The new calendar year is just six weeks old and already the global parade of gravel events is underway. With summer in full swing in the southern hemisphere, RADL GRVL launched proceedings with Factor Racing-Rapha Cycling Club teammates Romain Bardet and Nicole Frain delivering solo victories in south Australia.
The race also decided the first-ever winners in the Oceania Gravel Championships, Australian Frain commanding the women's top prize and in the men's division New Zealander Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-Rapha Cycling Club) scooped up the new title by coming over the line in second behind French rider Bardet.
In the variable climate of northern Spain, Bescaonina Gravel marked the first win of the new year for Great Britain's Sophie Wright (Ribble Outliers), who won two rounds of the Gravel Earth Series last year. In the men's race top gravel competitors Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) of France and Petr Vakoč (Factor Racing Team) of Czechia finished second and third while it was Drechou's new teammate Aaron Van der Beken who claimed the victory.
Pro Men
Keegan Swenson
The unofficial king of off-road racing, Keegan Swenson will make his debut for Specialized Off-road at Santa Vall this weekend, which is also his first time at the Spanish gravel race. The reigning UCI Marathon Mountain Bike World Champion has new equipment, new teammates but expect the same big engine to make short work of the two days of racing near Girona - 130km on stage 1 and 85km on stage 2.
While he didn't win or podium at every race he started last year, the 31-year-old US rider still came away with the marathon mountain bike world title, a fifth Leadville Trail 100 MTB, victory at Sea Otter Classic Gravel, podiums at SBT GRVL and Lauf Gravel Worlds and a top 10 at Unbound Gravel 200.
Swenson swaps a conventional season start at Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona, where he won three times, for a fresh start with his full Specialized team in Spain, riding with Matt Beers and Mads Würtz Schmidt.
Matt Beers
The three-time Cape Epic winner will make his season debut alongside Swenson, making it the first time since last year's Cape Epic that the duo were on the same team. They will return to South Africa for the eight-day mountain bike stage race after racing in Spain, hoping for good health and results to match so they can scoop up a first time podium as a pair.
While the two race together at Cape Epic and have trained together quite often, in the past once the flag dropped the two were more often adversaries. At Lauf Gravel Worlds, Beers beat his friend in a sprint and he was also better at Big Sugar Gravel. Beers ended the 2025 season with the overall victory at the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn, the seven-stage race giving him a home advantage.
Simon Pellaud
The Swiss rider made a statement last year with second place at Unbound Gravel 200 and third at Leadville Trail 100 MTB, boosting him to second overall in the Life Time Grand Prix.
His off-road start mirrors last year at the eight-day endurance test in Colombia at Transcordilleras, where he outdueled Lachlan Morton for the win.
You won't see him in the black and red kit of Tudor Pro Cycling this time, though, as he focuses on the Grand Prix again with a new privateer campaign for 2026. The new Assos gear and Cervelo bike take on the 1,000km adventure across the Andes mountains starting February 22.
Mads Würtz Schmidt
Former WorldTour road rider Mads Würtz Schmidt experienced his first off-road season last year, with the 2021 Danish road national champions snaring the European Gravel title in 2025. He carried the colours of PAS Racing to a number of other victories as well, including The Traka 200, and four Gravel World Series events - Turnhout, Monaco Gravel, Blaavands Huk and Houffa Gravel. And don't forget he was fourth at Unbound Gravel 200.
He makes Santa Vall the start to his season for a second time, but this time as part of the Specialized Off-road mega squad.
Magnus Bak Klaris
The 30-year-old Dane had a huge year at European races last year, sweeping both days at Santa Vall and adding wins at The Rift and Megre and coming second at Ranxo Gravel to secure the overall Gravel Earth Series title.
Throughout the season he was a force at other events as well, winning Wörthersee Gravel and the Danish Gravel National Championship. At the UCI Gravel World Championships, he finished 10th, noted as the top-placed gravel specialist among the pro road contingent.
More contenders
Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB) may not be a staple yet on the gravel circuit but the Swiss MTB Champion is one to watch as he makes a first appearance at The Ceder at Nuwerust Farm in South Africa this weekend. The 151km gravel race serves as a qualifier for the UCI Gravel World Championships in October. Last year Colombo teamed up with Nino Schurter to win Cape Epic.
Multi-discipline specialist Michael Garrison (SpeedStudio p/b Basso) will start his season at Santa Vall, ahead of his diverse mix of gravel and road races. He'll stay in Spain to compete in two UCI road races, including Trofeu Joan Escola.
Also on the packed start list at Santa Vall will be Canadian Michael Woods with his new setup, Thomas De Gendt (Powerplus Grave Team), Mattia De Marchi (The Grip), Connor Sens (Via Racing) and The Traka 360 winner Tobias Mørch Kongstad (PAS Racing).
