True grit specialists primed to challenge the run of road pro rainbow jerseys – Analysing the Gravel World Championships contenders

The 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships casts a spotlight on Western Australia this weekend, the first time the race for rainbows has ventured outside Europe. The rugged territory around Nannup is quite opposite, geographically and literally, of Classics-style races held across four previous editions.

There was a buzz among the dedicated off-road riders when organisers announced a course that would be dictated by wide, hard-paced dirt roads and cross rugged forests. Maybe this was the year most suited to a gravel rider, rather than another ride for WorldTour pros. The table was set, now who would commit to long-distance travel to enjoy the feast?

The cost and time to travel to Western Australia has kept some away this year and the quantity of riders will be lower this year in the elite fields but that also means that those who are making the trip are doing so with intent, rather than making a last minute decision to work it into their schedule for a day.

There's also nearly triple the amount of climbing as compared to last year in the Netherlands, the women's 125.5km contest going from 1,190 metres of elevation gain to 3,179 metres. The elite men will cover 144km with a similar bump in climbing that now totals 3,713 metres. And don't forget about the technical descents.

However, there is no lack of quality for the elite fields, most of the riders well versed in the unpredictable off-road races provided by UCI Gravel World Series, Gravel Earth Series and Life Time Grand Prix, among the leading collectives.

Two of the top riders from the Life Time Grand Prix return to the Worlds for gravel - Keegan Swenson (USA) and Sofia Gomez Villafane (Argentina) - having passed on races in Belgium and the Netherlands the last two years. Mountain bike and gravel specialist Matt Beers (South Africa) returns for the first time since 2022. The overall winners of the Gravel Earth Series are also in the lineups, Geerike Schreurs for the Netherlands, and Mads Wurtz Schmidt (Denmark).

Also back in action are last year's winner Florian Vermeersch (Belgium), and 2024 gravel world champion Marianne Vos (Netherlands), both who have been on the podium multiple times.

The home charge of six Australian women will include Oceania gravel champion Nicole Frain and gravel national champion Tiffany Cromwell, kicking up the gravel on Saturday morning. There are 11 Aussie men for their Sunday race, led by gravel national champion Cameron Scott, and 2025 national champion and SEVEN winner Mark O'Brien.

Here's a look at some of the versatile riders who are expected to make the right moves and turn the dirt roads into gold.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Argentina)

From the moment the name Sofia Gomez Villafañe popped up as a confirmed starter, it was hard to imagine that anyone who would enter could knock her far from the top of the favourites list. It's not that she has a stunning history at this event specifically – although she did finish a more-than-respectable 12th at the first edition in 2022 and came 34th when she last raced in 2023 – but her record outside the UCI-sanctioned domain is something to behold. The Argentinian-born rider has won Unbound Gravel 200 and The Traka 200 twice and claimed the Life Time Grand Prix series three times. It took more than half a season for her gravel winning streak to be disrupted this season.

It's understandable, however, that the UCI Gravel World Championships hasn't been high on her priority list in recent years between a Life Time Grand Prix Series clash, terrain that certainly didn't play into her hands, and a field packed with road riders that would be positioned near the front of the grid. Villafañe's haul of non-UCI wins may be heavy in gravel prestige but only gave her minimal UCI points and therefore poor positioning. Still, she did gather 200 points this year some from her win at Castellón, which is part of the UCI Gravel World Series.

Even with only a small number of points to soften the start situation it looks to be a World Gravel Championships that will play to the strengths of the top gravel specialists, with more gravel than ever before and an unrelenting series of challenging climbs. She may not start at the front of the field, but there is every chance in Nannup that is where she will end up. (SG)

Marianne Vos (Netherlands)

A former champion on the start line of a World Championship always deserves respect, but that goes tenfold for one named Marianne Vos.

With 13 other world titles to her name, a second at this event last year along with her win in 2024, there is no question that the Dutch rider heads to the start line in Western Australia with a considerable claim on a favourite slot. What's more, her talent across the disciplines is a real asset when it comes to the large gravel World Championships fields, where road tactics can come into play as well as the skills to handle the sometimes tricky terrain. Vos has both the bike-handling skills, knowledge, experience and comfort in the field to conserve energy when she needs it most. What's more, she is one of the few international riders that will also be in familiar territory, having once been a regular at the Tour of Margaret River which ran in the area.

Add to that the unrelentingly competitive nature of the Dutch superstar in the discipline, and you can be sure she is hankering for a win after a season where they have been thin on the ground. If she comes to the finish line in a reduced group, she'll be hard to beat so her rivals are bound to work hard to drop her on the climbs before. (SG)

Nicole Frain (Australia)

Since totally committing to gravel at the start of last season, Nicole Frain has made clear just how capable she is in the off-road discipline. The 2022 Australian road champion has combined her skills developed in the peloton with an ability to ride in the 'grey zone' and keep pushing hard through the race to find ample success. In fact she finished at the very top of the UCI Gravel World Series overall in 2025 and this year has captured the Oceania Championships and four UCI Gravel World Series race wins. She was 26th in the Gravel World Championships last year but it wasn't really a course that played to her strengths.

