3rides Gravel Winterberg

Premiere in the Hochsauerland

With the 3rides Gravel Winterberg, a UCI Gravel World Series race will come to North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time in July 2026. Three days of stage racing plus open Gravel Rides — from July 17th to 19th, 2026 — will transform Winterberg into the epicenter of the German and international gravel bike scene. The organizer is 3rides, the established German gravel race series with further events on the Südliche Weinstraße and from September 2026 in East Belgium.

The Format — Stage Race plus Open Rides

The program combines two concepts:

UCI Gravel World Series — the Competition Stages

• Friday 17.07., Prologue — Gravel time trial over 20 km, Stage Rank 1
• Saturday 18.07., Main Race — Gravel race over 80 km or 120 km, Stage Rank 2
• Sunday 19.07., Queen Stage — UCI-certified race over 98 km or 147 km, Stage Rank 3

The Sunday stage is the qualification stage: Top riders can directly qualify for the 2026 Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Australia, through the overall classification.

Open Gravel Rides — for Ambitious Hobby Riders

Parallel to the competition format, there are Gravel Rides in three distance categories:

• 100 km — Entry distance
• 150 km — Marathon distance
• 200 km — Ultra distance for top amateurs

The rides are not races, but guided and signposted tours with refreshment stops — experience as preparation for future UCI participation or simply for the personal distance challenge.

Why Winterberg? — Topography and Tradition

For years, Winterberg has been the most important mountain bike and outdoor capital of North Rhine-Westphalia — with a bike park, bobsleigh track, ski resort, and a dense network of forest paths. The Sauerland region offers ideal conditions for gravel routes: steep climbs, technical gravel descents, wide high plateaus, and a climatically cooler highlands (Winterberg is located at 670 m above sea level — the highest town in the Sauerland).

Registration and Organizer

Registration is via datasport.de — the established platform for cycling event registrations. Competitors need a UCI license; open rides are also possible without a license (insurance via registration). Detailed route profiles, elevation charts, and refreshment points will be published in the weeks before the event on winterberg.3rides.de.

Embedded in the German Gravel Scene

The UCI Gravel World Series is the official international race series for gravel races — analogous to the road cycling World Cup. Germany is hosting several stages in 2026; Winterberg is the most important NRW stage. The sport has developed explosively in recent years: Gravel combines road cycling tradition with off-road discipline and attracts a growing number of ambitious hobby riders.