Valverde has not lost his competitive spirit: he is in shape for the World Cup and allows himself to challenge Wout Van Aert. Valverde has already won in Gravel, namely the UCI Gravel World Series stage in La Indomitable, and it seemed clear that the Murcian's final goal could be the World Championship in the specialty.
THE PATH
The route was revealed just a few days ago. The departure will be in Le Bandie, while the arrival is in Pieve di Soligo, after having touched 26 municipalities in the province of Treviso. The Elite men will compete on a 169 km course with 1.900 meters of altitude difference, while the Elite women will tackle a slightly shortened route, 140 km and 1.660 meters of altitude difference.
“It's a challenging journey – said Pontoni – for the elite category, that of professionals, whoever takes home the rainbow jersey will have truly deserved it. They are two very demanding and refined tracks down to the smallest details. The first crucial point will be the stretch of dirt road that the runners will find at the start: 21 km of truly complicated terrain. I compared that stretch to the Arenberg Forest at Paris-Roubaix: it is far from the finish line, but it will create a first great selection, where it will be clear who won't be able to win this world championship. It will be necessary to race in the top positions right from the start, to avoid getting stuck at the back of the group with the risk of falling or making much more effort than necessary. The decisive part, in order to decide the winner, will be the final ring of 70 kilometers which will see four important climbs: San Vigilio, Le Serre, Le Tenade and Collagù. With the last bump located just 7 km from the finish line in Pieve di Soligo”.
The Valverde-Van Aert duel will be one of the great attractions of the Gravel World Championship, we'll see.
