After a five-week break, the UCI Gravel World Series is back with its final eight races leading up to the world championships. The first of these is in Sweden, where riders will tackle a hilly course in the country’s beautiful backcountry.
This Swedish event is the only stage race in the series, including a 19km time trial on Friday, the UCI qualifier race on Saturday, and a 96km gravel race on Sunday. All three races count toward the overall classification.
The main event on Saturday, the qualifier, begins and ends at the Wapnö farms in Halmstad. Most categories will race a challenging 146km course, while men over 60 and women over 50 will follow a shorter 88km route.
Several notable riders are competing, including French former Tour de France rider Romain Bardet, who is beginning his final preparations for the gravel world championships here. He will compete against several Dutch gravel specialists. In the women’s race, Australian Tiffany Cromwell, Dutch rider Femke Markus, and Danish rider Annika Langvad are all set to participate.
700 riders from 37 different countries have signed up for the race.
