The seventh qualifier event in the Trek UCI Gravel World Series this weekend in Houffalize (BEL) will host a very large peloton with 1200 riders representing 19 different nationalities. It will be the biggest event in the new UCI Gravel Series so far.
The race in the offroad mecca of Belgium who hosted many mountain bike events in the past will be challenging with a 110km course starting up the steep Rue du Saint Roch climb (1km at 10.8% average with a peak in the beginning up to 16%).
The course then winds through the many forest and gravel roads surrounding the city for a total of 1560m of elevation. Finish is back in the city centre.
Men over 60 and women over 50 have a shorter 68km qualifier distance which uses the same first half as the long distance to take a shortcut just before the finish. The 68km has 970m of elevation.
Besides the home country, we also see riders from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Luxemburg, Great Britain, USA, Poland, South Africa, Chile, Australia, Italy, Ukraine, Andorra, Spain, Norway, New Zealand and Ireland at the start.
