Cycling’s world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has announced the races and dates of the all-new Gravel 2022 World Series, confirming a calendar of 12 events starting in the Philippines on April 3 and including two events in the US and Australia and one in France, Poland, Sweden, Belgium , Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
The number of events and dates differ from those leaked in February, with the Blue Mountains Gravel Fondo in Canada no longer included, while the Highlands Gravel Classic in Fayetteville, Iowa, to be held on June 25th.
The Ranxo event in Spain ends the series on September 18th.The UCI has hinted that the first edition of the official UCI World Gravel Championship will take place in the ‘European Autumn’ and the venue should be announced soon.
As previously reported that the UCI World Macadam Championships will be held in Tuscany, Italy, on the same macadam roads – or dirt roads – as famous The Eroica event, on a date in October, following the Gravel World Series.
Last September, the UCI announced that it would create a series on gravel and the World Gravel Championship, as the discipline grows in popularity, but without the rules and regulations of the international governing body. Pebble is the 10th discipline to award rainbow-colored jerseys to world champions.
The UCI has relaxed its rules for the first year of the Gravel World Series, allowing participants to compete on any type of bike except bikes.
No major event with famous gravel rides or races in the U.S. has been named for the inaugural year of the UCI World Series, including the Garmin Gravel Worlds in Nebraska. The Gravel World Series will be sponsored by Trek and organized by Golazo, who also organizes the UCI Gran Fondo World Series and the World Championships as part of the UCI Cycling for All initiative.
To qualify for the Gravel World Championships, participants need a UCI racing license and must finish in the top 25% by gender and age group.
The UCI has made it clear that, unlike the Gran Fondo World Series, professional athletes can participate in the World Gravel Series and thus qualify for the UCI World Gravel Championship.
The Gravel World Series calendar:
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