The general routes in Belgium for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships had been revealed by organisers, Golazo, on Tuesday, with elite ladies overlaying 133km on hilly terrain throughout the province of Flemish Brabant on Saturday, October 5. The next day, the elite males’s class will race 179km on the identical route, with further passes on a Leuven circuit.
Halle will host the beginning for all elite races and age-specific divisions. The routes comply with a brief 10km loop to the northwest after which traverse 80km for a primary move by the end space at Leuven.
Circuits will take within the Forests of Brabant, one in all 4 nationwide parks within the nation. Relying on the class, riders will conclude with one or two extra native laps in Leuven.
A common route map has been offered by organisers with estimates that gravel, cobblestones and unpaved surfaces comprise roughly 61% of the trail. Particulars about climbs, non-public domains and delicate nature areas might be disclosed at a later date.
Final 12 months’s battles for rainbow stripes topped Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland) because the elite ladies’s champion after 140km of racing and Matej Mohorič (Slovenia) because the elite males’s champion on a 169km course.
“This space is a real paradise for individuals who love gravel roads, monumental bushes and hard climbs on roads that minimize deep into the panorama,” organisers famous in a press launch.
Along with spectator viewing in Halle and Leuven, official fan zones might be arrange alongside the route, some places offering live-action video on big screens.
“A number of viewing areas may even be arrange alongside the course, in cooperation with the assorted municipalities concerned. The goal is to centralise spectators as a lot as potential in the most effective spots for watching the riders, whereas minimising the burden on the Forests of Brabant. “There might be a Gravel Expo providing the most recent gravel merchandise and bikes in the midst of the fan zone in Leuven,” stated Christophe Impens head of biking at Golazo.
A lot of the route was used final 12 months for the inaugural UEC European Gravel Championships and Belgian Gravel Championships, and the area additionally hosted the 2021 UCI Street World Championships. The passage from west to east by the Forests of Brabant must be the identical. Golazo will work with native businesses and companions to “optimally shield nature’s worth” to assist sustainability initiatives.
“We’re elaborating an intensive Sustainability Plan. A key aspect within the Sustainability Plan is mobility. Halle and Leuven each provide the best infrastructure to allow folks to come back and benefit from the Bolero UCI Gravel World Championships by public transport. Each the beginning and end are inside strolling distance of a practice station, and there’s additionally a direct connection between the 2 host cities,” stated Impens.
Qualification for the third version of the UCI Gravel World Championships proceed with nationwide champions, continental championships, nationwide group picks in addition to prime 25% in classes from one of many 25 occasions that make up the Trek UCI Gravel World Collection.
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