Gravel racing is coming to your TV screens: Will live coverage take cycling’s buzziest discipline to even loftier heights?

Wout van Aert roaring through gnarly woodland and fields while clipping through narrow gateposts at full race speed, what a sight and surprise that was to behold. One of the greatest road and cyclocross racers of the era in full spring flight through the Dutch countryside, on a gravel bike. Of course, this was broadcast for viewers to marvel. Is widespread broadcast of gravel racing on the horizon, and will that mean big things for what could still be considered a fledgling sport?

This was just a few weeks after he’d won the Paris-Roubaix, perhaps the toughest and greatest of all road classics, and yet there he was, racing solo against a bunch of other top road and gravel pros. There was no team support or race radios, simply pure and unadulterated dirty two-wheeled passion on full display. It didn’t stop there either, as he was hot on the heels of top female road pro and Gravel World Champ Lorena Weibes, making the whole show all the more special, both for viewers and for the stature of the sport.

The Marly Grav WBD/TNT/HBO/Eurosport (all channels are part of Warner Bros Discovery) coverage had only been announced a couple of weeks prior, and apart from the World Championships later this year, little else had been mooted on other series rounds being covered – or not. 

Live mainstream TV coverage of the UCI Gravel World Series could mean a whole lot for the growth and stature of gravel racing, and offer a huge leg up to budding young racers, too; if it were to happen, that is.

In order to find out more about the situation with gravel racing and mainstream broadcasting, we caught up with Erwin Vervecken, a three-time Cyclocross World Champ and the man charged by Golazo, the Belgian sports organisation contracted by the UCI, to manage the series.

This is what he had to say…

off.road.cc: The WBD coverage of the Marly Grav a few weeks back was both surprising and amazing to see. It was also only announced a couple of weeks before – can you explain how the coverage came about?  

Erwin Vervecken: The organizer had already planned for a live streaming and was looking for a broadcaster, so we connected him with WBD+. It was indeed something that was decided in the last two months before the event.

ORCC: With gravel racing being much smaller than road, how does it work with obtaining and agreeing coverage – is it paid for by individual organisers, Golazo, or does UCI/WBD fund it?  

EV: The Marly Grav was mainly funded locally. Shimano is the organizer in Valkenburg.

ORCC: As I understand it, the UCI is obliged to cover the World Champs, and TNT/WBD is also broadcasting the racing. It has been hinted that some other GWS series rounds may also be covered on mainstream TV. Can you tell us how likely it is that this will happen, and which events may be screened?  

EV: We are investigating options to bring more UCI Gravel World Series events live to linear TV in 2027. How much, when, and where is still to be decided…

ORCC: With many gravel events and other series providing their own live coverage via YouTube, how does this fit with the broadcast rights/negotiations for a network like WBD, and is it feasible that there could, at some point, even be an overall GWS coverage package for YouTube?  

EV: We are aiming at something bigger than only YouTube. The race in Valkenburg (Marly) was broadcast live on linear TV in most of Europe (Eurosport), the UK and Ireland (TNT), and HBO Max, and in the USA. The rights for the UCI Gravel World Series are with the UCI, but they were happy that the Marly Grav event was broadcast live and granted the rights to the local organizer and Golazo, as a rights holder of the series.

ORCC: Gravel is a lot harder to cover compared to MTB, cyclocross, and road; have drones and off-road motos been a big part in this – right from the original World Champs?  

EV: MTB and cyclocross are broadcast from fixed camera positions along a shorter course. Gravel is a combination of road and offroad, and is challenging, with, indeed special equipment needed (enduro motos with offroad tyres, which are also used in Paris-Roubaix for instance). We hadn’t had a race live with lots of rain in the weeks before, but this would be a real challenge (if it rains).  

Some events (World Championships 2023, Belgian national championships 2025) had a real motocross bike in the race with a single driver with a helmet camera. 

Also, remember the spectacular downhill images of Matej Mohoric at the Worlds in 2023? This was only possible with a motocross bike following in the slipstream of Mohoric.

ORCC: With the coverage we have seen and will see on TNT and YouTube, what does it mean for the future evolution of the sport and its profile? Do you think more mainstream coverage will lead to more road stars, big road teams, and the cycling establishment taking gravel more seriously?  

EV: Well, more live TV means more exposure and visibility for WorldTour teams, and the fact is that some of the classics riders love gravel, so this might indeed be a huge step forward.

ORCC: How big a boost and opportunity is coverage for upcoming riders and teams?  

EV: At this moment, the gravel sport is booming as the bike industry is behind it (gravel is the growing market within their bike sales). With live TV coverage, other brands might also show interest, and this will certainly grow the sport!

ORCC: At Marly, we had top road pros Wout Van Aert and Lorena Wiebes racing; was it mainly to qualify for the World Champs, or a sign that gravel is getting more serious?  

EV: It’s a combination of the fact that they love to do gravel (also for training) and the timing in the season (a few weeks after the classics, it’s a perfect period to take up a gravel event in their schedule). 

I don’t think they will replace road with gravel in the peak period from the end of March to early April, or during the Tour de France period – but in the in-between season, it’s always an option.

ORCC: The TNT/WBD coverage was great, and with the lack of race radios, no team cars, or excessive team tactics, it was refreshing to see this style of racing – and riders enjoying it. Will race radios, support motos, or other major road style systems ever come to the GWS?  

EV: Cars or motos (apart from TV motos and commissars) will never have their place in a gravel race, as it’s simply too small (the trails). As for radios, that’s something we have to evaluate for future years!

Gravel racing on your small and big screens

Over the past few years, many gravel races and series have provided their own live coverage and highlight reels, generally broadcast via YouTube, and free to air.

This approach differs greatly from the traditional road and cyclocross TV broadcast model (although many do now also have their own live streams too), and this sits very much with what could be considered as the mythical ‘spirit of gravel’ (cringe). Several of the events and series operate on their own terms and formats – outside of regular UCI races and series – such as the Gravel World Series (where some individual events do also supply their own YouTube streams).