Ghost of the Gravel – 2026 UCI Gravel World Series Canada

landscape
118km

of scenic and rolling terrain
grain
110km

of continuous gravel
elevation
6800'

of climbing

While last year's epic Ghost is behind us – you can still check out Cody Shimizu's amazing photo gallery, or dig into last years results a little lower on the page.

Otherwise, mark your calendars and start your training programs!

👻 👀 June 27th, 2026 👀 👻

Registration opens soon!

Reg. Opening Soon

Gear
The Alberta foothills offer stunning panoramas, but can also introduce rapidly changing weather. There will be aid stations, sweep vehicles, medical support, and the camaraderie of your fellow riders to support you, but portions of the course do not have cell phone coverage so in the event of an emergency or inclement weather, you’ll need to be self sufficient – Let’s do our best to reserve our sweep vehicles for those who can no longer progress under their own power.

Although not mandatory, below are some gear selections you may want to take under advisement:

Rain cape or wind jacket – please bring both to race, and we’ll advise at race start on which is recommended.

Warm under-helmet beanie.

Shower cap to keep your head dry and wind proof.

Full fingered gloves.

1 tube, CO2 and/or pump (small pump recommended).

Multi tool with/and chain breaker + quick link.

Your preferred race nutrition to supplement aid stations.

Additional items to evaluate on race day:

Arm and leg warmers

A base layer

A fender

Sponsors Great races don't happen without amazing sponsors. We'd like to extend our thanks to the following companies.
Next time you need to part with some of your hard earned money, We hope you can think of them.

Route Info
We’re still offering the same Friendly (78 km) and Scary (118 km) Ghost distances, with categories based on age and UCI classification.

This year, our event –and your experience– will be bigger than ever. As a UCI Gravel World Series event, all riders will have the opportunity to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in their respective age categories. Qualification is awarded to the top 3 riders, or the top 25% of finishers where minimum field sizes are met.

To support a true championship-level experience, we will introduce separate start waves by category. A UCI or Cycling Canada (CCC) license is not required for riders competing in Masters categories.

For those unfamiliar with Water Valley, it’s a hop, skip, and a jump from Calgary (translation: about a one-hour drive). This historic western town delivers serious Alberta character, and the local community hall proudly serves as both our start and finish line.

About The Ghost
Ghost of the Gravel was born from a group of friends that loved bikes. We rode as far and frequently as possible on any bike. Winter meant gravel, and the gravel NW of Calgary was the best there was... and so the Water Valley 220 was born. An annual Calgary-to-Calgary spring tradition of rain, sleet or snow (sometimes all 3).

One day Ghost of the Gravel was born out of a desire (need?) to make the hardest bike race we could on the coolest roads we knew - those roads just happened to be unpaved. We shortened it to only the best roads, and made sure everyone was fed and watered afterward to reward the hard day - but the spirit of pushing yourself on seldom-travelled roads remains.

10 years later, we've had thousands of starters, winners from 3 different countries, and a ton of fun showing people the roads and character of Western Alberta.

About Deadgoat
Drawing inspiration from the long defunct Deadgoat Saloon in Salk Lake City, Pat Doyle and Tim Brezsnyak founded the Deadgoat cycling club in 1995. Over the past 20 years, the Deadgoats have been riding and racing both at home in Calgary, Alberta and around the globe.

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