UCI Gravel World Championships 2026 elite women LIVE – Wet gravel and puddles set the tone for the race

The peloton now bunches up after that descent as they build towards the first majorly hard climb of Brockwell.

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Maddy Nutt (Great Britain) was just off the back after that descent but has made it back in now. She will be relying on her huge engine and stamina to be involved in the final…

Rosa Klöser (Germany)

One of the big favourites for the race is trying to fix this quickly with her plugs but the sealant taking a while. She is now back riding but a long way out the back now. Similar happened in Unbound earlier this year.

Gabrielle Fox (Ireland)

Not ideal for the Irish rider who clipped a wheel and came down. She is back riding but is now out of the back.

The gap goes out to a minute for Bloor who will be very happy for the moment but I imagine she would like to have some company. She rides solo for the time being.

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Mutsumi Hara (Japan) and Elizabeth Hermolle (Great Britain) early off the back but it is a tough start and there’s a long way to go as the rain begins to fall again.

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Mud is already caking the backs of the riders as the riders are on the first climb of the day now.

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Bloor’s wheel skipping and skidding all over the place forcing her to freewheel. All the riders have only been able to recon some of the route due to some of the sections being on private property including the first climb of the day.

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The peloton hit the gravel and immediately things change as the pace shoots up with the Dutch crowding the front still. 5km to the first climb of the day.

Bloor leads onto the gravel with a very wet surface and a few puddles. A couple of early twitches from the back wheel for the Australian rider. She now has 34″ on the peloton.

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Bloor has a gap of just 12″ on the peloton as the gravel edges closer and closer.

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12 riders down as DNFs including Germany’s Romy Kaspar and the Netherlands’ Riejanne Markus.

Ella Bloor (Australia)

The home nation gets the ball rolling with the first attack of the day. No-one keen on following for the time being as we are still on the asphalt with 10km until the gravel begins.

Racing begins for the 2026 Gravel World Championships in Nannup with the Dutch team immediately up to the front.

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Australian gravel champion and winner here for the SEVEN Gravel race in Nannup earlier in the year, Tiffany Cromwell, is another rider who will be hanging up the wheels after this race.

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This will be the final race in the career of South African WorldTour rider Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio despite having a cold.

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It is being said that this is a ‘true’ gravel course with 85% of the course on gravel with intense gradients and a huge amount of climbing. The chance for the specialists to finally have a pure gravel rider in the rainbow bands after road stars have dominated the first four editions.

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The riders are beginning to line up on the start line in Nannup with Wendy Oosterwoud of the Netherlands wearing number one.

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The gravel is like nothing seen in European gravel racing and is unique to the area in Australia. Pea gravel is what it says on the tin, gravel that is shaped like peas. It can been incredibly slippery when dry but when wet it can be compacted down and become less notable with tyre choice being crucial.

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The course itself is extremely challenging. While it is rather short, in the 125.6km of racing there are 3180 metres of elevation gain with the climbs not allow immediate rest after the summits are they tend to plateau for a while afterwards.

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For those who may not be familiar with the gravel scene but knows road will have one name screaming out at them, that being former world gravel champion Marianne Vos. However, there are some star specialists are here with Argentina’s Sofia Gomez Villafañe, home rider Nicole Frain and many more all lining up to challenge.