Australian rider calls UCI rule change ahead of Gravel Worlds 'unnecessarily unjust': 'Powers that be have given no leniency'
Gravel
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Follow us on GoogleThis morning, news broke that a last-minute UCI rule-change would affect multiple riders competing at the Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Australia. The UCI changed a rule regarding riders who had UCI points in elite races in disciplines other than gravel, meaning those who had 'spent thousands' to qualify were facing an elite field, rather than their relevant age group. IDL Pro Cycling spoke to Peta Mullen, who originally spoke out about this rule change on her Instagram.
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Individuals affected by rule change all have their own story
Mullen highlighted to us some of the "crazy" stories of riders who have been made to race in the elite category tomorrow, a decision she described on social media as "unnecessarily unjust".
"Kate Bonner, a local Western Australia girl, got 4th out of 6 in the ITT at Oceania Championships and, Nicole Schafer, a doctor studying her PHD did the Andorra Epic MTB race with a friend and accidentally earned herself UCI points when she finished 6th out of 10."
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"There are men with points in CX, MTB and gravity enduro who have been bumped to the elite field- ageing from 19 to 48yrs old."
These riders will now face elites such as Marianne Vos, and Florian Vermeersch.
Read more below photo!
UCI has no leniency, rule is 'unjust'
The riders have been speaking to officials on the ground to try and come to an agreement about the rule change, which they were notified of just 48 hours before the race.
Mullens said, "I will say the UCI representatives on the ground have also been empathetic, but the powers that be in Switzerland have given no leniency."
She wanted to make it clear that the riders' issue was with the timing of the ruling, rather than the rule itself.
"I would like to add that there were other rules that the UCI introduced at the recent Road World Championships, and this is the only rule that takes effect as of Oct 1st. And it affects only this event."
She went on to call out the UCI for their track-record of decisions like this one, "a ruling like this is not surprising from the UCI given their history".
Read more below the video!
Looking forward to the race regardless
Mullen, who is Australian, spoke about how exciting it still will be for her to race on home turf.
"The route will be the most climbing I've done per metre in a bike race in my life. It doesn't suit me, but I love this region and didn't want to miss the chance to race a home World Championships."
She described the atmosphere on the ground as "electric". She added "people are stoked to be here and excited to finally be racing a gravel course worthy of a world championships."
"The other riders have been empathetic to the situation, but also positive and encouraging about the new opportunity in the Elite field."
Main image credit: Mason Hender
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- I’m a bit confused by the photo finish explanation—if the image shows time rather than distance, how can it prove who crossed first? And why was the result not explained immediately after the race?velodromevirtuoso109-10-2026
- 13,000 captures per second is some serious technology! Still, I can understand why Ciccone felt frustrated when the margin was so tiny. Hopefully the organisers publish the full image so fans can see exactly what happened.patriciaw09-10-2026
- Evenepoel handled this well. No need to turn a razor-thin result into a bigger argument, especially with the governing body confirming the procedure. That jersey and Specialized bike combination should look absolutely brilliant in Lombardy.cadencekingm09-10-2026
- A finish decided by fractions of a second will always create debate, but the UEC’s explanation of the EtherLynx system sounds pretty conclusive. Photo finishes are often misunderstood—the image represents time, not a normal view of the riders’ position. Fair play to Ciccone for accepting it graciously.pedalpowe2909-10-2026
- This feels a bit overdramatic from the media. Until Roglic or his agent confirms it, all these “insiders” are just guessing. Still, seeing him line up with Pidcock would be pretty cool.breakawaybikerd09-10-2026
- I’m still learning the team side of cycling: if a team has 29 contracts already signed, how can it still add Roglič? Do riders leave, or are there limits on how many can be registered?samanthak09-10-2026
- So many conflicting reports — Tudor favourite one week, completely out the next. Surely someone in the camps knows what’s happening? Either way, Roglic deserves a team built around him rather than another uncertain setup.jeremya09-10-2026
- Pinarello-Q5 with Roglič, Pidcock and Ciccone would be a seriously interesting project. Plenty of firepower, although three big personalities sharing one team could get complicated during the Grand Tours.sprocketspiny09-10-2026
- The transfer rumours are becoming a race of their own! Tudor still makes sense, but a clear leader role at Lotto-Intermarché could be exactly what Roglič wants at this stage of his career. Let’s see what comes out after Lombardia.gearguru3309-10-2026
- Big challenge ahead—bonne chance, Grischa!lindae09-10-2026
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