through them all has captured the imagination. Read on to find out a little more on the environment, rules, racing dynamics and history of gravel racing.

Don't call it Gravel Worlds

First, before we get into the ins and outs of the race for a gravel rainbow jersey a little context may be required for those who have been introduced to the discipline through the UCI races. It's not like gravel didn't exist before the cycling body attached its name to the sport in 2022, creating a global series stringing together a series of events through the year that ultimately culminated in the UCI Gravel World Championships.

In fact, it was already huge at that point, it's just that it wasn't operating under one unified banner. In fact the lack of oversight was often a matter of pride, and for some a part of the appeal, with the sense of community and much vaunted "spirit of gravel" a key attraction.

Gravel races, big and small, had been playing out for decades across the globe but nowhere was it more established than in the United States, which is the home of the crown jewel of gravel, Unbound Gravel, and also Gravel Worlds, a popular Nebraska event that had trademarked the name before the UCI event came on the scene. Lauf Gravel Worlds plays heavily into its pirate-status event, with a sword trophy and tongue in cheek attitude.

Though it has had its impact on the official event. That's why, even though the UCI Road World Championships, is often referred to as Road Worlds, you don't call this event in Nannup Gravel Worlds. That race has already been run for 2026 in August in Nebraska and was won by Torbjørn Røed (Trek Driftless) and Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-road).

Snaring a spot

In gravel federations have 10 elite slots allocated across the men's and women's events, with no rankings requirement, and the host nation has 20 places. Gravel national and continental champions also gain an automatic place, along with the defending world champions.

But that is far from where it ends, as a rider can also qualiy via the UCI Gravel World Series, with a swathe of rounds across the year and world to choose from and plenty of opportunities to snare a spot by qualifying in the top 25%.

This combination of qualifying options, with the wild card scenario often opening the door to big name riders from other disciplines, means you can end up with a scenario like last year where the field is heavy on riders from specific nations.

For example the women's field last year was just about a quarter Dutch while also overwhelming dominated by a handful of nations, In the men's field among the 279 riders there were 45 riders from Belgium, 36 from the Netherlands and 32 from Germany, with the three nations accounting for not that much under half the field.

Show me the money

There is money on the table in gravel racing, with races like Unbound Gravel delivering $10,000 for the elite winners and the US-based Lauf Gravel Worlds delivering a substantial pay packet of $25,000 to the elite winners while the Life Time Grand Prix series gets $50,000.

There is also money in UCI-sanctioned World Championships, although not a great deal, with the elite men's and women's road race winners, for example, getting €8,000 each. Go looking for the prize money at the Gravel World Championships in the technical guide and it is an entry you won't find. There is a reason for that; there isn't any.

What's more at the road event, riders are also far more likely to be supported by their national federations to race, with everything from travel expenses, uniforms and support staff covered. In gravel, however, with just some exceptions, the costs are largely borne by either individual privateer athletes or, in the case of the fortunate ones, their trade teams - even though they are racing in national colours.

Teamwork - is that a thing in gravel?

When riders head to the UCI Road World Championships, it's with the clear expectation that they are racing for their nations, and if that means completely sacrificing themselves to work for a greater goal then it is exactly what they will do. In fact, for most the chance to go for glory themselves will never have even been a consideration, with the squad selected to support a leader. That all makes sense, and is the norm, in road racing but that's not the case in gravel.

For a start, the gravel discipline as a whole has come from a far less-organised and team oriented place. While teamwork is starting to become a greater element, it's not that widespread, being more the exception than the rule. Also, in what - depending on the course - is often not a bunched up race but an attritional affair, it perhaps doesn't play out in quite the same way.

Then there is also the issue of how riders end up at the UCI Gravel World Championships. In other disciplines nations have strict quotas, based on rankings, which deliver a limited number of riders with national federations selecting, and often funding, the spots.

As mentioned above, there is an alternate path in gravel with riders able to earn their own spot in the UCI Gravel World Series, so if they don't need to be selected by their national federation and that diminishes their ability to call the shots. So does the fact that riders are often likely to be paying their own way as privateers or perhaps they may be fortunate enough to have either a gravel team – like Specialized Off-road or Factor – or a squad from another discipline supporting them. It's a scenario that raises the question of why should they race for a national teammate's glory when the whole reason they have funding to be there is either for their own sponsors or trade team?

