UCI Gravel World Series doubles in size with events on four continents
This article originally appeared on Velo News
The Trek UCI Gravel World Series is returning in 2023 with 17 qualifier events and culminating with the second-annual UCI Gravel World Championships.
As in its inaugural year, the UCI Gravel World Series will send the top 25 percent of finishers in multiple age groups to the gravel world championships which will again take place in Veneto, Italy in early October 2023.
The series expands considerably next year -- seven new events are joining the 17-race series, with races spread over four continents.
Read also: Highlands Gravel Classic returns as only US qualifier for the UCI Gravel World Championships
The 2023 UCI Gravel World Series begins with five new events in April and early May.
The first event on the calendar, La Indomable, takes place on April 23 in Berja, Alemeria in the Southern Andalucia region of Spain. The 105km race takes in the gravel of the Sierra De Gador mountain range.
The second new arrival to the calendar is Swartberg100 in Prince Albert, South Africa. The course combines long paved sections with three long open gravel sections. The Swartberg Pass is the routes high pint, with its summit coming just 20km before the finish. The Swartberg100 is April 29.
A third new qualifier -- Gravel Fondo Limburg -- will be held the following day, April 30, in Valkenburg, Netherlands, a venue familiar to cycling fans. Many UCI events, including the UCI World Championships for road and for cyclocross, have been held in Valkenburg.
The Gravel Fondo Limburg has its start on the Cauberg and takes riders on two or three big loops with every lap featuring the steep Keutenberg before heading back to the city center finish.
On May 6, Gravel Challenge Blaavands Huk debuts on the Danish west coast. The flat 150km course winds through picturesque villages and features sections on the beach.
Read also: The dirt on gravel worlds
The fifth new qualifier is one week later in Aachen, Germany. The 3RIDES Gravel Race is part of a larger cycling event with a large expo and will be ridden over four or seven local laps starting from the Chio horse tracks in the city center.
The first race of the series in Great Britain follows with the Gralloch in southern Scotland. Held in Dumfries and Galloway, the Gralloch is a 110km course with 2000 meters of elevation gain on 90 percent gravel roads. The event is organized by the team behind the Tour of Cambridgeshire road race.
On Jun 11, the first-ever Canadian qualifier will be held in Thornbury, Ontario, on a 125km course with 1467m of elevation gain.
Existing qualifiers in Australia, France, the United States, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, and Spain will return to the series after debuting in 2022.
Gravelista, the second Australian qualifier event, will take place after the World Championships and will count as a qualifier event for 2024.
The second UCI Gravel World Championships will be held October 7-8 in the same area in Veneto as the first edition, “but with more challenging courses,” according to the organizers of the UCI Gravel World Series.
2023 Trek UCI Gravel World Series calendar
April 23: La indomable
Berja, Spain
April 29: Swartberg100
Prince Albert, South Africa
April 30: Gravel Fondo Limburg
Valkenburg, Netherlands
May 6: Gravel Challenge Blaavands Huk
Blavands, Denmark
May 13: 3RIDES Gravel Race
Aachen, Germany
May 13: Seven
Nannup, Australia
May 20: The Gralloch
Dumfries and Galloway, Great Britain
June 4: Ranxo
Ponts, Spain
June 11: Blue Mountains Gravel Fondo
Thornbury, Canada
June 18: Wish One Gravel Race
Millau, France
June 24: Highlands Gravel Classic
Fayetteville, United States
July 15: Gravel One Fifty
Veenhuizen, Netherlands
July 22: Gravel Adventure
Swieradow-Zdroj, Poland
August 19: Gravel Grit n Grind
Halmstad, Sweden
August 26: Houffa Gravel
Houffalize, Belgium
September 2: La Monsterrato
Quattordio, Italy
October 28: Gravelista
Beechworth, Australia
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