Ivar Slik plans to do some beach races in autumn: "The period without a race is therefore not that long"
Cycling
Ivar Slik probably expected a little more from his Gravel World Championships, which was organized in Veneto last weekend. In de Leiderstrui interviewed the Dutchman prior to the race, which he ultimately finihsed in Pieve di Soligo in 56th.
"I'm doing well, although it's not yet such a great season as last year. Fortunately, I managed to achieve a few podium places here and there," the 30-year-old rider opens his review of the past year. "This season I mainly focused on the Gravel European and World Championships. The European Championships did not end well for me, because someone hit my front derailleur."
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Even though the route mapped out in Oud-Heverlee suited someone like Slik better than the route mapped out in the prosecco region, he set off in Italy with great ambition. "Here in Italy there are a lot of steep climbs and that doesn't suit a rider like me very well. Those steep walls are especially difficult. And there are quite a lot of them," he confided to us, laughing. "I'm still going for a top ten or top fifteen finish. That would be very nice."
What exactly is planned for Slik in the coming months? "I will be doing some beach races in the coming months. That actually starts quite quickly. I will participate in Noordwijk at the end of October. The period without a race is therefore not that long," smiles Slik.
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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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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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