SISU World Championships: It’s Time to Get Dusty!

Two races down. One to go.

The 2026 SISU World Championships are heading off the tarmac and onto the dirt for the third and final chapter of our championship series.

We’ve raced against the clock. We’ve raced wheel-to-wheel. Now, on 10–11 October, it’s time to get dusty as the Gravel World Championships take over Handful of Gravel, Watopia — five laps.

There are rainbow jerseys on the line, but there’s something even bigger at stake.

For the riders who complete all three World Championship events, the Gravel race will decide our Overall SISU World Champions.

The Story So Far 🌈

The World Championships began with the ultimate race of truth — the Individual Time Trial.

There was nowhere to hide on Triple Flats Loop. No draft, no bunch tactics and no wheel to follow. It was simply rider versus clock, and the opening weekend rewarded those who could find the right pace and hold it all the way to the line.

Then everything changed.

The Road Race on Bambino Fondo introduced drafting, attacks, positioning and race craft. Saving watts became almost as important as producing them, with riders having to judge when to follow, when to attack and when to wait.

Across the iTT and Road Race we’ve already crowned a fantastic collection of World Champions across the Open and Women’s grades.

But the Overall Classification remains unfinished business.

One Race. One Final Test.

The beauty of a three-race championship is that no single type of rider should have everything their own way.

The iTT rewarded pacing and sustained power.

The Road Race rewarded positioning, tactics and the ability to respond when the race exploded.

Now gravel brings another challenge entirely.

Handful of Gravel. Watopia. Five laps.

Repeated laps mean riders will quickly learn where the race hurts — and then have to face those same sections again and again.

The first lap might feel manageable.

The fifth could feel very different.

Course Recon: Handful of Gravel

The final race takes us onto a circuit where rhythm, positioning and smart energy management will be critical.

Unlike a long point-to-point race where a difficult section disappears behind you, racing five laps creates a different psychological and physical challenge. Every climb, acceleration and demanding section comes back around.

And each time it does, there will be a little more fatigue in the legs.

The opening laps should be about learning the rhythm of the course while staying alert to what is happening around you. There is little value in burning matches unnecessarily early when the same terrain is waiting several more times.

As the laps accumulate, expect the repeated changes in pace to begin taking their toll.

This is where consistency becomes important. Find a sustainable rhythm, use the bunch when you can and resist the temptation to respond to every acceleration with an acceleration of your own.

By the final laps, the race becomes much simpler:

Who still has something left?

That’s when the opportunities arrive.

Five Laps — Race Smart

The Gravel Championships won't necessarily be won by the rider who produces the biggest numbers in the opening 20 minutes.

Patience could be one of the most valuable weapons.

Know where you can recover. Be prepared before the harder sections rather than reacting once the pressure is already on. Stay connected to useful wheels and, particularly early in the race, think twice before spending energy that you might desperately want back on lap five.

And remember that this isn't just another race.

For our Overall Classification contenders, every second counts.

The Overall World Championship

This is where Montréal 2026 comes together.

The Overall Champions will be crowned from the riders who race all three events — iTT, Road Race and Gravel.

That makes the Gravel Championships the final piece of the puzzle.

Some riders arrive with strong performances already on the board. Others have ground to make up. And for riders whose strengths are better suited to gravel, there is one final opportunity to turn the classification upside down.

Three races.

Three very different tests.

One complete World Champion.

🌈 SISU Gravel World Championships

10–11 October 2026
Handful of Gravel, Watopia
5 laps
Open & Women’s Championships

The stopwatch tested the engine.

The Road Race tested the racer.

Now gravel will test the SISU.

Get the bike ready. Get the legs ready. And maybe don't bother cleaning the kit just yet.

It’s time to get dusty!

Let’s go racing!