Three riders will wear the green if Ireland at the in the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships in Italy the weekend after next. Ireland will have representation in both the men's and women's races, which are 194km and 140km respectively.
Nicolas Roche had been earmarked to compete in the UCI eSports Worlds for Ireland at the start of the year until illness kept him out, though the former World Tour rider will be on the start line of the gravel Worlds.
He will be joined in the elite men's race by his brother Alexis - the first time they have ever competed together on an Irish team; both having qualified for these Worlds with their recent results on the international gravel secen.
Apart from the Roche brothers, Emma Porter is also in the team and will be Ireland's sole representative in the women's race. Porter put in a great ride at the UCI Gravel World Series to make the podium back in June. She placed 3rd in Millau Grands Causses in Millau, southern France.
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Porter, a 31-year-old who has raced for UCD Cycling Club on home roads, has this year been based in Girona, Spain, where she has been making significant strides in the world of gravel racing. She said she was delighted to be confirmed on the national team for the Worlds.
"I'm super excited to be going next week. I can't really believe it. I started racing gravel this year for fun and I've just fallen in love with it," she said. "I went to the UCI race in Millau in June on a bit of an adventure with some friends and had no expectations. It was the hardest race I've done to date, so to have made the podium and qualified for the World Championships was pretty cool.
"The course in Italy is a little longer but much flatter, and the elite women will have their own start this time so it will be interesting to see how that changes the race dynamics. There's some seriously strong women lining up but 140km is a long way so anything can happen. I just want to leave it all out there and enjoy every second of the experience."
The Worlds take place in on the white gravel roads in Italy’s Veneto region on the weekend after next; October 8th to 9th. Starting in the UNESCO world heritage site of Vicenza, the route also passes close to Padua city before the big finish in the walled city of Cittadella.
About three-quarters of both the men’s and women’s courses are comprised of the Italian white gravel sections and some cobbled sections. The opening 20km includes two climbs totaling 3km – one on gravel and one paved and with gradients of about 10 per cent.
