The 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships are set to take place Down Under in Nannup, Western Australia, with some of the sport’s biggest names set to be on the start line from almost all cycling’s top disciplines on an undulating and remote course set to challenge the very best on the day.
The racing is live and free on SBS On Demand in Australia, with subscription coverage on TNT Sports and HBO Max in the UK and FloBikes in the US and Canada.
The elite women race in Nannup, Western Australia, on Saturday, October 10, followed by the elite men on Sunday, October 11. Both races start at 10:10am AWST. It is worth noting that coverage in the US and Canada begins on the evenings of Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10.
Despite being based in the UK, I’ll be awake and watching live in the early hours – so spare a thought for me.
Course and riders to watch
The elite women’s race takes on the medium course of 125.6km with a massive 3179 metres of elevation gain along the way. The elite men take on the longer route of 144km with 3713 metres of elevation gain on the menu. The repeated climbs, remote location and consistent road surface challenges do not make the racing easy.
This is the first time that the Gravel World Championships have taken place outside of Europe with the previous championships taking place twice in Veneto, Italy, followed by Flemish Brabant in Belgium and then South Limburg in the Netherlands. Two of the next three hosts are also European, with 2027 being part of the second ‘Super Worlds’ in Haute Savoie, France. In 2028, the championships head out of Europe to AlUla in Saudi Arabia before returning to European soil in 2029 for Villars-sur-Ollon in Switzerland.
Women: Marianne Vos, the 2024 gravel world champion, is among the confirmed entries and hopes to become the first rider to win a second gravel world title. Tiffany Cromwell, Nicole Frain, Rosa Klöser and Erica Magnaldi also line up, but defending champion Lorena Wiebes is absent.
Men: Defending champion Florian Vermeersch is joined by European champion and Unbound winner Mads Würtz Schmidt. Other confirmed riders to watch include Keegan Swenson, Jenson Young and Henrique Da Silva Avancini.
Gravel World Championships race and broadcast times
SBS On Demand’s streams begin at 9:45am AWST on both days, 25 minutes before the start. UK coverage begins at 3:00am BST, while FloBikes starts at 10:00pm EDT the evening before each race.
Race schedule
Saturday 10 October 2026
- 09:45AWSTSaturday, October 10 – Women’s SBS On Demand stream begins
- 10:10AWSTSaturday, October 10 – Elite women start
- 14:10AWSTSaturday, October 10 – Expected elite women finish
- 09:45AWSTSunday, October 11 – Men’s SBS On Demand stream begins
- 10:10AWSTSunday, October 11 – Elite men start
- 14:10AWSTSunday, October 11 – Expected elite men finish
- Western Australia, AWST: SBS On Demand starts at 9:45am, with racing at 10:10am. Women: Saturday, October 10. Men: Sunday, October 11.
- Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart, AEDT: SBS On Demand starts at 12:45pm, with racing at 1:10pm. Women: Saturday, October 10. Men: Sunday, October 11.
- United Kingdom, BST: TNT Sports and HBO Max coverage starts at 3:00am, with racing at 3:10am. Women: Saturday, October 10. Men: Sunday, October 11.
- United States and Canada, Eastern daylight time: FloBikes coverage starts at 10:00pm, with racing at 10:10pm. Women: Friday, October 9. Men: Saturday, October 10.
- United States and Canada, Pacific daylight time: FloBikes coverage starts at 7:00pm, with racing at 7:10pm. Women: Friday, October 9. Men: Saturday, October 10.
The organiser expects both races to finish at about 2:10pm AWST; those finish times are estimates. FloBikes lists coverage through 3:00am Eastern on each race night with TNT Sports and HBO Max in the UK saying 8:00am stream ending time.
Where to watch live and free
How to watch
| Region | Broadcaster | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | TNT Sports and HBO Max | £30.99/month; Saver option £25.99/month with a 12-month minimum term | Both broadcasts begin at 03:00 BST, on October 10 and October 11. Saver renews at the regular monthly price after the minimum term; entertainment-and-sport bundles are also available. |
United States | FloBikes / FloSports app | Paid subscription; check current local checkout price | Women’s coverage begins at 22:00 EDT on October 9; men’s at 22:00 EDT on October 10. Archived replays are also available. |
Canada | FloBikes / FloSports app | Paid subscription; check current local checkout price | Women’s coverage begins at 22:00 EDT on October 9; men’s at 22:00 EDT on October 10. Location-based rights restrictions apply. |
Australia | SBS On Demand | Free | Both streams begin at 09:45 AWST, on October 10 and October 11. Available to viewers in Australia. |
Free SBS streams: Open the women’s elite stream for October 10 or the men’s elite stream for October 11. Sign in or create a free SBS On Demand account before coverage begins. These streams are geographically restricted to Australia.
FloBikes subscribers: Watch through the website or FloSports app. Before buying a subscription, check the checkout’s currency, billing period and total price.
Watching while travelling
Check whether your existing service permits viewing in your destination before using a VPN. TNT Sports on HBO Max is unavailable outside the UK, and SBS and FloBikes apply geographical restrictions.
NordVPN is our affiliate recommendation for a private connection while travelling. Use it with your existing broadcaster account only where the provider’s terms permit. A VPN does not guarantee access to a restricted stream.
- Check your broadcaster’s territorial restrictions and account terms.
- If VPN use is permitted, install NordVPN and select a location allowed by the provider.
- Sign in to your usual service and open the official race stream.
If playback is blocked because of your location, use a locally authorised broadcaster rather than trying to override the restriction.
