Gravel One Fifty
UCI Gravel World Championships qualifying points, a refreshed 150km course and a field of 1,500 riders from 15 nations set the scene for a major day of racing in the Netherlands.
Roden will once again host one of the Netherlands’ standout gravel events on Saturday 25 April, when the Gravel One Fifty returns for its fifth edition. Start and finish are based on the Brink in Roden, where the race will also serve as an official qualifier for the UCI Gravel World Championships, due to take place later this year in Australia.
From 8.00am, around 1,500 riders are expected to roll out from the town centre, with competitors travelling from 15 different countries. The field brings together elite racers and committed amateurs, a mix that has become one of gravel racing’s defining features and a key part of this event’s appeal.
For the 2026 edition, organisers have introduced a revised course layout for the headline 150km distance. Rather than one extended point-to-point style route, riders will now tackle two laps of roughly 70 kilometres, followed by a short opening section and a run back into the finish. The change has been made to reduce pressure on the surrounding region, create a more manageable race operation and make the course easier to oversee, while keeping the rider and spectator experience intact.
That balance between sporting ambition and local sustainability sits at the heart of the event. Gravel One Fifty has grown quickly in five years, but the organisers are clearly focused on ensuring the race remains workable for the host area as well as attractive to riders chasing results, qualification and a memorable day out on mixed terrain.
Behind the scenes, the scale of the operation is significant. More than 200 volunteers will be deployed on and around the course, taking on roles that include traffic management and staffing feed stations. Many of those volunteers come from local clubs and associations, including WTC Roden, NOAD and Kamrad, underlining how closely the event is tied to the community around it.
Johan Wekema, director of Enforce Sport Events, said the race has become something both the organisation and the wider region can be proud of. He also pointed to the presence of international front-runners alongside recreational riders as proof of gravel’s strength, adding that the updated course should help future-proof the event without losing the atmosphere that has helped it build a following.
For spectators, the Brink remains the focal point of the day. Despite the course change, the finish area will once again be the place where the event comes alive, with fans encouraged to line the barriers and welcome riders home. The first finishers are expected from around 12.00pm, which should make for an intense finale as the fastest riders race for qualification and the rest of the field pours in behind them.
As anniversary editions go, this one has all the ingredients of a strong gravel showcase: an international field, world championship implications, a more streamlined course and deep local backing. For Roden, it promises another big day on the calendar. For the riders, it is a shot at a world-level target on a course designed to keep the racing sharp and the atmosphere high.
