The women will kick off the Gravel World Championships in Nannup on Saturday 10 October, one day before the men. The race starts at 10.10 am local time, which is 4.10 am in Germany. The finish is expected at around 8.10 am CEST. It is the first World Championships to be held outside Europe, and Defending champion Lorena Wiebes is not on the start list.
The Elite Women’s Race
The women will ride the medium course, covering 125.6 kilometres and 3,179 metres of elevation gain, 84 per cent of which is on gravel. It is the shortest women’s World Championship distance, but with almost three times as much elevation gain as last year in the Netherlands, where it was only 1,190 metres. The course is the same as that of the Seven Gravel Race in May. After nine kilometres of undulating tarmac and a flat opening section, the Brockman (2.4 km, 8.2 per cent) comes early on, followed later by the Ellis Creek (2 km, 9.1 per cent). Only the men will ride the additional loop via Arcadia.
The final stage takes the riders on a 24.5-kilometre loop around Nannup. It begins with a 2.4-kilometre climb, averaging 4.8 per cent and becoming significantly steeper in the final kilometre. The final challenge is Lindsay Rd (2.36 km, 2.6 per cent), the summit of which lies just 3.5 kilometres from the finish. After that, the route descends for around one kilometre and then runs on flat ground along a wide tarmac road to the finish.
Who will take the win at the Gravel World Championships?
Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Argentina) is considered the favourite. The three-time overall winner of the Life Time Grand Prix won the Unbound 200 and The Traka 200 in 2026 and has been aiming for this World Championship for almost a year. She has opted not to compete in the Grand Prix in Nannup. As she has accumulated few UCI points, she will start well down the field, but believes she has a good chance of moving up the ranks. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) is the 2024 world champion and last year’s runner-up. Her season has been mixed so far, but she brings a wealth of experience on gravel and in race situations, and she knows the area from previous races. If she reaches the final in a small group, she will be hard to beat.
From a German perspective, all eyes will be on Rosa Klöser at the Gravel World Championships. She won The Traka 360 and the Pyrénées Catalanes Gravel Tour in 2026 and finished second at the Lauf Gravel Worlds. She will be supported by Unbound winners Carolin Schiff, Romy Kasper, Nele Laing and Jade Treffeisen. Alongside Vos, the Dutch rider Geerike Schreurs will also be on the start line; she is the overall winner of the Gravel Earth Series, though she is also under contract as a team-mate of Villafañes at Specialized Off-Road. Joining them is the home team, featuring Tiffany Cromwell – who has already won the Seven in 2023, 2025 and 2026 – and Oceania champion Nicole Frain.
Leon Weidner
Editor
