It has been one month for the reason that UCI made a shock announcement that the 2025 Gravel World Championships would want a brand new residence, and more than likely a brand new October date as nicely, leaving a gapping gap within the calendar simply eight months earlier than the fourth version of the occasion.
The City of Nice withdrew because the host venue, citing “difficulties of organising the occasion within the capital of the French Riviera on that date [October 18-19]”.
In the weeks which have adopted, rumours have swirled about doable places, together with international locations throughout three continents – Africa, Europe and the United States. The UCI had famous in a media assertion on February 25 that they had been “presently finding out numerous choices to discover a new organiser and a brand new venue”.
One of the extra severe contenders appears to be the state of Carinthia, Austria, which is the world the place Wörthersee Gravel Race will likely be held for a second yr on the UCI Gravel World Series calendar. Italian gravel champion Giada Borghesi earned the victory for elite girls final yr whereas Austrian Sebastian Schönberger received the elite males’s division.
“Yes, we utilized for the UCI Gravel World Championships 2025 and are ready for the UCI to take the following steps,” Julius Ruptisch, race director for Wörthersee Gravel Race, instructed Cyclingnews Thursday. He can also be the final supervisor for Pedal Performance Group, which organises the Austrian gravel race.
“The governor of Carinthia invited the UCI representatives to go to the vacation spot, and all the federal government and all affected vacationer locations financially help the race. We are greater than prepared!”
Last yr, Wörthersee Gravel Race offered out in two months and this yr’s race on April 6 organisers count on greater than 1,400 riders throughout a number of divisions.
The newest race content material, interviews, options, opinions and skilled shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
Carinthia is situated within the south of the Alps and borders Italy and Slovenia. The climate in October “needs to be good”, in line with Ruptisch, with temperate situations within the Wörthersee lake space famous for huge vineyards.
“Yes, we’re skilled in dealing with occasions the scale of the UCI Gravel World Championship, have a dependable provide chain and a really skilled and devoted crew,” Ruptisch instructed Cyclingnews, hopeful about their bid for the Gravel World Championships to be authorized quickly.
“The crew members and suppliers have identified one another for years, which can assure a easy organisation on this brief time, in case we’re awarded. We have proposed programs to the UCI, and all mayors alongside the programs signed help declarations, which we despatched to the UCI along with the applying.”
The inaugural version of Wörthersee Gravel Race final yr offered out in two months and expects greater than 1,400 individuals in simply two weeks time. Last yr’s course, put collectively by Johnny Hoogerland, ran over 144km and delivered 1,680 metres of altitude acquire for the elite riders. Organisers mentioned a brand new course could be used for 2025.
There had been stories that the South Limburg area of the Netherlands had been chosen as the brand new host to exchange Nice, with CycloWorld posting a screenshot from a Gravel Championships 2025 Instagram account that learn “Official Shimano 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships account” with the dates of October 4-5 for the race beginning in Valkenburg. The identical Instagram account immediately seems as simply Gravel Championships, with posts and reels from the previous three occasions, and doesn’t checklist a date or website for the 2025 occasion.