The course designed in the Province of Treviso, between Lake Le Bandie in Spresiano, the starting venue, and Pieve di Soligo, the finishing venue, is a little gem. 169 total kilometers that include white roads, demanding côtes, longer climbs and a unique landscape to surround it. Big gaps to be expected
TREVISO – The veil is officially lifted on the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships’ route, scheduled in the Province of Treviso the weekend of Oct. 7-8. The organizing team has designed a route that will touch as many as 26 municipalities in the Marca, with the aim of highlighting all the most striking corners of a unique territory in Italy. The result is a 169-km route, which will have as its operational bases Lake Le Bandie in Spresiano, the starting venue, and Pieve di Soligo, the finish venue.
The start will then be given from Lake Le Bandie, the same location that had hosted the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in 2008, which from a quarry, thanks to the Mosole family, has become a multifunctional sports center. They will go around the lake along a dirt road and head towards Cimadolmo, entering the Grave di Papadopoli and tackling the longest stretch of dirt road, 21 km along the Piave River. At Ponte della Priula they leave the riverbed and, after crossing the Borgo Luce estate, face the first ups and downs of the Collalto hills (3.8 km at 3.9%) among rows of vineyards, dominated by the iconic Castle of San Salvatore.
Well-beaten white roads will then take the riders to Pieve di Soligo for the first pass under the finish line and the beginning of the first loop ride. They will point to the Molinetto della Croda, recognizable for its 17th-century rural architecture, and approach a steep asphalt climb that leads to Arfanta (3.7 km at 4.3%), then descend into Valsana and the fascinating fortress of Castelbrando, which is located on the Via del Prosecco, in the territory of Cison di Valmarino, a municipality already awarded the title of Italy’s Most Beautiful Village.
At that point, they will pass through the small village of Mura and reach the Revine Lakes, at the foot of the Trevisan Pre-Alps. Here a double wall will await the athletes, first that of Nogarolo (700 meters at 11.6%) and then the famous one of Ca’ del Poggio (1.2 km at 12.2%), already the scene of a thousand battles in professional and non-professional cycling, twinned with the Muur-Kapelmuur in Flanders and the Mûr de Bretagne.
After tackling the treacherous dirt roads of Val Trippera, they pass under the finish line for the second time, begin the second loop and immediately face some new off-road sectors, those of Patean and Palù di Sernaglia and Moriago, with passage inside the Isola dei Morti, a particularly symbolic place of the Middle Piave area.
From Colbertaldo, in the Prosecco Hills area, the most challenging part of the route begins, with the climbs of San Vigilio (300 meters at 16.5%), made famous by the U23 International race, Trofeo Piva, Le Serre (3.4 km at 7%), Le Tenade (900 meters at 3.9%) and Collagù (3.9 km at 5.1%). The descent of San Gallo, with the characteristic passage over the cobblestones of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, will be the last difficulty before finding out who will be the winner on the final straight in Pieve di Soligo, with the finish line placed in the elegant Piazza Balbi Valier.
“Everyone who came to recon the route was ecstatic about what they saw,” explains Pedali di Marca President Massimo Panighel, who designed the route. “The course is beautiful, and not because I designed it, but because we live in a fantastic part of Italy. It will be a very demanding race, and with gravel roads and climbs I expect big gaps among the riders. I wouldn’t be surprised if they arrive at the finish line one at a time, also because on roads like these it takes great technique just to stay on the wheel or stay in the group. I have a feeling that we’re going to have a lot of fun”.
The elite men and master men up to 50 years old will measure themselves on the 169-kilometer route and 1,900 meters of elevation gain, while the elite women, master women up to 50 years old and men over 50 will test themselves on a slightly shortened 140-kilometer route and 1,660 meters of elevation gain. Finally, the master women over 50 and master men over 65 will have a 100-km course and 1,000 meters of elevation gain.
