Tom Pidcock goes for the rainbow jersey at the 2025 Gravel World Championships

Next Sunday, October 12, the World Gravel Championship will take place in the Dutch lands, specifically in the Zuid-Limburg region, where Tom Pidcock arrives as the main favorite for victory. A World Championship that will take place on the hilly terrain between the cities of Beek, Beekdaelen, and Maastricht.

Favorites to win the 2025 Gravel World Championship

In the absence of the current World Champion, Mathieu van der Poel, there are several contenders to win the title for the 4th time, with each edition having had a different winner.

Among the initially registered, only Gianny Vermeersch and Matej Mohoric in the men's category, and Marianne Vos and Kashia Niewiadoma among the women have a chance to repeat as champions.

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However, focusing on the men's race, the top favorite, despite his form decreasing since achieving the third step of the podium in La Vuelta, is none other than Tom Pidcock, eager to add another rainbow jersey to a collection that also includes MTB and Cyclocross titles.

To prevent him from doing so, he will face a strong Belgian team with a selection of tremendous level where any of them could take the victory. We are talking about cyclists like Tim Merlier or Tim Wellens, and as in other occasions, cyclocross riders who use this championship to fine-tune their form for the upcoming mud season, with names like Niels Vandeputte, Toon Aerts, Laurens Sweeck, or Quinten Hermans.

It is interesting that the local riders do not have a stronger team to try to keep the jersey that Van der Poel won a year ago. However, Tibor del Grosso will surely be among those fighting for victory, although, like for all cyclocross riders, this race may come too early in their particular season.

Although he is on the participants' list, the participation of Matej Mohoric is not yet confirmed, but if he finally starts, he will also be a man to watch, if only for his bike-handling skills that allow him to save more energy than the rest of the cyclists.

In this Gravel World Championship, we cannot forget about the luxury former professionals who will surely have something to say in the race. We are talking about names like Romain Bardet, Greg Van Avermaet, or Zdenek Stybar, who have the class and legs to be extremely competitive in the race.

Among the women, the top favorite is once again the queen Marianne Vos, who will try to defend the title she won last year, adding to her extensive list of achievements. Among her rivals for the title, we must include another former winner of this race like Kasia Niewiadoma or almost any other representative of the strong Dutch team, where we find names like Lorena Wiebes, Shirin van Anrooij, and of course, Puck Pieterse who is surely sharpening her skills for the cyclocross season.

2025 Gravel World Championship Route

With 131 kilometers and 1,000 meters of elevation gain for women and 181 km with 1,460 meters of elevation gain for men, the route of the 2025 Gravel World Championship could be described as a mini Amstel Gold Race due to the region where it takes place and the type of terrain the participants will encounter.

The race will start in the north of the region, in the town of Beek, to face a 50-kilometer circuit that will be completed multiple times depending on the category. The terrain is hilly and full of small hills, with the Bronsdalweg standing out, a dirt climb of just over a kilometer with an average gradient of 8%.

After completing laps on this circuit, the final stretch will lead the cyclists to Maastricht, where the new winner of the Gravel World Championship will be crowned.

How to Watch the 2025 Gravel World Championship

As usual, the self-proclaimed Home of Cycling, Eurosport, and the HBO Max platform where the sports channel is integrated will provide full coverage of the 2025 Gravel World Championship.

Between 13:30 and 14:15, we can watch the conclusion of the women's race on both Eurosport 2 and HBO Max, followed by the final part of the men's race from 14:15 to 16:15.