"Gravel has a bright future" - UCI President optimistic on future of upcoming discipline

The opening UCI Gravel World Championships this weekend has seen many eyes turned into the discipline, as a mix of road riders, gravel specialists and others raced along the unpaved roads of Veneto in Italy, where Gianni Vermeersch took the rainbow jersey.

“I think it was important to be here. You can feel that the spirit or atmosphere is different,” UCI President David Lappartient said on sight. “Gravel has a bright future. At the UCI we’ve been able to name the hosts for the Gravel World Championships until 2027. There’s lots of interest from different continents."

“We can feel that it’s something really different and even the top riders want to be here. Gravel is booming and it's key for the bike industry and for the UCI," he argued. The discipline has grown within the USA over the last few years, and it has been taken on professionally elsewhere now too.

"As an international federation, we should be connected to the reality of our sport. Sometimes big federations are like ships and are difficult to turn. We know that there are a lot of gravel events outside of the Federation because it’s a kind of ‘free’ discipline. We don't want to lose that spirit but we can provide a World Championships title,” he added, of an event which has proven successful.

“The rainbow jersey is an icon for all the riders and to win the jersey is also recognition for gravel. We don’t want to be strict, that’s why we mix amateur and pro riders in the same event. That's the same as in the Gran Fondo series and in Marathon mountain biking, where you can have the top riders in the world but also you and me," he concluded.

With the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan taking to the start, and Tadej Pogacar showing interest over the discipline, it is quickly visible how the most popular riders in the peloton are also convinced of it's future. With the creation of a UCI Gravel Series, the space for internationalization and evolution is wider.