UCI Gravel World Championships 2023, October 7-8, Italy

[Samamba]

Showing the last 30km was even too hard for them

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I could show up in Kansas and beat everyone. I just choose not to.

Samu is getting his ass kicked by Javier Ramírez, who ended his road career by finishing 93rd in the Volta 10 years ago.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

So is the Gravel World Series considered 'real gravel'? The US leg at Lafayette had a bunch of names that meant nothing to me (the specialists in a discipline I don't follow: not surprising) but in third place was Freddy Ovett. Did plenty of road racing, stagiare at BMC but didn't get a contract at WT level, best result in a .1 or higher is 5th in a stage of Qinghai Lake, behind Hernan Aguirre, Antonio Santoro, Hernando Bohorquez and Yecid Sierra. Hmmm.

 

[Red Rick]

Italian Broadcasts are back baby

 

[saunaking]

Italian Broadcasts are back baby

you know its a real hardcore gravel course when the camera moto can't even survive

 

[Kubackjeee]

Anybody who does Unbound is going to get their a$$ kicked by the course. That course isn't paved with PR. It's got factors like the rocks being flint, and keeping air in your tires, can be challenging. It's just a different type of thing. Then with races like SBT and Leadville, you're racing at nearly 4000 meters on very rugged surfaces.

I totally agree that unboud in a different type of bread. But remember euro pros are not pussy boys. Especially those who like Keegan have MTB/CX background.

 

[Kubackjeee]

Pidcock and MvdP have some experience, I'd would say.

I think Pidcock will race Big Sugar so we will see how he does. And then it will answer a lot of questions.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

...and genuinely, most of my ire is at the idea that Swenson is a "meme" rider, with marginal ability to compete here. Dude turned down WT contracts to ride gravel in the US. He's not ever really been a road racer, and his skills are not those that translate to a road race. The other US riders here are certainly not on his level. He has won almost every US race he entered this year. I would suggest that if this field were the field in any of those races, he wouldn't have won all of those races...but he would have won some.

 

[meat puppet]

Watching the broadcast one would be led to believe there are at most 3 riders in the race.

 

[memyselfandI]

Bro I love US gravel and wish them the best. But let's face the truth. Last year unbound was one by Ivar Slik. We did not even know who is this this guy before that race. He is not even a washed up WT pro. He was a conti level rider and still to weak to keep the job.

In cycling it is all about the engine. In gravel you also need a little luck and stay away from troubles. Top WT pros would annihilate the whole unbound superstars except Keegan.

Dunno if you don't know but Slik was at the very top of road juniors at the key top junior races. He didn't win but finished higher than this someone Mohoric who finished at the tail end of big bunch uphill finish in Copenhagen Road Worlds.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Pidcock and MvdP have some experience, I'd would say.

Of course they'd be at the front...

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

I totally agree that unboud in a different type of bread. But remember euro pros are not pussy boys. Especially those who like Keegan have MTB/CX background.

Absolutely! If MvDP trained specifically, he would win every race. No question. The level of competition is not even close to being riders like him or the WT peloton. Still, several active WT pros have gone to Kansas, and none of them has ever won.

 

[Samamba]

That Mohoric descending

 

[Didinho]

This descent > Ganda descent.
Matej was right.

 

[ManicJack]

Anybody who does Unbound is going to get their a$$ kicked by the course. That course isn't paved with PR. It's got factors like the rocks being flint, and keeping air in your tires, can be challenging. It's just a different type of thing. Then with races like SBT and Leadville, you're racing at nearly 4000 meters on very rugged surfaces.

The gravel sections in this race are no different than the dirt roads around Boulder that I've been riding my road bike on for the last 30 years.

 

[Lequack]

This is a beautiful area, and that climb was totally brutal. But would be nice to do for a non-race ride.

 

[Lequack]

Nerve wrecking watching that descent from Mohoric.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Van der Poel moment there.

 

[Lequack]

Luckily he crashed on a hay bale and not earlier when going down the descent like a mad man.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Does Mohoric have any CX/MTB background?

 

[Red Rick]

Slovenians and hay bales

 

[ice&fire]

What's up with Slovenians and hay stacks?

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

The gravel sections in this race are no different than the dirt roads around Boulder that I've been riding my road bike on for the last 30 years.

The gravel roads I get to ride here in N. California are much different than this. We have tons of old logging and mine roads to ride, and lots of less technical single track to ride. These roads are more like the service roads we have that follow the irrigation ditches, which are maintained and regraveled with finer gravel, regularly.

 

[IndianCyclist]

The course is insane👍👏💯

 

[Didinho]

We’re just gonna see them all at the finish camera. Suddenly a wild Van Aert appeared in 3rd.