On May 13 and 14, it's time for Europe's most versatile cycling event, 3RIDES Festival in Aachen. A relatively new event. The three main events of the festival: the UCI Gravel Race, a gravel ride and a sportive for road bikes. In this article, we introduce you to the course of the UCI Gravel Race. Will you manage to qualify for the Gravel World Cup in Italy?
Our ambassador Rick Groeneweg will be there and has already scouted the course several times. What does he think?
"I have now ridden the route several times under different conditions. I can already reveal; the conditions (dry or wet) are going to have a very big influence on the speed of this race! By the way, the race starts and finishes in the largest equestrian stadium in the world, Chio Aachen."
"The first flat section is quite technical but fast. In the first half of the course there are some cobbled sections. Then the riders head into the forests north of Aachen, where they will face three short but steep climbs. The last climb is 15%, which will not be easy. Most age groups complete seven laps on the 19.5 km course. The men over 60 and women over 50 have a four-lap race on the same course. With dry conditions, as mentioned, it will be a fast race, but the climbs (which total 2,100 meters of elevation) will certainly make the difference."
"When it rains, it becomes much more technical and obviously slippery. In total, 68% of the course consists offroad, including cobblestones, grass, sand, hardpack gravel (both wider strips and some singletracks)."
View the ride on Strava here.
To qualify for the World Championships Gravel you need to ride among the best 25% in your age group. If you do, you can compete against Pogacar and Van der Poel on October 1 in Veneto, Italy.
Discount on event tickets up to 50% and much more.