The status of the Nannup-based UCI Gravel World Championships as the first running of the event outside Europe raised one question from the beginning: How many of gravel's big names from there would be prepared to make the long trip? Then the timing of the Life Time Grand Prix Little Sugar MTB round on the same weekend delivered another: Would any of the competitors in the lucrative US-based series take part?
The early waves of rider names being released by organisers as starters at the Western Australian race are beginning to make the answers to those two questions clear, with the emerging picture boding well for a hard-fought fifth edition. This time, however, it appears that the discipline specialists may play a more prominent role in the race for the rainbow jersey, which so far has largely been claimed by road professionals.
