Because it’s fun and/or they think they can do well? Many pros specialize in races like the cobbles classics on roads that are anything but pristine.
Something to note is that the UCI is a governing body, not a race promoter. They are sanctioning the race, not sponsoring it or producing it.
Who on this thread is arguing for “the spirit of gravel”? I was pretty encouraged that it hadn’t come up on this thread, except as an asterisk?
I think pros specialize in these races because of the terrain, not the road surface. There are many cobbled races that suit different types of riders.
Other than the Paris Roubaix, I think the road surface is a circumstance, not a defining feature. I’m available to be wrong.
Valid point. Classics have a lot going on.
This course looks pretty fun to me. I can see getting excited about going out and racing it. Maybe fun to do something different at the end of the season.
Well (acknowledging it is probably an outlier) MVDP already races XC and CX. He even chose XC over road for the Olympics. If the $$$ weren’t all on the road maybe he wouldn’t race road.
And I’m not sure I entirely understand the rationale (not yours, elsewhere) for wanting the same length race for mens and womens fields, particularly as they’re separate fields, I mean the two pro race winners will probably end doing nearly the same overall time won’t they?
Should be a fun race, looking forward to watching it on GCN.
Just a dig…
Couldn’t resist. No self control.
More info.
Sounds like the course is actually pretty cool. The narrow bits will cause accelerations, splits etc. Maybe it will be a solo win or a small group.
Road bikes with wide gravel tires seem like the optimal choice.
Genuine question: Can I ask where you have in mind? I live right in the middle of Europe and I’ve not bothered to buy a gravel bike due to lack of gravel roads, it’s either paved or technical MTB type terrain. Admittedly I do live in a mountainous area which might be why but definitely interested in knowing where there might be more gravel roads
Edit: I’m aware of the gravel scene in Girona and of course the strada bianchi but don’t/didn’t think we had abundance of gravel otherwise, so that hoping that gravel bike might be worth it!
I live just west of Frankfurt. Germany is full of gravel roads, particularly through areas of dense vineyards - Rheinhessen, Rheingau, Nahe - as well as throughout the Black Forest and other logging forested areas (for me, the Taunus is a labyrinth of gravel). Check out the Orbit360 series, or the VOTEC Gravel Fondo events. Also, Alsace is also a great place as you cross into France. Obviously as you mention Girona, but even still throughout Provence and the south coast of France. Lastly, having just recently been in Greece and Crete, i need to come back with my gravel bike. I do find it very interesting that gravel racing isn’t more of a thing in Europe. Who knows why, and it could be simply on the heels on what’s come about from North America.
I havent explored gravel in the Czech Republic or Croatia or further into the Alps, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Look at where the Eroica series has been creating its events and you can sprawl out from these centres to uncover a lot more. Like most places, the coolest part of gravel is finding it.
Cool, much more than I realised although non really local to me 
Seems like there are better places to hold this race than Veneto! Only 50% of parcours for worlds is unpaved/hard gravel apparently
Yeah it looks more like a road race than a gravel race. I did not see any gravel roads here when driving to the city. But I am here in Italy with my 40 mm gravel tires and will race in the 19-34 age group after all!
The Euro guys ride on the road, but they’ll have no problem on gravel. They race cobbles in Roubaix, on narrower tires, and most of them have raced MTB and CX. MVDP might be the best all around bike handler, no matter who shows. Also, does anyone here really think MVDP or WVA wouldn’t win any gravel race (Unbound included) assuming they were on good form?
It’s kind of funny that people talk about gravel being so welcoming and inclusive, but the gatekeeping has gotten so bad it’s become a meme with “the spirit of gravel” thing. With all the big races, there’s always media coverage about somebody “breaking the gravel rules,” whether that is aero bars or aid stations stops. With the self proclaimed moniker of gravel being a discipline with no rules, there seem to be a lot of unwritten rules. And my guess is that it’s mostly just a PR thing, with the actual gravel races being very welcoming, but it gets a bad rap on the internet because of news articles that make it hard not to make fun of it. Then you get all the people complaining about things that are killing gravel, like this gravel worlds race. I’m just happy to see more coverage of different disciplines.
I agree with this 100%. The US has such a hate of bicycles in general but even more so road cycling that gravel was the answer. God forbid you have to close down a road for a couple hours to host a road race.
So what the point of all those “qualifying” races they had this year? All the top names showing up this weekend never raced one of them.
From what I have seen, this course is a glorified Strade Bianche….which isn’t necessarily a bad thing since it is one of my favorite races, but we already have that race. And sure it is gravel, but the fact that everyone races road bikes on it means it is just a road race on bad surfaces.
This is gonna be further emphasized by the presence of national teams for the race.
I’m obviously gonna watch, and I think it will be entertaining….but not necessarily the direction I want to see gravel go (but which was likely inevitable)
The top pros can’t skip their contract obligations to do a gravel qualifying event. The qualifying standards are also for age group athletes only, not pros. I don’t think ‘qualifying’ gets you into the pro race, but allows you to race the AG race for the AG championship.
Sure they can……pros do it all the time. See Sagan at Unbound this year. They just need to work it out with management.
The fact that they can suddenly do Worlds is further evidence of this flexibility.
I may have missed it but are race radios allowed at this race? And what’s the follow car/feed situation?
I think the team probably told him to do unbound rather than him asking if he could compete in unbound 100. The racers do what the team says since they are on contract
It was assuredly a mutual thing…with the original request likely coming from Specialized, not the team. the team couldn’t have given a rat’s patootie about Sagan showing up at Unbound.
But I can give you any number of different pros who have showed up at “alt races” because it was something that interested them, not because it was in their contract. Matteo Jorgensen has done Unbound a couple of times (zero interest in Movistar having him there), etc.
Didn’t Jorgensen say on the TR pod that he really did NOT want to be at Unbound, and was asked to go? From a sponsor IIRC, not his team.