56% unpaved, 44% paved and plenty of pitchy climbs: the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships race course revealed

The 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships race course has been revealed, and is now available for fans to ride pre-event.  

After starting in Halle, a charming town 15 kilometers southwest of Brussels, the course will wind around the forested region called Brabantse Wouden and finish in Leuven. This same region previously hosted the UCI Road World Championships and the European Gravel Championships.

Now in its third year, the UCI Gravel World Championships so far have eschewed the long distances popularized by American gravel races, and the routes for the 2024 event are no different, with the elite women's field tackling 133 kilometers on Saturday, October 5th, and the elite men covering 179 kilometers the following day. 

Compared to the 200-320 kilometers U.S. race, these distances are rather short indeed. But where it lacks in distances, it makes up for in punchy climbs and narrow, twisty-turny paths.

Organizers of the 2024 race today released a GPX file of the anticipated course, inviting enthusiasts to explore and enjoy the route before the pros get their turn. This route follows 97% of the World Championship race course, which on race day, will be closed to cars. In the meantime, slight modifications had to be made for safety reasons as the roads are open to cars and other users.

Gravel, cobblestones, and unpaved surfaces make up 56% of the route, many sections of which were previously featured in the 2023 European Gravel Championship, won by Classics specialist Jasper Stuyven (Belgium) and sprinter Lorena Wiebes (The Netherlands). The paved sections will also be familiar for some as the 2021 UCI Road World Championships took place in the same region, traveling between Antwerpen and Leuven. This Classics-style race was won in a sprint by Elisa Balsamo (Italy) in the women's race and by Julian Alaphilippe (France) who entered the finish solo in the men's event.

After leaving the start in Halle, the peloton will complete a small local loop before heading east through the Forests of Brabant, which starts with a pitch run up the Krekelenberg. The Forests of Brabant is a network of forests and green spaces throughout Flemish Brabant, characterized by its tall trees, worn and sunken roads, and heathlands.

As the course nears its finish in Leuven, the peloton will complete another local loop—one or two, depending on the race category—before finishing in the city center. The course tackles some 1,000 meters (3280ft) of pitchy climbing.

Previous editions:

The previous two editions of the UCI Gravel World Championships took place in Italy, and the location, shorter distances, and different style of racing have largely favored European WorldTour racers accustomed to the high pace and bumping elbows on narrow paths.

The previous editions were won by WorldTour roadies Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland) and Matej Mohorič (Slovenia) in 2023, and multi-discipline riders Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France) and Gianni Vermeersch (Belgium) in 2022.

Qualification:

As with the previous two editions, amateur riders —including professional race car drivers— can qualify by finishing in the top 25% at one of the 25 events on the Trek UCI Gravel World Series throughout the year. Qualifying races are held across the globe, including in Kenya, Poland, Canada, Switzerland, and the U.S. from April through September. For the elite race, national cycling federations are given 20 spaces for their best men and women elite racers.