Stetina hopeful of Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock's presence in gravel: "Everyone is welcome, if they think it's fun"

Peter Stetina is a former World Tour pro, who has in the last few years rode away from the tarmac and instead started competing in the new gravel events. One of the main athletes of the trendy discipline, he's talked about the possible presence of some bigger stars.

"Everyone is welcome, if they think it's fun. I would love it if Mathieu and Tom join in, that would be really cool. But then I would also like to challenge them to participate in Unbound Gravel," Stetina told RIDE magazine.

With the creation of UCI Gravel World Series and the participation of some high-level pros in some American events such as Peter Sagan's Unbound Gravel presence, the discipline has had more and more spotlight. "WorldTour riders already participated last year. But when the wheat was separated from the chaff in the final, five gravel pros rode in the leading group. Colin Strickland, Ted King, Ian Boswell, Laurens ten Dam and me," he said. "And not WorldTour guys like Matteo Jorgenson, Edward Anderson or Quinn Simmons".

"Gravel is a discipline that stands on its own. You don't do that for a while. Mathieu, Tom and Wout van Aert will be really good at this because of their cyclocross background, but there is much more to it," he pointed out. A mix of road and mountain biking, gravel races - and bikes - have created a new wave of enthusiasts in the USA, but slowly some European pros also have the curiosity to try it out, and more are likely to come in the future.