Odds that either of the Gravel World Champions show up at a US (or Canadian) gravel race that has, 90% plus of gravel? Valley of Tears, BWR Utah, BWR AZ, Lost and Found, Big Sugar, etc.? This one was more like BWR SD, but with less gravel, and even the BWR folks don’t call the SD race gravel, more like “mixed surface”
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100% agreed. Both commentators are terrible.
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It is not about the “quality” of the gravel, it is about the LACK of gravel.
As noted previously, these races were road races with some brief dirt sections tossed in. They weren’t gravel races worthy of awarding rainbow jerseys.
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No time soon….the worlds have been awarded out through at least 2027, IIRC.
An obvious host country in Europe would seem be to Spain, and Girona specifically. Apparently, the off road riding is just as good as if not better than the road riding there.
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So far the 2 UCI Gravel Worlds races have vindicated my initial opinion that the UCI should have stayed completely expletive out of gravel.
The UCI gravel worlds feel about as interesting as post tour crits
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I dunno….as bike races in general, I thought they were both entertaining and fun to watch.
As gravel races, though, they were a joke.
This does serve to confirm my belief that the UCI is going to do to gravel what they did to MTB. Currently watching the WC races from Mt. St. Anne and the courses are a joke. Largely man-made with silly pump track sections and manufactured obstacles.
The only place you would ride a MTB like this is at these races….just not reflective of the sport, IMO.
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While I don’t have an opinion on the gravel WC course, I completely disagree with this remark on the MSA course. Yes there are some man made/pump track type sections but this course looks brutal and a lot of fun - with a lot of natural tech that is pretty representative of the sport… The level of tech in the current WC calendar is pretty high and I think most of the courses are really interesting and make for exciting racing.
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I’ll agree that MSA has more challenges than most WC courses, but my overall point remains….the UCI sanitizes the sport to make it easier to broadcast and be viewer-friendly.
Recognizing this doesn’t mean that the races don’t make for enjoyable viewing….they two ideas can coexist.
I wouldn’t bet on it, but mahoric (world champ last year) and a couple teammates made it to unbound last year. Would be awesome to see mvdp line it up next year, but schedule would have to be tough.
A buddy of mine just made a good point……Canyon could ask / pay him to come race in the US. He just signed a huge 10 year contract with them and they are a major sponsor of Alpecin ( not just bike supplier).
So it may not be as far fetched as I first thought.
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If you want gravel (and not flat) come to the World Championships in Nannup in 2026. Their qualifying race is 3200m in 125km, no doubt the world course will be more difficult. And likely more than 95% gravel.
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To counter your claim that MSA is a joke 'True mountain biking' - What makes Mont-Sainte-Anne legendary - Escape Collective
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I am inclined to say they have taken this too far. I ride XC and these courses are not something I would ever contemplate and certainly not on my XC bike. That said the current crop of XC riders are super talented. But that is a different discussion.
Agreed. I want races to be a fitness test, not a bike handling test and a lottery if your equipment is going to hold up. If half the field has to replace their brake pads afterwards, it is not fit for purpose.
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Disagree, I found it far more entertaining to watch than Unbound.
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I’m guessing they want to keep gravel worlds in europe to try to get euro pros interested. If they had gravel worlds in the US soon, i bet very few euro pros would show up and it would be basically the lifetime field.
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Nope, dont want super tech chunck nor a mtb course. What i do think they need is some more gravel and some downhills that people with great skill (eg Puck P) can make moves on. Racers make the race, but youve got to give them something to work with.
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My view is that it is better than Unbound. Walking 10km on unridable roads isn’t really a bike race.
Isn’t that what a gravel bike is designed for? A multi-terrain bike. Tactics and positioning were interesting.
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Isn’t part of the fun of gravel that there are a wide variety of courses that can suit a wide variety of riders and skills? We certainly have different types of riders winning road worlds
It’s easy to criticize the course this year, but you could criticize almost any course - be that unbound, the TdF, or Flanders
All the criticism feels like typical cycling elitism. Conditions x, y, and z aren’t met so this isn’t a real race/rider/tire/whatever
I would much prefer we focus our criticisms of the UCI on the safety issues plaguing the events than that their implementation of a new discipline isn’t up to whatever arbitrary ‘hardness’ gates we all have in our heads 
ETA: I’m just as guilty of cycling elitism as anyone, I hate it in myself but I still catch myself doing it
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