This year's addition of more gravel and climbing will suit Frain, however the extent of it could push her to the limits of her ascending abilities. Still, not surprisingly – given it is a home World Championships for Frain – she has put a target on the event and has been tracking along well in training towards it, despite a nasty bout of the flu along the way. Plus she is well aware of what she is in for having carved out the time to do a course reconnaissance earlier this year.

Her road background works in her favour to help her manage the ebb and flow of the more peloton-driven dynamic that is usually surfaces more heavily at the race than many other gravel events, but despite that her emphasis on developing the technical skills and gravel focus will give her another advantage. On top of that, she will be lining up right near the front, given she's sitting just one spot away from the top of the UCI Gravel World Series standings. (SG)

Rosa Klöser (Germany)

One of the most versatile riders among elite women in Nannup is Rosa Klöser. The Canyon-SRAM WorldTour road rider competed at the Tour de France Femmes this year, supporting runner-up Kasia Niewiadoma, and framed the road stage race with gravel wins at The Traka 360 and Sea Otter Europe. Her lead into her fourth Gravel World Championships saw her win a climbing-heavy Pyrénées Catalanes Gravel Tour, and outdistance runner-up Nicole Frain by 15 minutes.

She has competed in three Unbound Gravel 200 races and finished fifth or better, with the victory in 2024. This year she earned points on a debut in the invitation-only Life Time Grand Prix. However, she failed to finish Leadville Trail 100 MTB in August, riding in fifth position when she flatted with 14km to go and eight plugs later could not continue. She pulled out of the Grand Prix knowing that she could not compete at other races.

Germany brings a strong squad to Australia, with proven gravel riders Romy Kasper, Nele Laing, Jade Treffeisen and another Unbound Gravel 200 winner, Carolin Schiff, alongside the 30-year-old Canyon rider. If the squad can form an alliance and work for an in-form Klöser, then she has a good chance for redemption ride in Nannup to heal any Grand Prix wounds. (JT)

Geerike Schreurs (Netherlands)

'Gee' Schreurs has had her most successful season yet in off-road racing in 2026, winning a trio of Gravel Earth Series events for the series overall title. She also rode to a second career win at the Gralloch and took hard-fought podiums at Unbound Gravel 200 and The Traka 360. She has the endurance and power to conquer the Nannup course with more than 3,000 metres of climbing, nearly triple last year's race, but will she be allowed the freedom to do so?

The tall Dutch rider competes on the powerhouse Specialized Off-road squad, and has often supported her teammate Sofia Gomez Villafañe when the two lined up together, notably at The Mid South and Unbound 200 where they went one-two, Schreurs runner-up both times. They switched roles at Lauf Gravel Worlds where Schreurs earned the win and Villafane took fourth.

While Villafañe is the only representative for Argentina on Saturday for elite women, it probably it might be a little tricky for Schreurs to ride for a trade teammate while in Dutch orange. The very capable Schreurs is a threat in her own right among the seven-rider Dutch squad, but the stacked team may be out to give Marianne Vos a second gravel World title. Then again, racing in the Netherlands last year the home team landed 12 riders in the top 20, including Schreurs, and there was no organised support that led Vos and eventual winner Lorena Wiebes catching, and passing a breakaway ride of teammate Shirin Van Anrooij. Look for Schreurs to be at the front of the race in any regard, and land on the podium. (JT)

Florian Vermeersch (Belgium)

Look over the podiums of the last three years at the UCI Gravel World Championships and there is one name you will see a lot of, and that's Florian Vermeersch. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider hasn't spent a lot of time on the gravel, with road commitments coming first, but he has certainty made his mark when lining up at the rainbow jersey race right from 2023 when he came second on debut. It was a position he then repeated in 2024, continuing a pattern for the rider that had developed on the road of being up there on big target events, like Paris-Roubaix where he came second in 2021, but never quite having the fortune to have his powerful efforts end in a victory celebration.

That, however, all changed in 2025 in the Netherlands with a solo effort of about 20km that left him claiming a world title. That means Vermeersch will line up as both the defending champion and also as the rider who has been the most regular visitor to the elite men's podium at the race, however there is no doubt he'll be facing a different style of challenge this October, with more gravel, more climbing and more travel plus a strong field to contend with when he gets there. "It would be awesome to be the first two-time winner but I'm aware that it’s not going to be easy," acknowledged Vermeersch when his attendance was announced.

