Over 2,000 competitors to engage in UCI Gravel Championships course

More than 2,000 riders lined up to test the UCI Gravel World Championships course at SEVEN in Nannup, Western Australia, on May 16, 2026. Defending champions Tiffany Cromwell and Mark O'Brien were among the participants from 29 countries at the UCI Gravel World Series event.

Event and race director Stephen Gallagher stated that having participants from 29 countries demonstrated the reputation the race had built as a top gravel event. The excitement was palpable for the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships later that year. The race first joined the UCI Gravel World Series in 2022 and showed significant growth over the years: from 235 riders in 2018, it passed the 1,000 rider mark in 2021. This year, it expected to draw over 2,000 riders.

The prominence of the SEVEN event contributed to a larger participation scale, anticipated to mirror the numbers at the World Championships on October 10-11, with 2,954 riders across divisions expected at the event in Bolero. Gallagher remarked that the prestige surrounding SEVEN was partly why the World Championships was being hosted there, attributing its growth to the community's support over the years. The SEVEN event was initiated to showcase the beautiful landscape of Nannup, maintaining its appeal from the start.

This year's event featured a strong contingent of Australian athletes as well, including defending champions Tiffany Cromwell and Mark O'Brien, both national champions returning for the competition. Former winners Brendan Johnston and Tasman Nankervis also participated, alongside Adam Blazevic, who was recovering from a serious injury caused by a vehicle collision during training in 2024. Other notable Australian contenders included second place finishers Mark Chong and Cassia Boglio from the previous year, along with Kane Richards, Australian Cyclo-cross national champion Tristan Nash, and 2023 Dirty Warrny winner Matilda Raynolds.

The challenging 125km SEVEN course, which started and finished in Nannup, traversed the Blackwood Valley and featured over 3,000 meters of vertical ascent, with more than 80% of the route composed of gravel. SEVEN also included shorter races: FIVE at 85km, THREE at 49km, and ONE at 25km.