Highlands Gravel Classic is one of only two UCI Gravel World Series qualifying events in the United States — meaning a strong result here (top 25% of your age category, or automatic qualification for the top three in smaller categories) earns you an opportunity to race the UCI Gravel World Championships.
Produced by All Sports Productions — the same Fayetteville-based operation behind the Joe Martin Stage Race and several UCI cyclocross World Cups — the event benefits from real professional-level race management experience, running through the canopy-covered gravel roads of the Boston Mountains east of Fayetteville on courses that are close to 85% unpaved.
Neither course is a 'shorter option' relative to the other in the usual sense — the two distances are split by age category rather than by ability, with the longer Highlands course serving as the qualifying distance for younger riders and the shorter Farmlands course serving older age groups, per UCI Gravel World Series rules.
Registration for 2026 opened in late November 2025 through highlandsgravelclassic.com; entry fees run roughly $115–125 depending on category, with capacity limits per age category.