A Record 48 Events Worldwide!
The 5th edition of the Gravelking UCI Gravel World Series – the UCI’s mass-participation gravel series where elite riders compete alongside amateurs aiming to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships – will feature 15 new events in 2026, bringing the total to 48. The 2026 UCI Gravel World Championships are scheduled for 10–11 October in Nannup, Western Australia.

The final new event on the calendar, The Gravel of Marathon, will take place in the historic Greek city of Marathon — famously linked to the origins of long-distance running discipline.
With 48 races, the 2026 Gravelking UCI Gravel World Series continues to expand, blending experienced organizers with exciting new events across 33 countries and all five continents. With the help of its partners Gravelking, Shimano and Santini, 2026, will be another great season for the Gravelking UCI Gravel World Series.

On Sunday, November 15, 2026, in the historic town of Marathon — the place where the famous Battle of Marathon was fought around 2.500 years ago — cyclists from around the world will have the chance to experience an unforgettable gravel adventure, “The Gravel of Marathon,” for the very first time in Greece.

This will be the first UCI Gravel World Series race to take place in the country, following the great success of the “Megalopolis Gravel Classic” in Arcadia and the “Amarantos Gravel Experience” in the Agrafa mountains of Thessaly. It is organized by the MBike team, the leading cycling media platform in Greece and the organizer of the Athens Bike Festival since 2010.

Marathon is a municipality in eastern Attica, located about 40 kilometers from Athens. The area is famous for the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, a moment considered crucial for the future of Europe. The victory over the Persians allowed the Ancient Greek civilization to continue to develop and ultimately set the foundations of the modern Western world.

Today, Marathon is also known worldwide for the Classic Marathon route of 42,195 kilometers, which attracts more than 60.000 runners every year from all over the world.

The region is blessed with natural beauty, such as the sandy coastline and pine forest of Schinias, as well as the artificial Lake Marathon, which will serve as the main terrain for “The Gravel of Marathon.”

Read more about the history of Marathon here.

Participants can choose between two demanding routes: the long route, 96 kilometers with 1,320 meters of elevation gain, and the shorter route, 65 kilometers with 1,150 meters of elevation gain (both roughly 75% off-road).
The long route will serve as the qualifier for the 2027 UCI Gravel World Championships in the Elite Men’s and Women’s categories, as well as Men 19-59 and Women 19-49. The short route will be the qualifier for Men 60+ and Women 50+.

Both routes will start at the Marathon Stadium. After crossing the town, riders will soon face a 2-kilometer climb on rocky terrain, with an average gradient of 6% and a maximum of 9%. They will then pass through the community of Grammatiko, and after 5 kilometers of asphalt, will follow a dirt track leading them to a shallow stream, followed by a tough 500-meter climb.

Immediately after, they will reach the start of the 31-kilometer loop, where they will find the first feed station, along with mechanical support and an ambulance with paramedics on standby. From there, riders will follow a rural route, alternating between dirt and asphalt for 16 kilometers, until reaching the entrance to Lake Marathon, where the second feed station, mechanical support, and first-aid point will be located. For the next 4 kilometers, they will ride alongside the lake on soft dirt.

After completing the loop around the lake, riders will find themselves back on a rural route past the greenhouses, crossing another shallow stream before a surprise awaits: a 200-meter climb on soft dirt with gradients reaching 12%! The next 6 kilometers of dirt road will bring riders to the end of the loop, completing the first 31-kilometer circuit — one they will repeat twice more on the long route, and once on the short route.
Immediately afterward, participants will begin the journey back, retracing the same route that first led them to the start of the 31km loop: Grammatiko, Ano Souli and Marathon.

The Gravel of Marathon will finish in the center of Marathon, and crossing the finish line, every rider is sure to feel the satisfaction of having fought their own personal “Battle of Marathon” — this time with bicycles as weapons, and dirt roads as the battlefield.

Registration open

You can register for the 95 or the 65 kilometer routes through the ENDU registration platform.

Registration for all rider categories defined by the UCI Gravel World Championships regulations.

Αccommodation

The area offers a wide range of accommodation options, from hotels of all categories to rental rooms and Airbnbs, all close to the start area.

Even in November, staying in Marathon can easily be combined with a swim at the beautiful Schinias beach, as well as visits to historic sites such as the Archaeological Museum of Marathon, the battlefield and burial mound, the Marathon Run Museum and even the European Bread Museum.

It can also be combined with participation in the Athens Marathon, which will take place exactly one week earlier, on November 8, 2026.

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