It's hard to imagine a more successful gravel season than Mads Würtz Schmidt has already had in 2026, with the Danish rider sweeping up The Traka 360 and Unbound 200, but there is one more title that he is focussing on adding to that list – world champion.
Not surprisingly, after the season start Würtz Schmidt had, a short mid-year break was on the cards, but now the rebuild has begun with that very clear target in mind.
"From when I start training, again it's full focus on World Championships," said Würtz Schmidt in a recently released Specialized podcast which was recorded earlier this year. "From there I have three and a half months where I can rebuild."
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The rider who has just been named as a confirmed starter for the rainbow jersey race on October 11 has already tried his hand at a World Championships since he shifted his focus from the road to gravel, after finding himself without a contract renewal on the tarmac. Still, the 2025 rainbow jersey race in the Netherlands, where he may have been looking for a bit of redemption as he lined up with many of his former road foes, didn't go to plan.
"I was like 'I'm going to show these guys I can still ride a bike' then I had a flat and a side cut, and I couldn't even finish the race because it kept leaking and I couldn't fix it," said Würtz Schmidt. "So now there is another chance."
The Gravel World Championships has, since starting in 2022, been largely dominated by road riders, with many key North American specialists skipping the race – top riders from other disciplines on the tarmac are also able to secure front-of-the-grid starting positions by virtue of their UCI points accumulated outside gravel, with 50% transferred over. Gravel riders rely on points from UCI Gravel World Series events, while top results at many of the most prestigious events in the discipline, such as The Traka and Unbound, along with the majority of the top-level US-based gravel calendar, count for nothing.
Races also haven't always been overly heavy on gravel, though that has built from around 50% unpaved surfaces in the opening years and is now heading toward a not-seen-before level of above 80% at the October 10-11 event in Western Australia's Nannup. The location of this first title race outside Europe will also perhaps alter the field, as it's not a short trip that can easily be worked into an otherwise road-focussed calendar.
"I think it's a very good opportunity when it's in Australia. I hope we will see a peloton of mainly gravel riders," said Würtz Schmidt. "I think a World Championships with an Unbound peloton would be pretty special, so I hope the guys will come over and see the opportunity that it is to have a really cool, actual Gravel World Championships."
There are, however, some other targets along the way, with the one Würtz Schmidt is facing next an attempted title defence at the UEC Gravel European Championships on Sunday, August 30.
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