Some 24 hours after winning Il Lombardia, Tadej Pogacar watched Gianni Vermeersch and Daniel Oss fight for the first ever Gravel World Champion’s title on Sunday, itching to be in the action on the gravel roads of the Veneto and promising to test his gravel racing skills in 2023.
“For sure I’d have loved to race the Gravel World Championships,” Pogacar told Cyclingnews. “Gravel racing is something fairly new, especially in Europe, and it’s the first World Championships. In the future I’d love to race for the gravel rainbow jersey.”
Pogacar travelled across northern Italy from Lombardy to the Veneto region to see the Gravel World Championships. He tirelessly signed dozens of autographs and posed for hundreds of selfies in the VIP hospitality area before seeing Vermeersch win alone in the centre of the mediaeval walled town of Cittadella.
“I came here to see the gravel World Championships as a fan of the sport, and to enjoy it all,” he said, despite the fatigue of a long season.
“I’d have loved to be at the start and in the action but it was also nice to be watching at the finish too, seeing the guys racing. I don’t do that often, so it was a great opportunity. It’s going to be interesting to watch how gravel racing develops in the years ahead.”
Pogacar is leading a new generation of riders that are shaking up professional cycling. They are more aggressive, multi-talented and have little regard for old traditions. They just enjoy racing bikes.
Pogacar admits he does not have a lot of experience in gravel riding but his dominant solo victory at this year’s Strade Bianche indicates he could be as competitive on gravel as he is in the Classics and Grand Tours.
“If you can do it and if you can win in the different disciplines, why not mix things up during your career?” he argued.
“We’ve got some great riders doing different kinds of racing at the moment. We’ve got a new gravel world champion in Gianni Vermeersch and he is also a talented cyclocross rider and races on the road too.
“Mathieu van der Poel has done that perhaps better than anyone and other riders do it too. Look at Peter Sagan, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock. They’ve shown that they’re good at everything and often the best too.
“I don’t have a lot of gravel experience yet. But I like mountain biking, I like cyclo-cross and I don’t think gravel is too far away from road racing. I need to try it soon. Maybe we can find room in my calendar to ride a gravel race next year, I really hope so.”
