Heading to UCI Gravel Worlds
Next weekend are the third-ever UCI Gravel World Championships. That’s a big deal—it doesn’t get bigger than that. You can say that gravel has really arrived and carved out its place in the bike world, not just in North America, but world-wide.
We’re especially excited that four of the elite/professional racers who’ll represent the USA at the world championships have chosen Rene Herse tires. Considering how many tire brands there are, and how few riders go to the worlds, that’s a big deal!
Leading the U.S. squad is the current national champion, Brennan Wertz (above). He’ll ride his Mosaic GT-1 i45. This titanium bike has been custom-built for Brennan’s tall stature and prodigious power output. It’s nice to see that metal bikes still have a place among a sea of carbon, even at the world championship level.
Brennan’s bike is shown with dual-purpose knobby tires, but he’s considering swapping in a set of slick Snoqualmie Pass Endurance Plus tires. It all depends on the conditions—which can change quickly in Flanders.
Like Brennan, Jenna Rinehart earned her spot at the worlds by winning one of the races in the UCI gravel series. That means she and Brennan will start the worlds close to the front—an undeniable advantage when several hundred racers head out on the narrow gravel paths around Leuven, Belgium, this weekend. When she is not representing the US at the worlds, Jenna races for the Mazda-Orange Seal team, and she’ll race her Specialized S-Works Crux in Flanders. Like Brennan, she plans to race on 44 mm tires, albeit with Endurance (not Endurance Plus) casings. Like Brennan, she’ll wait until she’s seen the course before she decides whether to run slicks or dual-purpose knobbies—or a combination of both.
Laura and Ted King are a dream team both on the bike and off. After many strong race finishes throughout the season, this husband-and-wife team is going to the UCI worlds this year.
Asked about their bikes, Ted was tight-lipped: “They are some special bikes… I can’t tell you anything beyond that.” However, we managed to snap a few photos of these mystery bikes.
The photos show that Ted and Laura will ride Cannondale frames, as they have for a long time. In fact, Ted raced as a pro in Europe on Cannondales before he returned to the U.S. to become the ‘King of Gravel.’
At first sight, Ted’s bike looks like a Super Six SE…
…but the LAB71 designation usually is reserved for special Team Issue bikes. Unfortunately, we don’t have any more info. Asked about their tire choices, Laura and Ted were equally tight-lipped. Slicks? Knobbies? How wide? What casing? We’ll have to wait for the weekend to find out.
Most of all, we wish Brennan, Jenna, Laura and Ted (and all the other racers) the best of luck in Flanders. It’ll be an exciting race!
