Gravel World Champion Matej Mohoric on inclusion of dust roads at Tour de France: "I would dare to say that it is now part of road cycling"
Cycling
Stage 9 of this year's Tour de France is much feared among the favourites for the overall victory. It's not because of its brutal climbs but due to the unpredictable gravel. Matej Mohoric, as the current gravel World Champion, seems to be the right person to give his opinion of how this stage might unfold.
"The gravel stage could easily be a difficult day for the GC riders. Especially for the outsiders. The not-quite-top favorites. For the rest, I think a strong breakaway could make it to the finish," was Mohoric's preview for In de Leiderstrui. "It's going to be a chaotic day, especially because it's all being ridden on narrow roads. When it's that narrow, positioning is even more important. Once you're a bit behind, it's going to be very difficult to make up time."
Despite being the World Champion on gravel, the Slovenian doesn't see himself as a favourite for the stage: "I am indeed the world champion on gravel, but I do not see this stage as my best chance of a stage win in this Tour. It will be nice, but not for me. Other stages suit me better," he explained. "I am talking about a number of transition stages in the second and third week. I am not feeling too well at the moment either, but I will try to hang on to it and therefore hope for better legs to come."
Does a gravel stage belong in a Grand Tour according to Mohoric? The Bahrain - Victorious rider gives his answer to that. "It is difficult to indicate whether a gravel stage belongs in a Grand Tour. I would dare to say that it is now part of road cycling."
"Moreover, the organizers always want to create a spectacle for the fans. This stage will therefore be one of the most popular and most often followed stages on television. So I understand the organization in a way, although I can also understand that some GC riders get frustrated because of such a stage. As a result of material failure, you can lose many seconds or even minutes in no time. However, there will also be GC riders who see this as an opportunity, since many GC guys cannot handle this either."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
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