2024 GRAVEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (BE)

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Moose McKnuckles

Moose McKnuckles

Nov 7, 2009
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ChewbaccaDefense said:
Racing an entire race at Colorado elevation, with actualy gravel, would be a humbling experience for these guys. Bike paths do not a gravel race make.
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Yeah, exactly. (Crushar is in Utah tho, but you're correct, it's high elevation.) It's a climb-fest and air gets thin up there. Once you get off the main road, it's all mountain paths until you cross to the other side.
 
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Bolder

Jun 25, 2015
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ChewbaccaDefense said:
It's funny watching you guys sh!t on riders like Beers and Swensen. Sure, I understand that these riders have massive motors, and if they proerly prepared, and raced regularly, they would dominate...but they don't, so the UCI creates a "gravel" race to showcase people rather than a race. It's not an actual gravel race, and I for one would LOVE to have some of these guys over to race. But lets see them show up at Leadville or Cape Epic, and see how much fun it is to see them get shelled.
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Exactly. This has zero to do with any of the major US gravel races or MTB endurance events like Leadville. The problem is that there's no agreement as to what a real gravel worlds should be -- 300 km? 6 hours? 8 hours? 250 minimum kms of non asphalt, non hardpack, non cobble?

Of course a tippy top allroad rider like Mvdp is going to win today's GWC 99/100. But if you made the gravel worlds a full-on endurance test like Unbound 200, first of all, you wouldn't have very many road pros entering, simply because it would destroy them for the rest of the season and, second, preparing for such a race is different than, say, a punchy classics or GT or even the WCRR.

The mistake the UCI has made is bringing their gravel events closer to road racing rather than creating separation between the two. Maybe they create something hard enough to get some mountain bike pros as well? Gravel is about adventure and so far the UCI version of it looks like the bike paths I used to take my kids on when they were transitioning from a balance biek.

Today's race wasn't even a very good semi-cobbled classic, to be honest, maybe most similar race is Tro Bro Leon.
 
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memyselfandI

Jun 4, 2009
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ChewbaccaDefense said:
You do know ten Dam specifically races and prepares for US gravel races, right? He raced that well, because he actually prepared, unlike Mohoric who showed up thinking he could mail it in and beat up on the locals. Funny, he didn't cross the finish line...must have been humbling.

EDIT: And I love Mohoric. No doubting his talent and engine. Still, an actual gravel race is not a road race with some bike paths thrown in to make them ride 35's. That was not a gravel race, but I hope and pray Mathieu will show up at Unbound next year.
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Actually I'm not sure how serious Mohiric was attending Unbound, do you? His socials made it look he was quite laid back with it, dunno if he got any entrance premium for showing down there, went there just to grab it and see America.

VDP has done quite a bit mtb and some cx, I would rank him to a par with ten Dam and Moho, maybe even above. But you're right, it's a question of special preparation.

But it's a question of business too. Athletes personal goals maybe.
 
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jmdirt

Dec 6, 2013
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memyselfandI said:
Actually I'm not sure how serious Mohiric was attending Unbound, do you? His socials made it look he was quite laid back with it, dunno if he got any entrance premium for showing down there, went there just to grab it and see America.

VDP has done quite a bit mtb and some cx, I would rank him to a par with ten Dam and Moho, maybe even above. But you're right, it's a question of special preparation.

But it's a question of business too. Athletes personal goals maybe.
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Its pretty serious to fly to the USA in the middle of his road season for a gravel race.
 
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Bolder

Jun 25, 2015
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Red Rick said:
The UCI very obviously wants their gravel races to be doable for the road riders as well. For that purpose it does the job. If the gravel pro's don't wanna show up and call it a fake event, that's their call.

Really, the notion that the best monument riders of today wouldn't be able to hang with the the Unbound riders is just hilarious. Many Unbound riders are retired road pro's, and most of those weren't even top level WT riders to begin with. Unbound if anything is the much longer version of Paris-Roubaix at 1.2 level.
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No one is saying that with a bit of training Wout or Pogacar couldn’t win Unbound. Of course they would. Easy. The road WT is still top of the heap.

But ride 200 miles mostly unsupported in the middle of a road WT season? Until it happens I’m skeptical.
 
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Barkintheeye

Barkintheeye

Feb 24, 2015
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Red Rick said:
The UCI very obviously wants their gravel races to be doable for the road riders as well. For that purpose it does the job. If the gravel pro's don't wanna show up and call it a fake event, that's their call.