Pro Women
Annika Langvad
Annika Langvad, last year's dominant winner of Santa Vall, starts the season to defend her title at the two-day race. Her closest competitor in 2025 was Geerike Schreurs, 12:08 back in the GC, but this year they are teammates at Specialized Off-road, along with Sofia Gomez Villafañe, making it a formidable trio.
The Danish mountain bike specialist won a record sixth Cape Epic last spring with Villafañe. Langvad went on to finish top 10 in seven of the nine major gravel races on her calendar, including the national gravel title for Denmark, second at Falling Leaves Lahti and third at The Traka 200.
Rosa Klöser
2024 Unbound Gravel 200 winner Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM-MAAP) continued the successes in 2025, winning eight major gravel races and the overall title at the Gravel Earth Series. Her programme with the women's WorldTour squad crossed over into road, like Canyon-SRAM teammate Cromwell, and the German began last year with three road races in Mallorca. For 2026, Klöser makes her start on gravel at Santa Vall.
Last year she finished third overall at the Spanish gravel opener, then followed with second at The Traka 200 and fourth at Unbound 200. Once she completed the Tour de Suisse Women, she pounded the dirt for a swathe of victories, including The Rift, German Gravel Nationals and Ranxo Gravel. Racing Santa Vall ignites the new season for one of the newest entrants in the Life Time Grand Prix.
Sofia Gomez Villafañe
On any off-road terrain, Sofia Gomez Villafañe has proven she is a force. If she is on the start line that usually means the day will end with her on the top step of the podium. The 2022 Unbound Gravel 200 champion and a three-time Life Time Grand Prix winner makes her season debut at Santa Vall this weekend and it is also her race debut at the Spanish event.
A new race is not a disadvantage for the 31-year-old, as she won last year's Traka 200 in her first attempt. Traditionally Villafañe begins the year at the Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona, where she is three-for-three. At this opener it will be interesting to see if the course allows for a play of tactics with her Specialized Off-road teammates Langvad and Schreurs.
Cecily Decker
USA's Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) will open 2026 on home soil at The Mid South in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Last year wildfires in the area caused a late event cancellation for all events, including the 100-mile pro races.
A winner of The Rift two years ago, Decker charged to the top of leaderboard for the Life Time Grand Prix last year, beginning with third at Sea Otter Classic Gravel then second at Unbound Gravel 200. Her consistency paid off with second overall in the Grand Prix off-road series. Joining her again on the PAS Racing team are fellow American Morgan Aguirre and 2025 Unbound 200 winner Karolina Migoń.
Karolina Migoń
Two-time Traka 360 winner and reigning Unbound Gravel champion Karolina Migoń returns to PAS Racing and will take on Santa Vall for a third time to start her year. She's finished fifth and eighth before as an early-season test against a stacked field.
The Polish rider finished 11th or better in 14 gravel races last year, completing the season with fourth in Ranxo Gravel, good for second overall in the Gravel Earth Series, then second on GC at Gravel Race Bern near her home.
Lauren De Crescenzo
A four-time winner of the Rad Dirt Fest and three-time winner at The Mid South, Lauren De Crescenzo (LDC LLC p/b Argonaut) launches her 2026 programme at Homegrown Gravel in Franklin, Georgia, an hour south of her former home in Georgia. She won the 100-mile red clay race last year and returns to support her Wahoo sponsor, also an event sponsor, and showcase her new bike sponsor Argonaut.
De Crescenzo focuses on US-based races for her fifth consecutive season in the invitation-only field at Life Time Grand Prix, where she has finished eighth or better three times. She won Unbound Gravel 200 in 2021, the year before the series launched.
More Contenders
Axelle Dubau-Prévot comes off her road debut with EF Education-Oatly at UAE Tour Women and will start at Santa Vall for gravel. She began at La Bescanonina last year with a victory and followed with more off-road success by taking second at The Traka 360, claiming the French Gravel national title, two UCI Gravel World Series wins and a dominant GC victory at Nedbank Gravel Burn. At that seven-day stage race in South Africa, she won four stages.
Specialized Off-road has added Dutch powerhouse Schreurs, and she'll line up with her teammates at Santa Vall for a second year, where she was second to now-teammate Langvad. Another top finish and she's on her way to success in the Gravel Earth Series again, where she was fourth overall.
Former Unbound Gravel 200 champion Carolin Schiff lines up at Santa Vall after an absence of more than six months from racing due to RED-S. The Canyon x DT Swiss All Terrain Racing rider has won The Traka 200 twice and had eight podiums at UCI Gravel World Series races in two seasons, but stopped racing in June last year. She looks "to find good health and race rhythm" with a second career start at Santa Vall.
If you are looking to see where Leadville 100 winner Kate Courtney will start her year, check out Cape Epic, where she compete for She Sends Racing alongside former Leadville 100 winner Melisa Rollins.
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
