Aussies ready for Gravel Worlds as WorldTour pros join gravel specialists in fight for rainbows

WorldTour pros, gravel specialists, and  world champions of cyclo-cross, mountain bike and road are among those set to do battle in Flanders, Belgium this weekend for 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships.

With a field of multi-discipline hitters, and a course that has been likened to a Belgian Classics race, this year’s world championships are set to make for electric and unpredictable racing.

There will be a bit of everything - cobbles, farm tracks, fast forest gravel, bike paths and a touch of urban – as the elite women tackle 135km and the elite men race 181km from Halle to Leuven.

The ARA Australian Cycling Team brings one of its strongest women’s teams to this year’s race but will be up against the likes of back-to-back road world champion Lotte Kopecky (BEL), multiple road and cyclo-cross world champion Marianne Vos (NED), and mountain bike and U23 road world champion Puck Pieterse (NED).

Australia carries strong hopes with seasoned gravel campaigner and Women’s WorldTour rider Tiffany Cromwell lining up for her third gravel world championships.

Cromwell, who combines skills as a gravel specialist and years of experience on the road, has podiumed at multiple UCI Gravel World Series races this year and will be looking to improve on her previous results - 6th in 2022 and 10th in 2023.

The South Australian is fresh from Road Worlds in Zurich last weekend, where she supported her Aussie teammates Neve Bradbury, who won U23 silver, and Sarah Gigante, who are both making their gravel world championships debut as wild card entries.

2022 road national champion Nicole Frain will also make her debut, having turned her attention to more gravel racing this year with some promising results including two podiums at UCI Gravel World Series races.

While current gravel national champion Courtney Sherwell is racing in her second world championships in as many months, having finished 18^th at the UCI Marathon Mountain Bike World Championships in the USA.

In the men elite race, it will be hard to get past Dutch powerhouse Mathieu van der Poel (NED). But Australia is bringing a nine-man team, including a mix of debutants and seasoned campaigners, to Belgium for the challenge.

Gravel specialists Freddy Ovett and Nathan Haas will race their third Gravel World Championships, with 2023 gravel national champion Connor Sens and Western Australia’s Matthew Shepherd returning for their second world champs.

What they said

Tiffany Cromwell said: “For sure the goal or the dream is to win or finish on the podium. This race has been a big target for me this season. The course is similar to that of what we raced at the European Championships last year, and I was able to win that race even against some of the best names in cycling. It has given me confidence that the course can suit my strengths. It definitely suits me more than last years course and is probably the most suited to me of the next few years too.

“Obviously to be able to pull off a podium or a win I need to have a perfect race and a touch of luck. But I’m motivated to give it my all, try to race a smart race, use my gravel experience combined with my road experience and see what I can do against this stacked field.

Tiffany Cromwell finished 10th last year in the Gravel World Championships.

“We have one of the biggest ever elite women’s fields lining up for a gravel race with many big names from other disciplines such as Road, CX and MTB. It’s going to be a super challenging race with a bit of a road feeling unfortunately.

How much team dynamics will play into the race vs it being more one on one like in most gravel races is hard to tell right now. And how the riders from other disciplines will race compared to the gravel specialists will also be an interesting dynamic. Positioning will be key and I hope it’s selective quite early to thin out the bunch and then can play from there. I feel it will either be solo, a breakaway or a small bunch sprint.” 

How to watch

Australian fans can watch the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships live on SBS On Demand.

ARA Australian Cycling Team

Elite Women

·      Neve Bradbury (St Kilda Cycling Club)

·      Tiffany Cromwell (Norwood Cycling Club)

·      Nicole Frain (Hobart Wheelers Dirt Devils)

·      Sarah Gigante (Brunswick Cycling Club)

·      Brianna Samuhel (Parklife Cycling Club)

·      Courtney Sherwell (Bendigo Mountain Bike Club)

Elite Men

·      Laurens Black (ADF Cycling Club)

·      Tom Chester (Canberra Cycling Club)

·      Nathan Haas (Vikings Cycling Club)

·      Kobe Henderson (Bendigo & District Cycling Club)

·      Freddy Ovett (Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club)

·      Connor Sens (Bendigo & District Cycling Club)

·      Matthew Shepherd (Perth MTB Club)

·      Ben Spenceley (Lidcombe Auburn Cycle Club)

·      Oliver Stenning (Sunshine Coast Cycling Club)

Schedule

Saturday, October 5

Women Elite (135km)12:00pm CEST / 8:00pm AEST

Sunday, October 6

Men Elite (181km)12:00pm CEST / 9:00pm AEST