2026 UEC Gravel European Championships
Date
Sunday 30.08.2026Distances
94 - 141 kmCity
Houffalize
Country
BelgiumThe 2026 UEC European Gravel Championships will take place in Houffa, location of the yearly Houffa Gravel since 2021 and organized by the team running the 2024 and 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships.
Course
The 48km is an update from last year’s course with a steep climb in the start (Côte de Saint Roch – 1km at 11.2% – steepest part 16%) followed by a route which is always going up and down. The highest point on course is the northern turning point. The second half coming back to town is totally new and challenging with some tricky downhills and short steep climbs.
Finish will be located after a long uphills sprint, the same spot where the start is located in all these years.
- 3 laps : elite, men 19-59, women 19-49 (144km)
- 2 laps : men 60-74, women 50-64 (96km)
- 1 lap : men 75+, women 65+ (48km)
700m of elevation per lap.
Houffalize
The city of Houffalize in the South Eastern part of Belgium is located next to Luxemburg and has just over 5000 inhabitants. It is considered as the capital city of mountainbike in Belgium but has also nice courses for gravel riding and racing.
The picturesque center is located in a small valley next to the Ourthe river and also hosts the first climb of the yearly Liège Bastogne Liège classic with the steep Rue Saint Roch and often also hosts the finish of the mountain stage in the Benelux World Tour stage race.
In the second world war, the battle of the Bulge, one of the very decisive moments at the end of the war was fought in Houffalize and surrounding villages. A Panther tank monument has been installed in the city center to remember this period. It’s here that generals Patton and Montgomery met to start their counter attack against German forces in January 1945.
Houffalize is also the hometown of the La Chouffe Beer with its brewery in the small neighbouring town of Achouffe.
