The Tour And Gravel

 Last weekend the Tour de France had a stage where an approximately 123 mile course had 14 sectors of gravel equaling approximately 20 miles. These sectors caused more ruffled feathers than you would imagine. Some of the complaints and comments ranged from mildly agreeable to outright comical. 

First of all, there are a few layers to this that we, as Americans anyway, need to keep in mind here. First is the European viewpoint of what a "professional road race" is. There are "certain things" one does and does NOT do which can really tilt the viewpoint on any given road race. 

Secondly, "gravel" is defined  differently by many folks and is physically something different wherever you go. Gravel could mean a few rocks embedded into a dirt road, silty rock, pea gravel, or chunky crushed rock. And that's just scratching the surface of all that is deemed "gravel" in the world. 

Specifically to this stage 9 in the Tour, some riders complained that what they reconned and what ended up being the course were two different things. They found much steeper grades in places and looser gravel across the roads in other places that seemed to upset some of the riders. I can get behind these complaints to a degree as that situation, if true, is a failure on the part of the Tour organizers to set expectations correctly. 

But all that aside, I was thinking that these guys in the Tour would likely quit races in the USA which are held on gravel. For one thing, a "gravel race" or a "gravel stage" in a race should have more gravel than pavement. I think that is not universally held as a standard here, but  I do think it is safe to say most gravel enthusiasts would agree that a "gravel stage" should have a LOT of gravel miles and 20-ish out of a 123 isn't that. It should have been reversed. The stage should have had 100 miles of gravel and about 23 miles of pavement. That would be legit. 

Can you imagine what would have happened had it rained at the Tour on stage 9?

I found it interesting to listen to rider interviews after the stage and hear their thoughts on the day. It became apparent that European Pro roadies see "Classics" and Stage Racing" as two separate entities. I'm not sure we see that in the same light as the Europeans do. 

Many here feel that it is all "Pro road racing" and that the salad days of yore, when Pros rode all the types of races, were the better days. It wasn't until people like Lance came around and only did a certain style of event, that I think this idea that both "classics" and "stage races"weren't to be done by Pro racers. You do one or the other. Or at least only think you'll win one type or the other type. 

That all said, having a gravel sector in a road race doesn't make it a "classic" and not a stage in a stage race. Because if having gravel somehow isn't stage racing then what were those pre-WWII riders doing at those tours in France? We have better bikes for gravel now than they did then, so there should be no complaints. 

And then the comments online afterward stating that the stage was "unsafe". Umm......like bombing a mountain pass at 50mph or faster is not "unsafe'? Or how about those wild bunch sprints? That looks "safe" to me. (HA!) Whatever. 

I will say that what I said about trying to run a gravel event like a Pro road race was proven to be true. Motos, team cars, and any vehicle that is not a bicycle should not be on the gravel with the riders. Dust was a big complaint. But then maybe we should let motos and cars on the course.  Cars and motos actually were cited as an advantage by some who discovered that the compacted gravel from tires on the vehicles was a better and more advantageous place to ride. (I still think the cars and motos need to stay off gravel in races)

All this does is reinforce my opinion that the UCI doesn't really want a "real" gravel event, and neither do their top-tier riders. Stick to pavement if the short punchy climbs, the loose gravel, and the dust bother you. Stick to cute little sections of crushed rock if it offends the riders. It'll be easier to take for them and would be over sooner. Don't even consider a mostly gravel course and I won't even think you'd ever have an event that is 100+ miles of crushed rock. Just leave that to us here in the US.