Really, the notion that the best monument riders of today wouldn't be able to hang with the the Unbound riders is just hilarious. Many Unbound riders are retired road pro's, and most of those weren't even top level WT riders to begin with. Unbound if anything is the much longer version of Paris-Roubaix at 1.2 level.
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The Americans would whoop ass on/with Van der Poel and alike. They just decided not to bother with WT races, the top dollars and the dictatorial DSs. Instead they chose a relaxed West Coast way of living riding thousands of miles in Z2 quicker than Pogacar could ever dream of. The wuzzy Europeans can have their fake “gravel” races. In the US they ride rocks bigger than boulders carrying a whole Park Tool workshop on the bike. If you can’t fix you’re not a real gravel rider. When they finish they ride back home on their bikes. That’s GRAVEL
 
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ChewbaccaDefense

Nov 5, 2013
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scribers said:
If I were a pro I'd be that guy riding in two hours later with a camelback and a deathmask expression.
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I am that guy. All except the "pro" part. I was that guy today. It was hot, like 94 degrees hot. That 1 mile kicker with 487' of climbing in the direct sun seemed pretty cruel, but it was part of the ride. My facial expression at the top was more "goddamm!t" than deathmask, though.

I realize a lot of that data will be a mystery to some of the posters here.
 
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ChewbaccaDefense

Nov 5, 2013
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Red Rick said:
The UCI very obviously wants their gravel races to be doable for the road riders as well. For that purpose it does the job. If the gravel pro's don't wanna show up and call it a fake event, that's their call.

Really, the notion that the best monument riders of today wouldn't be able to hang with the the Unbound riders is just hilarious. Many Unbound riders are retired road pro's, and most of those weren't even top level WT riders to begin with. Unbound if anything is the much longer version of Paris-Roubaix at 1.2 level.
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To be fair, they had a race last weekend in the Lifetime series, another in 2 weeks, most of the winnings they receive are from that series (though the top pros are 6 figure incomes from sponsors and social media), USA Cycling was making them pay for their entire trip, including the kit, and there was no prize money for the WC race, and they would have made them start at the mid to back of the pack. Can't imagine why they would skip a bike path race like that?

Nobody says in theory they wouldn't hang or even win, but in practice, none of them has of yet done so. Maybe having to fix your own flats, not having any idea of how to pick your own equipment, no neutral support, limited support options, no team cars, no radios, and a terrain that isn't a feature in any race in Europe, makes it too unfair to them? Maybe they need to give it more of a conceirge kind of experience, complete with bidets, would be more fair I guess. Also, professional butt wipers, with quality wet wipes (to clean up anyting the bidet doesn't get) is a must for it to be an equal playingfield.
 
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ChewbaccaDefense

Nov 5, 2013
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Someone also mentioned that both winners had CX background...seems that the weak a$$ cyclocross racers we have here would do well in the weak a$$ gravel races, against the weak a$$ gravel racers here in the us...but they don't really. Hmm...
 
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ChewbaccaDefense

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Somebody said Vos was on 35 mils (I love Vos BTW, no disrespect to the greatness she has as a racer). Just a gravel mine of a course...veritable rockfest of a race.
 
O

Oldermanish

Jan 31, 2016
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Barkintheeye said:
The Americans would whoop ass on/with Van der Poel and alike. They just decided not to bother with WT races, the top dollars and the dictatorial DSs. Instead they chose a relaxed West Coast way of living riding thousands of miles in Z2 quicker than Pogacar could ever dream of. The wuzzy Europeans can have their fake “gravel” races. In the US they ride rocks bigger than boulders carrying a whole Park Tool workshop on the bike. If you can’t fix you’re not a real gravel rider. When they finish they ride back home on their bikes. That’s GRAVEL
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I lived on the West Coast and now live in the gravel heaven of Idaho. No one on this continent can beat the 6 time cyclocross WC.
Fact: my 55 yo road and CX teammate came to the longest gravel ride in Idaho and rode 50+. His cumulative time would have placed him in the top 8 of the Pro race and 3rd in any Masters catagory. He fixed 3 flats and had to soak his feet on the last stage for 5 minutes....The best cyclocross pros on the Euro side would make a mockery of your real gravel riders. The big difference is they get paid extremely well to be the best CX and World Tour riders; something few Americans are willing to dedicate a career to accomplish. That, assuming the current gravel princes of North America actually could go FAST enough to be in a serious group.

I appreciate the very competitive and supportive MTB vibe here and the challenging terrain. It's just not the same level that produces enough Matteo Jorgensons to have gravel riders beating Eurostars.
 
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glassmoon

glassmoon

May 19, 2012
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AmRacer said:
Have Mathieu won any MTB worlds?
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WCH not but world cup races for sure:
xco nove mesto, val di sole and lenzerheide. plus 10 XCC world cup races. he's also european mtb champion from 2019

www.xcodata.com

Mathieu Van Der Poel | MTB Rider Profile | XCODATA

Mathieu Van Der Poel (30) is a mountainbiker from Netherlands. She is currently riding for ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK. Van Der Poel won 16 races in her career. Her top result is 1st at MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MTB WORLD CUP - XCO/XCC - DHI in Lenzerheide.
www.xcodata.com www.xcodata.com
 
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