Alpine gravel riding will get its moment in the spotlight this summer as the UCI Gravel World Series is heading to Switzerland. With the UCI world HQ practically on the doorstep, choosing the mountain resort of Villars to host the event seems like a perfect choice. To find out more details about the event, read on....
With views like this promised as the backdrop to the newly launched UCI Gravel Suisse event, it's no surprise that the organisers picked the alpine resort of Villars for the first round of the UCI Gravel World Series to visit Switzerland. Since its launch back in 2022, the UCI Gravel World Series has visited locations as diverse as South Africa, Denmark, Australia and the UK, but until now, there hasn't been an event held in the UCI's home country.
The UCI Gravel Suisse event promises "alpine gravel and a high "vertical drop per km" ratio, making the UCI Gravel Suisse a unique round of the UCI Gravel World Series calendar."
Saturday July 6th will see the UCI gravel train rolling into Villars and riders will be offered the choice of three courses, all of which promise a fantastic Alpine backdrop.
- Discovery loop - 33 km with 900m of climbing
- Small loop - Described as the "accessible alpine route" - 61km with 1800m of climbing
- Big loop - Described as "the most alpine loop in the UCI gravel series"- 110km with 2600m of climbing
Participants taking part in the Small Loop or Big Loop events will be able to qualify for their respective age-group categories at the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships. Women aged 50 or over and Men aged 60 or over will be eligible as Small Loop participants. Elite racers, non-elite women aged between 19-49 and non-elite men aged between 19-59 will be eligible to qualify in the Big Loop. For all age groups/categories, you will need to finish in the top 25% in order to qualify for entry into the World Gravel Championships.
As an alpine event, riders can expect some incredible scenery and plenty of challenging riding including singletrack, gravel roads, farm tracks and tiny paved mountain roads. Riders taking on the big loop will be faced with a 15 km long climb to reach the finish line, so it would be worth you bringing your climbing legs with you!
If you'd like to find out more about the event, head over to their website now.
For the road riders amongst us, if you'd like to make a full weekend out of it, you could also consider signing up for the UCI Granfondo Switzerland which is being held at the same location on Sunday 7th July
All images courtesy of Alain Rumpf