Kasper and Schonberger take victory at the 3rd edition of UCI Houffalize Gravel Fondo

Almost 2,000 riders tried to grab their ticket in Belgium for the worlds which take place in October

Thousands of gravel enthusiasts lined up in Houffalize on Saturday 24 August to try and qualify for the upcoming world championships, which take place just 90 minutes away in Flanders, Belgium, October 5-6th, 2024. Last year Wout van Aert and Pauliena Rooijakkers took victory.

The challenging 110km course, featured the steep Côte du Saint Roch climb winding through the picturesque Belgian countryside and put riders to the test.

Austrian Sebastian Schonberger (Team Felt Felbermayr), wearing his Austrian Gravel National Champion’s jersey, won the race in 3:22:52 ahead Frenchman Alexys Brunel (3:23:08) and Belgian Arne Baers (3:24:43).

Former Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet finished in 12th place.

In the women's race, German Romy Kasper (Human Powered Health) won the women’s race in 4:00:48 ahead of Australian's Frain Nicole (4:06:03) and Tiffany Cromwell (4:08:00) in second and third place respectively.

In the shorter 68km race for masters, German Lars Van Der Sloot (2:33:06) was first with Belgian Marjolein Truyers (3:00:24) the fastest women.

Riders finishing in the top 25% in their age/gender category have automatically qualified to participate in the UCI Gravel World Championships in Flanders, Belgium, October 5-6th, 2024.

2024 UCI Houffalize Gravel Fondo Results: www.acn-timing.com/?lng=FR#/events/2158057857537854/ctx/20240824_houffagravel/cms/UCI