F1's Valtteri Bottas and Olympic cycling champions highlight 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships: Preview, schedule, & how to watch live
The third edition of the championship takes place in the Flemish region of Belgium this weekend, with pro riders and amateurs racing side by side. Find out who to watch out for.
Several road cycling and mountain bike stars will headline the third edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships, taking place on 5-6 October in Leuven, Belgium.
Gravel racing is a relatively new cycling discipline that has surged in popularity in recent years, blending the speed of road cycling with the rugged terrain of mountain biking.
Reigning men’s champion Matej Mohorič of Slovenia has confirmed his attendance after overcoming a hand injury, while Poland’s Katarzyna 'Kasia' Niewiadoma won’t defend her women’s title, having decided to end her season early.
Other confirmed stars on the men’s side include 2023 road world champion Mathieu van der Poel, who finished third in 2022, Rio 2016 road gold medallist Greg van Avermaet, and London 2012 MTB champion Jaroslav Kulhavý. With amateur riders also able to qualify for the world championships, F1 driver Valtteri Botas is another big name involved.
The women’s field looks equally star-studded, with recently crowned world road champion Lotte Kopecky, Paris 2024 MTB gold medallist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (a former winner in 2022), and versatile Dutch riders Puck Pieterse and Marianne Vos among the top competitors.
Valtteri Bottas: Swapping an F1 car for a gravel bike
The UCI Gravel World Series offered amateur riders the chance to qualify by finishing in the top 25% at one of the 25 events.
Notably, F1 driver Valtteri Bottas secured his spot for the world championship race by finishing sixth in the Swartberg 100 in May, a 170km gravel race in South Africa.
The Finnish driver, who will be back in his Sauber car at the United States Grand Prix on 20 October, announced he would auction his racing kit to support the Princess Charlene Foundation.
Bottas is an avid cyclist and he often documents his rides around his residence in Monaco on social media. He will not be alone in Leuven, where he will also support his girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell, a professional cyclist representing Australia, as she targets her first rainbow jersey.
2024 UCI Gravel World Championships: Route and schedule
Both the elite women’s (134km) and men’s (181km) races take place in Belgium’s Flemish region, starting in Halle and finishing in Leuven. Men and women will traverse the Forests of Brabant, with the majority of the course featuring gravel, cobblestone, and unpaved surfaces.
Saturday 5 October
- Women’s elite race: 12pm CEST (10am GMT / 6am EDT)
Sunday 6 October
- Men’s elite race: 12pm CEST (10am GMT / 6am EDT)
The full weekend programme can be found here.
How to watch the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships - Live stream
In Belgium, the elite races will be broadcast live on VRT/Sporza (Flanders) and Proximus (Wallonia). Viewers in Europe and the UK can watch on Discovery+ and Eurosport. In the US and Canada, the races will stream on FloBikes, while in Australia, they will be available on SBS on Demand.
UCI Gravel World Championships: Former winners
View the past medallists of the UCI Gravel World Championships since its inauguration in 2022.
2022 - Veneto, Italy
- Elite Women: 🥇 Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA), 🥈 Sina Frei (SUI), 🥉 Chiara Teocchi (ITA)
- Elite Men Champion: 🥇 Gianni Vermeersch (BEL), 🥈 Daniel Oss (ITA), 🥉 Mathieu van der Poel (NED)
2023 - Veneto, Italy
- Elite Women: 🥇 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL), 🥈 Silvia Persico (ITA), 🥉 Demi Vollering (NED)
- Elite Men Champion: 🥇 Matej Mohoric (SLO), 🥈 Florian Vermeersch (BEL), 🥉 Connor Swift (GBR)
