Gravel cycling championship brings global audience to tiny town

A tiny town in southern Western Australia has become the first location outside Europe to hold an elite gravel cycling world championship.

Nannup, about 268 kilometres south of Perth, hosted thousands of cyclists and spectators this weekend for the 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships.

It was a major coup for the historic timber town, which is building its reputation as a mountain biking destination.

With the event expected to draw a global audience of up to 130 million people, Shire of Nannup Deputy President Vicki Hansen said securing it had taken years of work.

"Now, Nannup, Western Australia is across the world."

The hills and forests surrounding the town have proven the ideal terrain for mountain biking, with Ms Hansen hopeful the event would showcase the local trails.

"We want all these international riders, who didn't qualify, but have seen the event, to come on over," Ms Hansen said.

Competitors raced over two days, traversing courses of up to 144km through the Blackwood Valley.

"Nannup itself is only 70 metres above sea level but within a kilometre or less than that it suddenly increases to 300 metres above sea level," Shire President Tony Dean said.

"In that elevation … we've got the gravel itself."

Dutch cyclist Marianne Vos took out the elite women's title in 4 hours and 30 minutes, followed by Germany's Rose Kloser and the Netherlands' Larisa Hartog.

It was the second championship victory for the two-time Olympic medallist.

Journey to Nannup

This year will be the fifth UCI Gravel World Championships event held, with previous events taking place in Italy and Belgium.

Wendy Oosterwoud, who travelled almost 30 hours from the Netherlands to compete in Nannup, said it was her first time outside of Europe.

"I think the flight was 21 hours, the drive to Amsterdam was almost two hours, [and] from Perth to Nannup was almost three," she said.

"I'm really happy to see this part of the world."

The Dutch cyclist has claimed seven podium titles, including winning the women's elite at a gravel world series in Poland this year.

She said the Nannup course was broader than those overseas.

"Here in Nannup, it's wide gravel roads," she said.

"But in the Netherlands … you have, I think, 200 corners, left right, left right."

German cyclist Nils Lageman made the journey from his home near Cologne to compete in the 35-39 age group.

"The world championships were calling, and I just had to respond, wherever it is," he said.

"It looks great because of the nature."

Many international cyclists said they had never heard of Nannup, until the event, including US cyclist Tim Borsetti.

"I targeted this because I knew it would be an awesome event, because you guys have big wide roads like we do in the States," he said.

'Spreading the love'

With a regular population of about 1,000 people, accommodation in Nannup has been fully booked for the event.

Mr Dean said a tent city, and visitors staying in other nearby towns, had helped share the load.

"We're spreading the love between Nannup and the rest of the South West," he said.

"With that many visitors, they're going to have to commute, unfortunately."

It has proven a win for some local businesses, with cafe owner Hayley Rubery registering one of the busiest days she could remember.

"We had a 700 per cent increase in revenue to a normal Friday. It's insane," she said.

"We sold five days' worth of milk in one day, and we've never made more toasties in our entire lives."

With the town's previous events leaning towards smaller-scale arts and culture festivals, Ms Rubery said they had been unsure what to expect.

"We prepped anyway and thank God we did."