Back in 2021, when the UCI announced they were going be running a worldwide gravel series, it generated a lot of interest and raised quite a few eyebrows. How would the UCI manage a somewhat alternative cycling genre like gravel riding and get it to fit into a tightly regulated racing system? Would they have rules banning danglemugs, standardising the pattern on checked lumberjack shirts and limiting selfie stops to only one per hour? Or would the arrival of some of the world's best road riders onto the scene propel the gravel world into the future?

Fast forward to the start of 2023 and we've invited Erwin Vervecken back on the show to tell us how the first year went and to give us an overview of what the UCI's gravel racing plans are for 2023 and beyond.