UCI Gravel World Champs 2024 ***Possible SPOILERS***

No_Ta_Doctor
No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655
edited October 4 in Pro race

No idea if anyone's got much interest in this, but as it seems to offer a chance to see a few road cyclists and retirees then may as well have a thread for it. Hello Daniel Oss and Greg van Avermaet! No Valverde though, in a blow for fans of hair replacement therapy - despite a silver in this year's Spanish gravel champs he wasn't picked.

It will also feature such notable cyclocross stars as Eli Iserbyt and MvdP, as well as F1 driver Valtteri Bottas

The women's race will feature Weibes, Kopecky, Pieterse, Norsgaard and a woman who has a palmares so extensive it needs an overview table:


Not sure how to go about actually watching this year, doesn't appear to be on Eurosport/Max/Discovery (whatever the branding is in your region) as far as I can see

EDIT: Seems Eurosport/Max/Discovery do have some rights to it, but not exclusive and not showing live in DK as TV2 have it. Check your providers. Shamefully it doesn't look like the women's race is broadcast on either for DK.

Women elite is Saturday, men elite Sunday

Startlists for both here (PDF):

https://gravelchampionshipsflanders.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/207/2024/10/wkgravel-2024-deelnemers.pdf

Event site is here:


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Comments

  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,553

    Bottas isn't in the Elite race, he'll be racing in the 35-39 age category.

  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655

    Yeah, my mistake, I just searched the pdf and found him, didn't realise it had all the cats in it

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  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,984
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,198

    Ah, the UCI's version of Gravel......


    Having seen Cam Mason's video of some of the recce, it's gravel-lite. Not very hilly, and not particularly technical - so the big engines of the WT/WWT road stars will likely dominate.

    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,438

    I did the Graean Cymru race a couple of weeks ago which was a qualifier for the gravel worlds.

    The standard was pretty high.

    68 miles/2000m ascent. Ben and Connor Swift won in 3:20. My AG was won in 3:50. I was bringing up the rear in 5:13 😫😂

  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,233

    Valtteri Bottas is partnered with Tiffany Cromwell. I saw both of them in last year's local to me Gralloch event, a round of the Worlds. Tiffany was leading the women's event by a couple of minutes about an hour and a bit into the race. Not so sure she'll be leading the likes of The Puck by so much... Bottas looked like he was enjoying his day out on the bike.

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655

    So it turns out it's specifically Denmark that's stuffed for watching the women's race live (at least in Europe).

    It's available on Eurosport/Discovery/Max for most of Europe, and is also on the UCI Youtube for territories where nobody bought the rights. TV2 seem to have bought the local rights here but aren't broadcasting it, so nobody else can and we're geoblocked on Youtube.

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  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,475

    That sucks! 🤮

    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655
    edited October 5

    Tbh I was going to the pub to watch football anyway, but it's pretty crap.

    Thought I'd watch the women's Giro dell'Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite instead before that, but Eurosport/Discovery/Max aren't streaming it, only the men's race.

    EDIT: the issue in Italy is apparently weather - they wouldn't let the helicopters fly for the women's race, though this is apparently not thought to be an issue for the men's edition

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  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,573

    One of our local riders is riding the men's. Pretty sure he's in 50-54 or 55-59.

  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,573

    So Marianne Vos beats Kopecy in the sprint for yet another rainbow jersey!

  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655
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  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655
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  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655

    I maen, if I was Vos I'd be straight on the mountain bike, because that would be some set

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  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    edited October 6

    UCI gravel parcours is like the route you used to cycle to school on as a kid

    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908

    Why are the Belgians marking each other from behind

    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908

    Florian should sit on,

    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655

    Pretty sure Blackstock Road was always tarmacked tbh 😉

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  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908

    MvdP thumps the cranks and that was that

    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,655

    Couldn't quite persuade it to run from Finsbury Park to Angel, so not to school 😉

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  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,198

    She's already tried, and at World Cup level was unsuccessful. And now the courses are far harder, and more technical - which is were she tended to struggle. You need more than a big engine to succeed, as the riders are so good technically....not many CX riders can transition, even Nys struggled in MTB.

    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."