Greg van Avermaet points at Mathieu van der Poel as main favourite for Gravel World Championships: "That guy has the skills, has the legs, and has the knowledge"
Cycling
Greg van Avermaert retired from pro cycling but has not stopped his time on the bike. He has taken to triathlon, but mainly gravel racing. After performing strongly over the year he's earned his way into the World Championships this weekend and believes Mathieu van der Poel is the main favourite.
"If you have to pick one name where you have to put your money on, I think probably it will be Mathieu. I think if you see his level from last week on a parcours that maybe is not the best for him, then I think you can expect that he gonna be the winner on Sunday," 'Golden Greg' has told Cyclingnews.
"So I think that guy has the skills, has the legs, and has the knowledge of. I like it that he's here, it's good for the event. I kind of like it when those guys are interested to do this kind of stuff."
Read also
The course this Sunday is Leuven is close to home for the former Road Race Olympic Champion and he is highly motivated to perform. Alongside the likes of Jasper Stuyven, Florian and Gianni Vermeersch he is one of Belgium's biggest hopes and realistically, in a race where chaos can thrive, he does stand a chance to conquer the rainbow jersey.
He has talked extensively about his own feelings and post-pro racing feelings, but summed up it is quite clear that he isn't just participating for fun. "I will try to do my best. I have, of course, the skills and the knowledge how to do it, but sometimes the legs don't respond that good anymore to what you want. But I think I have a decent level. It's not so far away from home. And then I was also thinking, why not? Why not try." The likes of Matej Mohorric and Isaac Del Toro will also be very interesting riders to follow this Sunday.
Read also

Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He was a child two years ago
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughie
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - Let Torito have a shot at it
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - A great route, much more exciting than the Tour de France. Monte Livata is an interesting one, because they experimented with it at the 2026 Baby Giro, and it was fantastic. 4 km at 10%, then 10 km at 6.5% made for a great spectacle. The stage 16 is horrible. Montaner is also used in the U23s, in Giro del Belvedere
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - I remember when Mark went through that. He was really experiencing lows and thought about quiting many times. It took him a long time to recover. I, like many others were overjoyed when he came back. I hope Lafay has been tested. I wish him the best.Paggss03-11-2026
- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
- Good Point, I wonder if he's been testedmhfrvz03-11-2026
- A busy boy!Lozza03-11-2026
- I hope 2027 is his year.mij03-11-2026
- why does he have to? many GT riders from Froome to Contador to Indurain didn't do them.mij03-11-2026
Loading
1 Comments









