Nicolas Roche has not let the grass grow under his feet since he hung up his World Tour racing wheels at the end of last year. While he has been busily working away for several brands, including Bianchi, the two-time Grand Tour stage winner has also been racing on the gravel scene in Europe.
His placings in those events mean he has qualified for the first ever UCI Gravel World Championships, with the Irishman will race in Italy in two weeks.
Once he has his first gravel Worlds in the bag Roche will then take his first steps into big-time US gravel racing as he will compete in the Belgian Waffle Race and Big Sugar, both major events in America where the gravel scene took off.
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The worlds that Roche will compete in take place in on the white gravel roads in Italy’s Veneto region on the weekend of 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.
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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.
The women in all age categories and the men in the 50+ age categories will race on Saturday, on a course of 140km with 700m of ascent. The elite men will follow on Sunday over 190km with 800m of ascent: the same course as Saturday plus two laps of 25km. Men in the age groups 19-49 years will also race on Sunday, completing one extra lap for a total distance of 165km.
