Zuid-Limburg steps in to replace Nice as the host of 2025 Gravel World Championships

The UCI has announced today that the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships, originally set to be hosted in Nice, France on 18 and 19 October, will ultimately take place in the Zuid-Limburg region of the Netherlands instead on 11 and 12 October. It's exciting news for the Dutch cycling fans with also the 2026 Cyclocross World Championships scheduled in the region just few months later.

The 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships will be the fourth staging of the event after two editions in Italy – Veneto (2022) and the Province of Treviso-Veneto (2023) – followed by last year’s event in Flanders (Forest of Brabant) Belgium. Golazo will be once again tasked with the mission of organizing the event on behalf of UCI.

"I’m delighted that the South-Limburg region, in the province of Limburg, will be involved in the organisation of the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships and would like to thank them for submitting their bid after the city of Nice withdrew," said UCI President David Lappartient in press announcement.

"By hosting the UCI Gravel World Championships, the province of Limburg has further enhanced its standing as a leading cycling region at international level, while contributing to the development of gravel, a discipline that is still quite new and has considerable potential for growth," he said.

For his part, Wilbert Lek, Managing Director Golazo Events Netherlands, had this to say: "With our know-how in gravel events worldwide, we’re pleased to bring major international cycling to the Netherlands as the go-to country for cycling events – such as the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships in Zuid-Limburg and later the 2026 UEC Cyclo-cross European Championships in Zeddam."

Maurice Leeser, President and Director of the Dutch Cycling Federation KNWU, was no less pleased, saying: "This presents a unique opportunity to experience the breathtaking beauty of the Limburg landscape, while at the same time offering an exciting and challenging World Championships for both men and women riders."