In about a week—on October 11 and 12—the fourth edition of the World Gravel Championships will be held in beautiful South 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 complete several times. We went to take a look at the training course, designed by former pro Bram Tankink. What kind of climbs are there? What are the roads like? Is everyone already training and exploring? There's nothing like riding part of the route in advance, so that during the World Championships we'll still have a clear memory of where it's really tough and where the exciting paths are. With a nice chalet on CityKamp by Huttopia Valkenburg as a basecamp, we really enjoyed a nice weekend of Limburg Adventure!
Text: Maks Groeneveld | Photography: Jeffrey Wiese and Maks Groeneveld
Start from CityKamp Valkenburg
CityKamp by Huttopia Valkenburg has everything a cyclist could wish for. The park has chalets, glamping tents, caravans, and spacious camping pitches. And perhaps most importantly for cyclists: fresh bread rolls in the morning (the best way to prepare 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, such as a pump, for example... Oops. Fortunately, thanks to the bike station, we were still able to set off with hard tires. Not too hard, of course, because on Limburg gravel it's better to ride with a little less pressure in your tires.
Because we are riding from Valkenburg, we will not start at the official departure point in Beek. We will start halfway along the route, slightly south of Schimmert. We will turn onto the Pepelwijenweg and immediately our gravel hearts start beating faster; what a cool stretch! Wide with very fine gravel, making you want to accelerate right away. How fast they will ride here during the World Championships. We save our energy for now—after all, we are far from being pros—and mainly enjoy the rolling Limburg landscape. Farmers are busy working the land everywhere and the fields are still full of color.
Gravelparadise South-Limburg: across the farm fields and the hollow roads
We drive on gravel almost constantly. Usually on wide strips, right through beautiful rolling farmland. Regularly also on narrow paths with more loose stones, surrounded by trees and bushes. These are the so-called 'hollow 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 sunken roads will undoubtedly be exciting during the World Championships, because these tough climbs can certainly make the difference. However, they are narrow and only the middle of the path is reasonably free of large boulders. Overtaking will not be without risk. Perhaps the toughest and most important sunken road on the course is the Bronsdalweg. This climb of approximately one kilometer is located on the approach to Maastricht and has an average gradient of 8%.
Halfway our route we're hitting Beek, where the official start will take place near the sports fields. From here, the first six kilometers are paved, allowing the peloton to spread out and ensuring maximum safety. Of course, we came mainly to test the gravel roads, so we decided to follow the route that the riders will take from the second lap onwards.
Busy on the course
The area around Maastricht Airport is mainly asphalt. “It looks more like...” Jeffrey begins. “Texel!” we both say at the same time. In any case, the landscape doesn't really look like Limburg. However, it is a road where we can expect some action. On the gravelclimb to the Raar our legs are slowly giving way. Perhaps we started a little too fast on this course, where we have one good rider after another breathing down our necks. It's clear that the pressure is mounting. We haven't encountered any oncoming traffic, but we have had about fifteen riders overtaking us at high speed. Not good for our ego, but very nice to see. Let's just capture it all beautifully.
Satisfied, we arrive back at our chalet at Citykamp Valkenburg. It's so nice to be able to leave from a chalet instead of a hotel. Coming back from a good ride now feels like coming home. We make something to eat in the kitchenette, enjoy a hot shower, and load the car again. Now we just have to wait until 11 and 12 October, because one thing is sure: this Gravel Worlds is going to be bonkers!
Wanna stay overnight at the Worlds in Valkenburg? Just book with CityKamp Valkenburg by Huttopia
More about Valkenburg? Gravel in South Limburg: Same Limburg, different world
