USA Cycling announces Team for 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships

The genre was born on the back road of the United States over 10 years ago, since then gravel has grown in popularity all around the world. Nine American athletes have been selected for the world championships in Veneto, Italy October 8-9

With the introduction of the new UCI Gravel World Series this year, the UCI announced a World Championships would take place in 2022.

As part of the UCI’s Cycling for All initiative, the top 25% of each category at each event in the UCI Gravel World Series automatically earns the rider a spot on the World Championship team. Each national federation then has the opportunity to enter an additional 20 athletes across all categories in reserved places.

Athletes were required to apply to be a part of the selection process.For the elite categories, Team USA will be sending four men and five women.

The women’s team is stacked with professional gravel racers Lauren De Crescenzo (Atlanta, Ga.; CINCH Cycling), Holly Mathews (Longmont, Colo.; CINCH Cycling), Emily Newsom (Fort Worth, Tex.; EF Education-TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank), Lauren Stephens (Dallas; EF Education-TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank), and Sarah Sturm (Durango, Colo.; Specialized/ Rapha/ Wahoo). This will be Stephens’ third World Championship back-to-back – Marathon Mountain Bike Worlds the weekend of September 17, straight to Road Worlds on September 24, then two weeks later, Gravel Worlds. Former Road Race National Champion and SBT Gravel Winner Alex Howes (Nederland, Colo.; EF Education-EasyPost) will headline the men’s team.

The automatically qualified riders for the amateur age categories can be found below.

A total of 44 Americans qualified at the Highlands Gravel Classic (USA), Wish One Gravel Race (FRA), La Monsterrato (ITA), and Houffa Gravel (BEL).

Five additional riders were selected via the petition process, which include: Rachel Losada (19-34 Women), Michael Garrison (19-23 Men), Betsy Welch (40-44 Women), Chad Underwood (45-49 Men), and Richard Mull (70-74 Men).

The 2022 Team USA UCI Gravel Worlds Roster

Elite Men

Alex Howes (Nederland, Colo.; EF Education-EasyPost)
Jacob Peterson (Lakewood, Colo.)
Mat Stephens (Dallas)
David Van Orsdel (Minneapolis)

Elite Women

Lauren De Crescenzo (Atlanta; CINCH Cycling)
Holly Mathews (Longmont, Colo.; CINCH Cycling)
Emily Newsom (Fort Worth, Texas; EF Education-TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank)
Lauren Stephens (Dallas; EF Education-TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank)
Sarah Sturm (Durango, Colo.; Specialized/ Rapha/ Wahoo)

About the 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships

THE FIRST GRAVEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WILL START FROM VICENZA AND WILL END IN CITTADELLA

The best dirt road specialists will meet in Veneto, Italy on 8 and 9 October.

The provinces of Vicenza and Padua will host the firstGravel Cycling World Championship , established by the UCI managing board and entrusted to the organization of PP Sport Events. The inaugural edition of the world championship of the specialty will take place Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October 2022.

The races that will award the first rainbow jerseys of the Gravel specialists will start from Vicenza and end in Cittadella after having lapped the city of Padua.

To design the routes PP Sport Events relied on the experience of Angelo Furlan and Marco Menin. Women and men Over 50 will compete on Saturday 8 October over a distance of 140 kilometers, with an active difference in height of 700 meters, while professionals they will compete the next day in a route of about 190 kilometers and 800 meters in altitude, which also includes two final laps of almost 27 kilometers. Men in the 19-49 age groups, on the other hand, will make only one lap of the final circuit for a total distance of 165 kilometers. The unpaved part of the routes corresponds to about 75% of the total.

The Gravel World Championship promises selection from the initial kilometers, in which the main altimetric difficulties are concentrated. After the start in Campo Marzo in Vicenza the competitors will be faced with the steep climb of the sanctuary of Monte Berico and the subsequent differences in height of Valle dei Vicari, Sant'Agostino, la Pilla and Arcugnano, before skirting Lake Fimon and continuing towards Montegaldella. The next 80 kilometers, all flat, are in the province of Padua: Selvazzano, Tancarola, Padua, Noventa and, along the right bank of the river Brenta, Limena, Piazzola sul Brenta and Cittadella. At this point the elite men and the competitors of the men's categories Under 49 will enter ina wide circuit which crosses the municipal territories of Cittadella and Tezze sul Brenta, then straddling the provinces of Padua and Vicenza. The finish line will be placed in Piazza Pierobon, the heart of the walled city.

The various categories will have separate departures. Athletes from the national representatives registered and those who have qualified during the UCI Gravel World Series can participate in the Gravel World Championship.

The Gravel World Championship is organized by PP Sport Events with the support of the Veneto Region and in collaboration with the Municipality of Vicenza and the Municipality of Cittadella.

The categories competing on Saturday 8 October:

Elite Women
Women 19-34
Women 35-39
Men 50-54
Men 55-59
Men Over 60
Women Over 40

The categories competing on Sunday 9 October:

Elite Men
Men 19-34
Men 35-39
Men 40-44
Men 45-49