"I don't really understand the riders' criticism" - Jeroen Vanbelleghem defends the gravel stage at upcoming Tour de France

After the presentation of the Tour de France route, much of the talk was about the gravel stage. In stage 9 the riders have to ride 32 kilometers on gravel roads. Not all riders are happy about the introduction of white roads.

"I don't really understand the riders' criticism," Jeroen Vanbelleghem notes in the Kop over Kop podcast. There all present gentlemen agreed that addition of gravel roads will give the race extra spice.

In any case, Vanbelleghem is a fan of the gravel stage. "That's what I'm looking forward to the most. That will be a great fight between Pidcock, Van der Poel or Van Aert. It is also logical that the Tour comes with such a stage. Gravel is extremely popular. They want to jump on that train.