The routes in Belgium for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships lead from Halle to Leuven across the rolling terrain and narrow paths of the Flemish Brabant, with close to 55% of the course considered to be unpaved, including gravel, dirt and cobblestones.
The elite women race 135km on Saturday, October 5, with a start circuit around Halle and one pass of a finish circuit of 47km. The following day, the elite men’s category will race 179km on the same route, with two passes on the Leuven circuit.
The routes for all elite races and age-specific divisions begin in Halle with a short 8km loop to the northwest as an appetizer and then traverse 80km to Leuven. This section zig-zags through the Forests of Brabant, one of four national parks in the country, and the race route connects four sections of old woodland areas: Lembeekbos, Hallerbos and Zoniënwoud. The section through Hallerbos has a succession of the longest climbs of the entire route, but none more than 1.5km.
Depending on the category, riders will either conclude at the Martelarenplein, the square in front of the Leuven railway station, or continue with one or two laps to decide who earns the rainbow stripes. This 47km loop has a lot of twists and turns of undulating small paths that go through the Meerdaalwoud forest area, with 60% of the local lap the same as the one used for the 2023 European Gravel Championships.
Once back into the city of Leuven, there is a 300-metre cobbled climb on the very narrow Ramberg, a back-alley lane which is just 1.8km from the finish. It is so narrow that if an attack happens here, only two riders could ride side-by-side. Across the top, riders will pass Donatuspar, with a final 'gravel' section, then wind past the stunning University Library and it's signature tower for the 1km on pavement to the finish.
Last year’s battles for rainbow stripes crowned Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland) as the elite women’s champion after 140km of racing and Matej Mohorič (Slovenia) as the elite men’s champion on a 169km course.
Organised this year by Golazo Sports, there will be spectator viewing areas set up for the starts in Halle and finishes in Leuven, plus official fan zones set up along the route, some locations providing live-action video on giant screens.
“The aim is to centralise spectators as much as possible in the best spots for watching the riders, while minimising the burden on the Forests of Brabant. There will be a Gravel Expo offering the latest gravel products and bikes in the middle of the fan zone in Leuven,” said Christophe Impens, head of cycling at Golazo.
In addition to the finish circuit, much of the passage from west to east from Halle to Leuven in the Brabant forest area will be the same as used for the UEC European Gravel Championships and Belgian Gravel Championships last year.
Golazo will work with local agencies and partners to “optimally protect nature’s value” to support sustainability initiatives.
“We are elaborating an extensive Sustainability Plan. A key element in the Sustainability Plan is mobility. Halle and Leuven both offer the ideal infrastructure to enable people to come and enjoy the Bolero UCI Gravel World Championships by public transport. Both the start and finish are within walking distance of a train station, and there is also a direct connection between the two host cities,” said Impens.
Qualification for the third edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships continue with national champions, continental championships, national team wildcard selections as well as top 25% in categories from one of the 25 events that make up the Trek UCI Gravel World Series.
Start grids based on a points system will be used for both elite races. The top riders from Gravel World Series events earned 200 points for each win, 180 for second, 160 for third and down to the 25th finisher taking 5 points. The top 25 athletes in the elite world championships last year earned as many as 1,000 points for a win and down to 10 points for 25th position. In addition, 50% of the points in the system come from the UCI rankings in road, MTB cross-country, MTB marathon and cyclocross.
