The first ever African event in the TREK UCI Gravel World Series takes place this Saturday in Prince Albert, in the Western Cape province (RSA) for a long 170km course with a mix of very long paved and unpaved sections.
More than 500 riders have signed up coming from 9 different countries all keen on qualifying for the UCI Gravel World Championships.
The course can be divided into 7 sectors with a first 47km long paved part before the first gravel section begins. The three gravel sections of the full course count 20, 30 and again 20km with in between some recovery on paved “tar” roads. Older riders can qualify on a 75km course starting halfway.
The main challenge of the day is the Swartberg pass, 1583m high and 28km of climbing, the last 10 on gravel with gradients up to 16%
Total elevation over the full course is 2900m, the mediofondo has 1700m of ascent.
