Oceania to get its first gravel champions in 2026 with continental title chase to play out at RADL GRVL in January

The ranks of the gravel continental champions will grow in 2026, with the Oceania Cycling Confederation announcing on Tuesday that the region will join Europe and Africa in awarding a title. The first set of jerseys will be handed out at RADL GRVL on Friday January 23.

The growing discipline of gravel will join the ranks of track, road, mountain bike and para cycling, with the new Oceania title introduced in a year that will also see the first UCI Gravel World Championships outside Europe heading to Western Australia on October 10-11.

Choosing RADL GRVL presented by Quad Lock as the venue for the first championships also has the advantage of offering an early-season time slot, when many of the key gravel riders from the region are home for the southern hemisphere summer. Popular gravel races like Unbound and the Life Time Grand Prix series draw a number of key competitors to the United States later in the year, from Australia’s Brendan Johnston and Courtney Sherwell to New Zealand’s Samara Maxwell and Cameron Jones, while the road racing season draws others like Tiffany Cromwell to Europe.

The 115km gravel race around McLaren Vale takes place as one of the events surrounding the season-opening road racing at the Tour Down Under, which has already turned the spotlight of the national and international cycling world onto South Australia. Now, with a title up for grabs in 2026, there will be an added reason for cycling fans and riders to make the trip.

“As a junior racer, the Oceania Road and Track Championships were always a season highlight,” said 2025 winner of RADL GRVL, Australian gravel champion and race partner Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto). “Adding gravel to the Championships creates new pathways for emerging talent and elite athletes alike to qualify for the world stage.

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“We’re honoured to welcome riders to RADL GRVL p/b Quad Lock for what will be a defining moment of the Australian gravel season.”