The fourth edition of the gravel World Championships was held in beautiful Zuid-Limburg. The route consists of a loop of just over 50 kilometers through the municipalities of Beek, Beekdaelen, Voerendaal, Meerssen and Valkenburg, which the riders will have to cover several times. We already took a look at the training course beforehand, designed by Bram Tankink. What kind of climbs are there? How are the roads? Nothing is as fun as driving part of the route so that we can still remember where it really gets tough and where the exciting trails are during a race. With a nice chalet at Huttopia Camping Valkenburg-Maastricht As a base of operations, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend of Limburg adventure!
Text: Maks Groeneveld | Photography: Jeffrey Wiese and Maks Groeneveld
Departure from Camping Valkenburg-Maastricht
Camping Valkenburg-Maastricht It actually has everything you could wish for as a cyclist. The park has chalets, glamping tents, mobile homes, and spacious camping pitches. And perhaps most importantly for cyclists: fresh bread in the morning (that’s the best preparation for a good gravel ride, right?) and a Topeak bike station With all the tools you could possibly need. Ideal for cyclists who, like us, sometimes forget something, like a pump for example… Oops. Fortunately, thanks to the bike station, we were still able to leave with hard tires. Not too hard of course, because on the gravel roads of Limburg you better drive with one bar less.
Because we are driving from Valkenburg, we do not start at the official starting point in Beek. We start halfway along the route, slightly south of Schimmert. We turn the Pepelwijenweg Immediately our gravel heart starts pounding faster; what a wonderful stretch of road! Wide with very fine gravel, which makes you want to get going straight away. What hard racing will take place here during the World Championships. We’ll save our strength for a while – we’re far from being pros after all – and we especially enjoy the rolling landscape of Limburg. Everywhere, farmers are busy on the land, and the fields are still full of color.
Gravel paradise of South Limburg: over fields and empty roads
Almost constantly we drive over gravel. Usually over wide stretches, through beautifully rolling fields. Regularly also over narrow paths with more loose stones, surrounded by trees and bushes. These are the so-called ‘empty roads‘, the characteristic Limburg paths with steep sides on both sides. They are almost never flat; usually it is a short, steep climb or a nice descent. The narrow roads will undoubtedly become exciting during the World Championships, because during these steep climbs the difference can certainly be made. But: they are narrow and only the middle of the path is reasonably free of large stones. Hitting back will not be without risk. Perhaps the most challenging and important narrow road of the course is the Bronsdalweg. This climb of about a kilometer is on the approach to Maastricht and has an incline of an average of 8%.
Halfway through our route we arrive in Beek, Where the official start will take place right next to the sports fields. From here, the first six kilometers are paved, so the peloton can spread out and safety is guaranteed as much as possible. Of course, we mainly came to test the gravel roads, and so we decided to follow the route that the riders ride from the second round.
Crowding on the course
Near Maastricht Airport, it’s mostly asphalt. ‘It looks more like…’ Jeffrey begins. ‘Texel?!’ We both say at the same time. At least the landscape in Limburg doesn’t really do that. It’s just a road where we can expect action. On the gravel climb to Raar Let the legs take it easy. Maybe we started a bit too hard on this course where we have one good rider after another in our sights. The pressure is clearly being exerted. We haven’t had any rivals; rather about fifteen riders who are overtaking us hard. Not good for our ego, but very nice to see. Let’s just capture it all in beautiful detail.
Tired, we arrive back at our chalet. What a delight it is to leave from a chalet, instead of a hotel. Coming back from a good ride now feels like coming home. We still have some food to eat in the kitchen, enjoy a hot shower, and load the car again. We have already seen that this World Cup course creates spectacle. Would you like to relive this World Cup? Book now at Camping Valkenburg-Maastricht by Huttopia.
More about Valkenburg? Gravel in Zuid-Limburg: Same Limburg, different world
Questions & tips
Do you have any questions about this route, or have you been there yourself? Share them here. We read everything and usually respond within a few days.