Three course features that could be make or break at the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup

The course for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Western Australia, is carved out of a landscape that delivers so many options for a gravel race and the SEVEN UCI Gravel World Series event has, over the years, tried and tested a number of them. The. outcome as the organisers now deliver the rainbow jersey race is an unrelenting 144km course for the elite men and a 125.6km route for the elite women.

It will be a test with 3,179 metres of vertical gain for the women and 3,713 metres for the men on what are described as ‘Liège–Bastogne–Liège climbs’ as the course winds its way through the course in the Blackwood Valley. ‘Draining’ seems to be the word riders keep using when asked how the course is after they’ve had a chance to ride it for the first time.

It’s the type of route where it’s hard to say there are any easy portions, given there is at least 84% gravel, often long undulating plateau sections once a climb is completed and then descents where riders need to keep their wits about them so they don’t slip out on the pea gravel corners. Plus it’s unrelenting right to the finish.

There are, however some patches which stand out, from sections that could split the field early or create the opportunity for a final winning move, so now it’s time to take a closer look at those.

Brockman – First shots fired

This isn’t the first climb of the race, that honour goes to Killarney at just over 15km in, but at just 1km long with a 7.6% average the history of SEVEN has shown that it’s the climb coming at around 27km into the day of racing that will start to make the difference. It’s usually where the first major selection is made.

“You are going to see if you’ve either got good legs or bad legs on Brockman,” said race director Stephen Gallagher.

The 2.4km Brockman ascent has an average gradient of 8.2% and what’s more the terrain that comes after is enough for riders to dig in and try to hold on to any advantage that they reap. There is a descent off the top, but not a long one, and then the profile just plots a jagged course for the next 20km, pulling in the climbs of Adina. The real stretch of descending only comes at over the 50km mark, before a flattish section of around 10km that offers some repreive before the climbing begins all over again.

Ellis Creek – The fatigue finder

The climbs continue, and so does the wear and tear which is perhaps why Ellis Creek's 2km, 9.1% average with 169 vertical metres gain hits so hard. The challenging climb that also delivers an extra bit of steepness near the top – comes just after 85k of racing for the men and at around 65km for the women. Plus there is no real relief once you make it over the top.

"I think you've just got fatigue in the legs by that point, so that's why it's the hardest and I think it's deep enough into the race where you can go from there to the finish line," said Tasman Nankervis, the 2023 winner of the elite men's race at SEVEN who also raced this year at the UCI Gravel World Series event which replicated much of the World Championship route.

"The year I won it, I broke away from there," he said referring to the Ellis climb. "It's logical to make a move from there, whereas to make a move from Brockman, that's a bit of a high risk manoeuvre. It can be done, but you can win the race from Ellis, so I think people tend to go more in from there."

Folly – A winning move?

The Folly climb is a new introduction for this year, part of the finishing loop which will take the riders close to the start line but then send them off for more, including the 2.4km effort with a 4.8% average gradient that is Folly. It's bound to be packed with spectators, as it is just a short walk from the start/finish line and comes at a point where there is just over 20m of racing remaining.

It starts with riders turning on to a short but relatively steep bitumen section and then it's another turn onto the dirt, which, after a little recent rain is nicely packed down and while there are a few small rocks strewn around and some ruts in some patches they are easily avoidable as it is wide and the main line is smooth.

There is a reprieve part way through the climb which opens up to views of the rolling farmland hills, but then it just kicks in again.

Nankervis warns that this climb isn't one to be taken lightly, with a need to have something in reserve, recounting that in his race at SEVEN this year a puncture had left him behind but he made up around ten positions in this sector as it was one where the lights went out for many.

"It's really hard," added race director Gallagher. "It gets quite steep at the top. You can potentially go solo from that point if you're really strong, or you can certainly reduce a group to one or two riders."

Then before riders hit the line there are still a couple of nasty pinches and the more gradual Lindsay climb on one last descent before the winner of the rainbow jersey is decided.

For a full overview of the course see our detailed route feature: The gravelliest UCI Gravel World Championships of them all