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Grain bins beside a country road and a cornfield in Nebraska, in low sun
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Gravel Worlds course maps

Five rides on the gravel roads of southeast Nebraska, all from one event center in Lincoln: a 10 mile fun ride, the 35, the 75, the 150, and a 300 that rides through the night.

August 27 to 28, 2027 Lincoln, Nebraska

Gravel Worlds has been run out of Lincoln, Nebraska since 2010, and before that it was the Goodlife Gravel Adventure. The courses leave the Sandhills Global Event Center on the northeast edge of town and head out onto the farm roads of southeast Nebraska. The 300 starts on Friday evening. The 150, 75, 35 and 10 go on Saturday morning.

The map shows the organizer's 2026 course lines, with their checkpoints and oases. The 2027 routes come out a week or two before the race, and the 300's about a month before, so expect changes.

The course isn't marked. You find your way with GPS or cue sheets, and the organizer says the 150 and the shorter courses have full Verizon and AT&T coverage the whole way. Download the map before you go anyway: it shows where you are without any signal at all, which matters most on the 300, out overnight on the back roads.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Lauf Gravel Worlds. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Gravel Worlds course map

Every course's aid stations on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Gravel Worlds courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
300 (Long Voyage)304.2 mi (490 km)17,000 ft (5,182 m)Fri, Aug 27, 5:00 PM30 h
150151.7 mi (244 km)10,100 ft (3,079 m)Sat, Aug 28, 7:00 AM
7576.9 mi (124 km)4,800 ft (1,463 m)Sat, Aug 28, 7:30 AM
3535.7 mi (58 km)2,000 ft (610 m)Sat, Aug 28, 8:00 AM
10 Mile Fun Ride9.3 mi (15 km)500 ft (152 m)Sat, Aug 28, 8:15 AM

Gravel Worlds 300 (Long Voyage)

An overnight ride south into Kansas and back on gas station food, with a 30 hour limit.

Distance
304.2 mi (490 km)
Climbing
17,000 ft (5,182 m)
Start
Fri, Aug 27, 5:00 PM
Time limit
30 h

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The GW300 starts at 5 PM on Friday and you have until 11 PM on Saturday to finish. In 2026 the route was 304.2 miles with more than 17,000 feet of climbing. It went as far south as Marysville, Kansas, and it had gas station stops in towns such as Beatrice, Pawnee City and Tecumseh. At Nebraska City it picked up the 150's route and shared most of it to the finish, past the same checkpoints.

It's fully self-supported, with no drop bags and no outside help of any kind. You eat and drink from what you carry and what you can buy. The 2026 route listed 8 gas stations and 4 aid stations, and the aid stations were open only at certain hours. Some stores close overnight, so check their hours on the route before you go. Front and rear lights are mandatory. The field is capped at 150 riders, and in 2025, 32 of the 59 starters finished.

The map shows the organizer's 2026 line for the 300. Only its start and finish are marked, since the organizer hasn't published the miles of its stops.

An aerial view of harvested farm fields in Nebraska in low sun
Taylor Siebert / Unsplash

Gravel Worlds 150

East to Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, then north and back to Lincoln.

Distance
151.7 mi (244 km)
Climbing
10,100 ft (3,079 m)
Start
Sat, Aug 28, 7:00 AM

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The 2026 course was 151.7 miles with more than 10,100 feet of climbing. Courses usually run a few miles over the round number, and the climbing comes from rolling hills. The pros start at 6:25 and 6:35 AM and everyone else at 7:00.

You pass the Bolt oasis at mile 19.4, then go 35 miles to the first checkpoint at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, at mile 54. After that it's 29 miles to a water-only stop in Nehawka and another 30 to the second checkpoint near Ashland, at mile 112.4. The Lauf Cycles oasis at mile 133.4 is the last stop before the finish. You have to cross the timing mat at both checkpoints, but the oases are optional.

The 2026 route had 9 miles of dirt minimum maintenance roads. After storms in the days before the race, the organizer switched to a wet weather route that cut them to a single mile. If you might finish after 7:30 PM, you need lights. Finish inside 10 hours and you get a Golden Cob award.

A narrow country road with grass down its middle, between green hills under a cloudy sky
Brandon Mowinkel / Unsplash

Gravel Worlds 75

The 150 cut short, with the same first oasis, second checkpoint and last oasis.

Distance
76.9 mi (124 km)
Climbing
4,800 ft (1,463 m)
Start
Sat, Aug 28, 7:30 AM

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

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The 2026 course was 76.9 miles with more than 4,800 feet of climbing, and it started at 7:30 AM. It shares stops with the 150: the Bolt oasis at mile 19.4, the checkpoint near Ashland at mile 44.4 and the Lauf Cycles oasis at mile 58.9, with 18 miles from there to the finish.

E-bikes aren't allowed on the 75, the 150 or the 300.

Gravel Worlds 35

A non-competitive first taste of Nebraska gravel, close to the event center.

Distance
35.7 mi (58 km)
Climbing
2,000 ft (610 m)
Start
Sat, Aug 28, 8:00 AM

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

Open in web map

The 35 starts at 8 AM. It's non-competitive, and it stays closer to the event center than the longer courses. The 2026 route was 35.7 miles with about 2,000 feet of climbing in rollers, and the Lauf Cycles oasis at mile 17.7 was its only stop.

