Patrick Lefevere critical of Tour de France's gravel stage: "Gravel in the Tour? Nonsense"

The Tour de France is one of the toughest cycling events in the world and often rewards the most complete rider in the peloton. It is a race decided in the mountains and time-trials but with several other pitfalls every year. In 2024, there is a stage with plenty off-road gravel sectors, which will take place this Sunday. But Soudal - Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefevere is anything but a fan of it.

“You don't want to know how much time, effort and man-hours went into preparing for this time trial. By Remco and the staff. We came to win and we succeeded," Lefevere said in his weekly column for Het Nieuwsblad. "No one can take that away from us, but my frustration is: all the time gained in the classification, which we worked so hard for, can be lost many times over on Sunday in the gravel stage with one flat tire.”

Lefevere never goes easy on his words and in this case, tells how much he is not a fan of having the Tour de France peloton racing over such a stage. There will be over 32 kilometers of gravel roads on the stage this Sunday that starts and finishes in the city of Troyes, spread throughout 14 different sectors.

“I am happy to admit it: I am completely anti. I used to be against the Strade Bianche, but only an idiot never changes his mind. I can appreciate that race now. But gravel in the Tour? Nonsense, I think," he states. "Entertainment for the masses, bread and games. An image of Cadel Evans in the 2010 Giro is burned into my retina. He won the gravel stage then, but crossed the finish line with a caked-on gravel slurry that covered his entire face. Is that how we want to see the riders? The Tour rewards the most complete rider, but there are limits to that."

This isn't to say that the stage is inherently unfavourable for team leader Remco Evenepoel, who is so far having a brilliant Tour and sits second only to Tadej Pogacar. Whilst Primoz Roglic is a rider who has crashed on multiple occasions at the Tour in previous years including cobbled stages, Tadej Pogacar was easily and quickly isolated from his entire team on stage 6 when Visma accelerated in the crosswinds. Evenepoel is expected to have the likes of Yves Lampaert and Gianni Moscon to protect him in this stage. Arguably, it's no match for Visma's support crew for Jonas Vingegaard.

"For me: no gravel, no climb that is so steep that you need a mountain bike gear for it and no cobblestones either. I don't have to convince anyone that I am a big fan of Paris-Roubaix, but you shouldn't send a Tour peloton over that," Lefevere argues. "I understand that ASO is concerned about too many 'transition stages' and that the youth might find sprint stages a bit boring. But the remedy is not the funfair of a Tour peloton on gravel.”