UCI Gravel World Championships 2026: Route - men

Sunday 11 October – The men’s Gravel World Championships race covers 144 kilometres, winding its way through the hills around Nannup, Australia. It is a gruelling course with 3,710 metres of elevation gain, 85% of which is on unpaved roads. Never before has there been so much gravel on the World Championship course.

Published on 1 October 2026

After the start in Nannup in the south-west of Australia, the riders tackle rolling asphalt for 9 kilometres before reaching the first gravel section, which is roughly the same length. Then comes the first climb, Brockman Farm, an unpaved 2.4-kilometre ascent at an average gradient of 8.2%.

With that, the tone is set. The climbs the riders encounter throughout the day are never long, but there are plenty of them. They range from 1 to 3 kilometres in length, with gradients fluctuating between 5% and 10%. Rarely is there an immediate descent at the top; instead, the route usually continues with a series of short ups and downs before finally heading downhill towards the next challenge.

The 21.6-kilometre loop through Arcadia, for example, opens with a 2.7-kilometre climb at 7.5%. The Arcadia loop is characterised by pine forests and a pea gravel surface. Certainly in dry conditions, this is the kind of surface that offers little grip. It consists of small, rounded gravel stones.

Soon after the descent from Arcadia comes the toughest section of the race. It features the Ellis Creek climb, a 2-kilometre ascent with an average gradient of 9.1%. Once over the top, the route continues for 13 kilometres over rolling terrain before the descent takes the riders to the foot of the final loop.

That loop starts with a 2.4-kilometre climb at 4.8%, with the final kilometre by far the toughest section. From the top, the riders can already see Nannup, but they still have 3.5 kilometres to go. This begins with a 1-kilometre descent on unpaved roads, after which the remainder of the route is on asphalt.

Last year, Florian Vermeersch became gravel world champion in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on a virtually flat course.

The race gets underway at 10:10 and is expected to finish around 14:10 - both local times (AWST, UTC+8).