That also raises another issue. While riders may be racing in their nation's jersey could they instead work on trade team orders? For example Specialized Off-road has three key favourites in the men's elite race and are in Australia to support them – with Keegan Swenson (United States), Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark) and Matt Beers (South Africa) – but they are all from different nations. Are they really going to race against each other given the circumstances surrounding their participation in the event? We shall soon see.

Why have road riders dominated UCI Gravel World Championships, yet gravel specialists still reign at Unbound?

There has been a considerable contrast in what's on offer at Unbound 200, the most revered of gravel races, and the courses that have been delivered for the UCI Gravel World Championships so far. For a start Unbound Gravel is long, really long, with the 200 miles converting to 322 km while in contrast the UCI Gravel World Championships so far have been in the range of 141km for the elite ment to 194km and between 123km to 149km for the elite women.

That aligns far more closely with the distances that road riders are typically riding, which is advantage one to the road contingent at the rainbow jersey race, and a disadvantage for them at Unbound. Another big one is the terrain.

Thus far the Gravel World Championships have had a fair chunk of either road and other non-gravel surfaces as part of the course, like cobblestones and singletrack, where as the long stretches of gravel roads at Unbound throw up an entirely different challenge. The mud can be brutal if there is rain on the run in, the sharp flint vicious on tyres and the long stretches between feed zones a race killer, particularly for a rider who is used to a support car behind and hasn't long practiced all the tricks of the trade to nurse or redeem the situation when things go wrong.

Certainly there still isn't the same support as road riders are used to, but with the shorter distances, tech zones and perhaps slightly less brutal conditions at what we've seen from the Gravel World Championships so far it isn't as big an issue.

Then there are the points. Unbound Gravel might be one of the biggest things in gravel but it and races like it count for nought in terms of UCI points. That means if riders are focussed on the non-sanctioned gravel world they are likely to be on the back foot from the very start as they will be back on the grid at the UCI Gravel World Championships.

Then you add in the dynamic of courses in recent years, which have delivered some not inconsiderable similarities to a road Classic and its terrain where road riders may feel more at home in then their gravel brethren. That, however, may change this year as there will be more gravel, more climbing and plenty of chances to pass and help work back from an inconvenient grid position. Plus there will be smaller fields to work through given the long trip. There is a chance this could be the year the road domination changes.

What are the start grid rules and does it matter?

The start grid is decide by who has the most points, with gravel riders getting 100 percent of their UCI points and riders from other disciplines having it pared back to 50 percent. This can matter because gravel racing doesn't work the same way as the road with big groups so often working together for the largest portion of the race. The unpredictability of the discipline can mean the field gets split up and reduced far earlier and also if there are thin sections a bottleneck can quickly ruin the chances of the riders behind.

To be fair, the Nannup course's generous width and the smaller fields, given the effort it takes to get out to Australia, will probably make start position a little less crucial this time.

Where can racers get mechanical assistance or feeds?

There aren't follow cars in gravel like on the road but that doesn't mean the rider is completely without any form of help or support. For a start there are feed zones out on the Nannup course, where riders can get food and mechanical assistance – though no bike changes are allowed – however that is not the limit of where it can occur.

The UCI outlines in its regulation on gravel racing that: "Mechanical assistance can be provided everywhere throughout the course. Any person providing assistance shall be stationary on the side of the road of vehicle circulation."

Still, the feed zones are the "strongly encouraged" option and there are also some exclusions on the feeding outside these zones, such as not feeding on the downhill or in the last 10km.

Can we watch it unfold live?

There is a chequered history to the broadcast of the UCI Gravel World Championships, with uproar in 2023 when, after a late change of organiser, only part of the men's elite race was broadcast live and the women's was not at all. After that it was written in as a condition for organisers in the bid document that there must be broadcasts for both.

Nannup, of course had already been long awarded the championships by that point, but they will without question be delivering anyway. Despite the enormous technical difficulties of providing the coverage in a remote location, the organisers have been diligent in working through the bugs over the years in the lead in. That means both the elite women and elite men are set to get a live broadcast, running from 13:00 to 18:00 AEDT on SBS on Demand and outside Australia on the UCI YouTube channel.

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