Gravel Worlds 10 Mile Fun Ride

An easy out and back on closed roads.

Distance
9.3 mi (15 km)
Climbing
500 ft (152 m)
Start
Sat, Aug 28, 8:15 AM

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next aid station without a signal.

Open in web map

The 10 mile fun ride is an out and back on closed roads, 9.3 miles with about 500 feet of climbing in 2026. It starts at 8:15 AM, after the other Saturday rides, and it's for trying gravel for the first time.

Registration

Entry for 2027 is open on Movemint. When this page was checked, the 150 was $197.51, the 300 $208.43, the 75 $170.22, the 35 $77.42 and the 10 $39.21. Juniors under 18 ride the 35 and the 10 free, and riders 16 and under ride the 75 free. A Double pairs Saturday's ride with a run on Sunday.

Entries can't be refunded or deferred, but you can transfer yours to another rider or change distance through your Movemint account. Registration, transfers and distance changes lock on August 1.

Getting to Lincoln

The Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln under a clear blue sky
Pieter van de Sande / Unsplash

Every ride starts and finishes at the Sandhills Global Event Center, which used to be the Lancaster Event Center, at 4100 N 84th St on the northeast side of Lincoln. Downtown is 8 miles west, and a bike trail links the two. Lincoln Airport is five miles northwest of downtown, with daily nonstops to Chicago, Dallas and Denver.

You can camp on site, right by the start and finish: tents are $25 a night and RVs $35. Every site has water and power, and the indoor showers are open from 6 AM to 10 PM. The organizer also has discounted rooms at Lincoln hotels. Parking is at the event center, and you can pay for a premium spot next to the start when you register. If you fly in, Goodlife Cyclery will take a shipped bike and build it for $100 each way.

Checkpoints, oases and the no-support rule

Gravel Worlds is self-supported. Team vehicles, family and friends aren't allowed on the course or at the checkpoints, and there are no drop bags. Riders who take outside help are disqualified. The checkpoints have water, drink mix, food and basic mechanical help from Goodlife Cyclery. The oases are volunteer stops with water and snacks. For anything else, use the small-town convenience stores on the route, and bring cash.

If friends want to watch, the organizer suggests they volunteer at a checkpoint or oasis. In 2026 there was a cheer zone at Arbor Day Farm, for cheering only. Anyone handing out food on course has to offer it to every rider, first to last. If you drop out, there are a few bail-out vehicles at the checkpoints and sweeper vehicles behind the field, but the organizer can't promise you a ride. The organizer says you should be close enough to Lincoln to get an Uber or Lyft.

Weather, gravel and what to bring

An aerial view of harvested farm fields in Nebraska in low sun
Taylor Siebert / Unsplash

August in Lincoln averages highs of 87°F and lows of 64°F, by NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, with about 3.3 inches of rain. The organizer warns of heat and humidity and uses a wet bulb globe temperature chart to decide whether to change or cancel events. Thunderstorms, hail and even tornadoes are possible, and you're asked not to ride through severe weather.

Most of the gravel is hard-packed limestone that rolls fast and dries quickly on the sandy soil. Watch for pea gravel up to 3 or 4 inches deep, and for fresh white rock on repaired roads, where flats are most likely. The dirt minimum maintenance roads are fast when dry but turn to unrideable mud when wet. The organizer suggests tires 35 mm or wider, and 40 mm or more is common with local riders. Aero bars are allowed, but not while you ride in a group, and the pro field can't use them at all.

Gravel Worlds aid stations and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Sandhills Global Event Center (start and finish)

    40.85314, -96.59763

  • Bolt oasis

    40.83924, -96.29319

  • Checkpoint 1: Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska City

    40.68084, -95.88558

  • Nehawka (water only)

    40.84228, -96.05215

  • Checkpoint 2: Ashland

    41.01900, -96.32031

  • Lauf Cycles oasis

    41.03532, -96.50200

Gravel Worlds FAQ

When is Gravel Worlds 2027?

The 300 starts at 5 PM on Friday, August 27, 2027, and the 150, 75, 35 and 10 start on Saturday, August 28. The gravel triathlon is on Friday and the run series on Sunday, August 29. The routes come out shortly before the race, so the course lines on the map here are the organizer's 2026 routes.

Is Gravel Worlds the UCI Gravel World Championships?

No. Gravel Worlds is an independent race, run by a crew in Lincoln since 2010. Its world champion jerseys and sword trophies are the race's own.

Can I have support at Gravel Worlds?

No. Every course is self-supported, with no team vehicles, crews or drop bags, and family and friends can't meet you at the checkpoints. You can use what the checkpoints and oases hand out, what you carry, and what any rider can buy in the towns along the way.

Is the Gravel Worlds course marked?

No. You navigate with GPS or cue sheets, and finding your way is your job. Load the course on your GPS, and download it in Goat Maps as a backup, since your phone's GPS shows where you are without a signal.

Is there cell service on the Gravel Worlds course?

The organizer says you'll have full Verizon and AT&T service the whole way on the 150 and the shorter courses. If you can't get a call through in an emergency, its safety plan suggests texting 911.

What is the Gravel Worlds 150 course record?

Torbjørn Røed won the 2026 race in 6:05:22, beating the record of 6:48:46 that Simen Nordahl Svendsen set in 2024. Geerike Schreurs won the women's race in 7:19:37 in a photo finish with Rosa Klöser. Those were on the wet weather route.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.