Words: James Heaton - Gobal PR & Brand Content
I've been working at WTB for almost 6 years now, and in that time I've been fortunate enough to visit heaps of cool places and attend plenty of fun events. From Sea Otter to Eurobike or Gritfest to the Enduro World Series, it really has been great to meet people in all different cycling disciplines, and from all over the world.
As enjoyable as they've all been though, none of those events offer the chance to take home a global title. A race where at the end of the day, the fastest riders in each category get to put on a special jersey that not only celebrates their victory in the moment, but also tells the rest of the world that they turned up and got it done when it mattered.
The Gravel World Championships have not been around for very long. 2024 marks only the 3rd time the event has made it onto the UCI calendar, and what better place to host the premier event for one of the fastest growing disciplines in modern cycling than the Flanders region of Belgium.
The coffee at Montcafe comes highly recommended, but make sure to give Monty a wide berth!
I've spent a lot of time in Belgium thanks to previous work in professional road racing, and it's certainly fair to say that cycling is a huge part of their culture and everyday life. I googled some statistics to help me put into words how important the bicycle is there, and the numbers that came back were even more impressive than I thought.
57% of Belgian adults ride bikes, with 30% regularly cycling to work. To put that into perspective; around 6% of adults in the UK regularly commute by bicycle, and for the USA that number drops to just under 1%. Take a look around your workplace. Did 3 out of every 10 people you see ride to work this morning?
Anyhow, back to the topic…
The 2024 UCI gravel World Championships were held in Louven, a small city outside Brussels and home to the road world championships back in 2021 where Julian Alaphilippe successfully defended his rainbow jersey.
I felt proud to be taking WTB to the racing pinnacle of a cycling discipline that has been so good to us over the years, and in a city where all things two-wheeled and pedal-powered is a way of life.
The event layout in Leuven was split into three zones. First there's the Finish Arena which hosted the eventual finish line for the race, plus a bunch of fun stuff going on around it. Next was the Fan Zone, home to a giant screen with lots of beer, catering, and souvenir vendors. Finally, and adjacent to the fan zone, you had the Expo area and this is where we were situated for the weekend.
The 50-kilometre finishing circuit passed through all of these areas meaning you could walk freely between each area and never be too far away from the action.
WTB’s gravel focused display in the EXPO area
The event fell at a great time for us, as only a few months ago we launched our most advanced lightweight tire casing yet, paired with our fastest gravel racing tread pattern. Combine these with our proven CZR i23 gravel wheels & tire sealant, and you get the perfect package for an event like this.
We kept the display clean and simple in Leuven, with adventure tyres and wheels on one side and our more race-focused products on the other. The back wall was filled with our latest tubeless accessories & premium saddles, and finally we placed a beautiful bike from Berlin brand Standert up front.
TCS Rocket Plug Kit. The most dependable trail-side tubeless repair out there?
Expo setup took place on Friday and with the help of our German partners Sport Import, we managed to get the display dialled in good time. This meant we had time at the end of the day to enjoy one of my favourite things about visiting Belgium, the local Trappist beer.
I enjoy many Trappist Ales, and Orval is one of them
The weekend was jam-packed with bike racing. The elite females set off first on Saturday, followed by both male and female age group riders just a few minutes later.
Alongside the big screens in the fan zone areas, it seemed like the majority local bars & restaurants made an effort to show the racing too. In some cases even out into the street. When the sharp end of the race arrived in Leuven, spectators left the varies screens and lined the barriers running along the finishing circuit, showing great support for the elite females, right through to the final age group riders passing by.
Sunday had a similar running order, but this time it was the elite males followed by even more age group riders, all representing their countries in national kit. It was it was a big day in the saddle for sunday's participants with over 180kms of gravel, single track, farm lanes, broken roads, and everything in between. The roadside support was equally impressive though, and spectators made sure all riders were cheered home, right to the very last few.
Once all of the racing was over we closed down the booth, packed everything away, and got ready for a final evening in the city before travelling home the following day. I spent the evening drinking good beer, chatting with friends, and listening to everybody's stories and experiences from the weekend. WTB’s first gravel World Championships was want to remember and I'm certainly looking forward to many more in the future. Best start looking at flights to the south of France next year...
There’s something magical about European cities at night