However, with the number 1 on his back and two runner-up spots as well he has proven that he is a rider not to be underestimated when he gets a chance to race for his own results. Indeed, he has already visited the lower steps of the podium at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Saxo Classic and the Tour of Britain so far this year, and he is bound to do whatever he can to keep his Gravel World Championships podium run rolling too. (SG)

Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark)

Mads Würtz Schmidt has already delivered a staggering list of results in 2026. The former road professional has swept up the title at Europe's most prestigious gravel event, The Traka 360, taken the sought-after Unbound 200 title and also recently added the European Champions jersey to the list, for a second year running, and also wrapped up victory at the Gravel Earth Series.

At this point there is only one more result that could add any real lustre to the trophy case and that's the gold medal at the UCI Gravel World Championships.

The Danish rider hasn't had the best experience at the event so far, with a flat tyre and side cut ruining his race. This year, however, the event has been a focus for the second half of the season, with Würtz Schmidt seeing the Australian event as a key opportunity. He certainly has shown what a formidable foe he is this season, and its hard to go past him as a key favourite even in a field with a number of road ring ins.

However, it will be interesting to see where he is on the start grid and whether that works against him, as while his European Championships delivers UCI points, Unbound 200 and The Traka are both outside the UCI domain so they may be high on prestige but count for nothing when it comes to points. Additionally, at The Traka and Unbound Würtz Schmidt benefited from being part of top gravel team, Specialized-Off Road, who took advantage of their strong trio with Keegan Swenson and Matt Beers, but – in theory at least – they will all be racing for their separate countries at the Gravel World Championships. (SG)

Keegan Swenson (United States)

It's been three years since Keegan Swenson last competed at the UCI Gravel World Championships, where he finished fifth in Italy. Since then, Cobe Freeburn has been the only US men's elite rider to crack the top 55. Swenson brings strength and swagger to Team USA as he is a dominant force across any off-road race, from six consecutive wins at Leadville Trail 100 MTB to four victories at SBT GRVL, plus a win and three other top 10s at Unbound Gravel 200, all climbing-heavy courses in the US. This past year won his first rainbow stripes in Switzerland as the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champion.

The first half of 2026 was delayed by an out-of-competition crash where he suffered a fractured pelvis, but he returned to form with podiums at Sea Otter Classic Gravel, Lauf Gravel Worlds, and the win at SBT GRVL. The Utah native was again the top US finisher at MTB Marathon Worlds, but this time seventh. His effort in the Italian Dolomites provided the only UCI points, as he focused on the US-based Life Time Grand Prix events, where he is at the top of the leaderboard and looking for a fourth title in five years.

With a wildcard entry from Team USA, Swenson has confirmed he will take the start in Nannup by squeezing in the travel between rounds of the Grand Prix. Like a few others, he'll have to miss Little Sugar MTB on October 11, but he'll use that as his one throwaway race in the series. The wide roads with 80% mix of dirt, loose rocks and clay combined with relentless climbing of 3,713 metres of elevation gain are similar to US courses, sure to reward an endurance specialist like Swenson. (JT)

Matt Beers (South Africa)

Matt Beers lined up at the very first edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships, but like a large proportion of the gravel world that regularly races in the traditional stronghold of the US, he has been absent since. This, however, is an edition that is hard to pass up for a number of the big names, with a course that plays to the strengths of the discipline specialists and a location that makes it harder for the strong road nations to swamp the front of the grid with a large contingent that can effectively control the race. The South African has won Cape Epic four times, finished second at Unbound this year, won Big Sugar, Belgian Waffle Ride California and Lauf Gravel Worlds last year, plus has been on the podium of The Traka the past two years, in the 200 and 360.

Beers is the type of rider who can hold his own on the climbs, push powerfully in a break and also deliver a solid sprint at the end of it, with a good example being his winning effort against Keegan Swenson at the long-running and unofficial Gravel Worlds last year. They are all skills that could be put to good use on the gravel-heavy course from Nannup, which for the UCI Gravel World Series event this year split the field early. (SG)

Lukas Pöstlberger (Austria)

There were a long list of riders who we went back and forth on for this fifth and final spot in the men's elite contenders list but in the end it was hard to go past Lukas Pöstlberger. The former road professional, with a Giro d'Italia stage win to his name, has really hit his straps on the gravel this year. He has won a UCI Gravel World Series race, The Gralloch, reclaimed his Austrian Champion's title and celebrated on the line of Europe's biggest gravel event, The Traka.

The Traka 200 victory was hard to forget, a tight and well played battle to the line, which he charged toward with Braydn Lange (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) and the Buff BH duo of Martin Stošek and Wout Alleman chasing as well as having MTB legend Nino Schurter not far behind.

That win has offered clear proof of what he is capable of, and he's also made the trip out to Australia early enough that he has a decent amount of time out on the gravel roads around Nannup to explore the course and acclimatise. We saw what happened in Spain earlier this year when he put a clear target on an event and everything runs to plan.

SG

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