Funding complications, absent greats and tactical quandaries – Gravel World Championships talking points

The third edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships is set to play out in Belgium, with a Classics-style course due to decide the competition for the rainbow jerseys on Saturday October 5 and Sunday October 6.

There are plenty of WorldTour road professionals joining the riders who make more regular gravel appearances, and overall numbers on the start line  areballooning. A more organised lead-up is surely helping the steady rise in momentum behind what is now a far more well-established event.

The chaos and uncertainty of the first two editions look to be a thing of the past. Courses have been announced well ahead of time, firm broadcast details are in place for both the women’s and men’s races and there is a well-laid-out path ahead for the racing for many years to come.

Gravel is still, however, a relatively new and evolving UCI discipline, with wrinkles to iron out and growing pains to grapple with  – and that keeps discussion swirling. We take a closer look at five of the key talking points that are drawing attention ahead of the riders lining up in Halle this weekend.

Why some gravel greats aren’t lining up