Gravel racing is now well established beyond all reasonable doubt, and this week is the buildup to the biggest gravel race on the calendar: Unbound Gravel 2025. As such, we have designated this week as 'gravel week' here at Cyclingnews, and will be giving priority to race and tech stories from the off-road world.
We've already spotted and covered several new bikes, as well as componentry, in the run-up to the race. Including what looks like a new Campagnolo gravel groupset and a new Factor gravel bike, the details of which are down below.
Anyone who tuned into our coverage of Unbound last year will have noticed that a once-small gravel race in a sleepy town in Kansas now attracts thousands of entrants. It's the same picture across all events, with the UK's Dirty Reiver being a fast sellout every year, The Traka attracting thousands of pros and amateurs alike to ride the hills around Girona, and the Lifetime Grand Prix series in the USA enticing pros from both road and mountain biking to switch up their profession.
Unbound will undoubtedly take a lot of the airtime, especially as this year there is a full, free livestream of the entire event. As it is a few days away, and I imagine you need an amuse-bouche, why not peruse our massive Traka tech gallery, from a race that is already being described as the Unbound of Europe.
This past weekend saw pro riders tackle Gravel Locos, a key tune-up event before Unbound. Karolina Migon, who also won The Traka 360, took the win in the Texas heat, likely making her the odds-on favourite in Kansas. Sadly, while some riders were making their final preparations, Dylan Johnson was sidelined after being hit by a driver while on a training ride.
The 200-mile edition of Unbound is the blue-riband event, not just of Unbound but of gravel racing as a whole, but recently we are seeing greater prominence of even longer events. The Traka, for example, runs at 360km (223 miles) or 560km (347 miles) for the adventure distance. Likewise, Unbound now has Unbound Gravel XL, which runs for 350 miles. It was something of a sideshow to the main event in recent years, but with last year's Unbound 200 winner, Lachlan Morton, lining up for Unbound XL, as well as former pros like Laurens ten Dam, it's sure to make a few more headlines than usual.
We will keep this page updated with all the latest gravelly news from the week, so be sure to check back in. It's looking like this year's event could see a return of the infamous 'peanut butter mud', which may produce all kinds of interesting tech hacks and tricks!
The stories
UCI Gravel World Series calendar 2025
| Date | Event | Location | Men's elite winner | Women's elite winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 13, 2024 | UEC European Gravel Championships | Asiago-Veneto, Italy | Martin Stošek | Sina Frei |
| October 27, 2024 | Gravelista | Seymour, Australia | Brendan Johnston | Talia Appleton |
| February 15, 2025 | Castellon Gravel Race | Castellon, Spain | Alejandro Valverde | Carolin Schiff |
| March 9, 2025 | Gravel Brazil | Camboriu, Brazil | Simon Pellaud | Maddy Nutt |
| March 23, 2025 | Turnhout Gravel | Turnhout, Belgium | Mads Würtz | Geerike Schreurs |
| March 29, 2025 | 114 Gravel Race | Elvas, Portugal | Matthew Holmes | Lucia Gonzalez Blanco |
| April 6, 2025 | Wörthersee Gravel Race | Velden am Wörthersee, Austria | Magnus Bak Klaris | Geerike Schreurs |
| April 20, 2025 | Monaco Gravel Race | Monaco, France | Mads Würtz | Morgan Aguirre |
| April 25, 2025 | Giro Sardegna Gravel | Siniscola, Italy | Tim Wollenberg | Debora Piana |
| April 26, 2025 | Highlands Gravel Classic | Fayetteville-Goshen, Arkansas, USA | Skyler Taylor | Crystal Anthony |
| April 27, 2025 | Paris to Ancaster | Paris, Ontario, Canada | Benjamin Perry | Devon Clarke |
| May 3, 2025 | The Ceder Gravel Race | Cederberg, South Africa | Felix Stehli | Zanri Rossouw |
| May 10, 2025 | The Devils Cardigan | Derby, Tasmania, Australia | Brendan Johnston | Talia Appleton |
| May 11, 2025 | Gravel Fondo Limburg | Valkenburg, Netherlands | Tim Wellens | Lorena Wiebes |
| May 17, 2025 | Seven | Nannup, WA, Australia | Mark O'Brien | Tiffany Cromwell |
| May 17, 2025 | The Gralloch | Gatehouse of Fleet, Scotland | Petr Vakoč | Tessa Neefjes |
| May 31, 2025 | 3RIDES Gravel Race | Aachen, Germany | ||
| June 7, 2025 | Gravel Adventure | Szklarska Poreba - Jakuszyce, Poland | ||
| June 14, 2025 | Gravel Challenge Blaavands Huk | Blaavands, Denmark | ||
| June 14, 2025 | Safari Gravel Race | Hell's Gate, Naivasha, Kenya | ||
| June 15, 2025 | Wish One Millau Grands Causses | Millau, France | ||
| June 21, 2025 | Eislek Gravel Luxembourg | Vianden, Luxembourg | ||
| June 28, 2025 | Gravel Suisse | Villars, Switzerland | ||
| July 6, 2025 | Hegau Gravel Festival | Singen, Germany | ||
| July 12, 2025 | Gravel One Fifty | Peize, Netherlands | ||
| August 16, 2025 | Gravel Grit 'n Grind | Halmstad, Sweden | ||
| August 23, 2025 | Monsterrando | Fubine, Italy | ||
| August 23, 2025 | Khomas100 | Windhoek, Namibia | ||
| August 30, 2025 | Houffa Gravel | Houffalize, Belgium | ||
| September 6-7, 2025 | Graean Cymru | Llyn Brenig, Wales | ||
| September 13, 2025 | Mammoth TUFF | Mammoth Lakes, California, USA | ||
| September 13, 2025 | 66 Degrés Sud - Le Gravel | Les Angles, France | ||
| September 20, 2025 | Sea Otter Europe Girona | Girona, Spain |
Life Time Grand Prix Series 2025 schedule
| Date | Event | Location | Distance | Women's winner | Men's winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 11 | Sea Otter Classic Gravel | Monterey, California | 90 miles | Haley Batten (Specialized Factory); top LTGP rider Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized-Off Road) | Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles-htSQD) |
| May 31 | Life Time Unbound Gravel 200 | Emporia, Kansas | 200 miles | ||
| August 9 | Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB | Leadville, Colorado | 100 miles | ||
| September 13 | Life Time Chequamegon MTB Festival | Cable, Wisconsin | 40 miles | ||
| October 12 | Life Time Little Sugar MTB | Bentonville, Arkansas | 62 miles | ||
| October 18 | Life Time Big Sugar Gravel | Bentonville, Arkansas | 100 miles |
