If riders and fans are worried about risk and safety, then they should focus on getting the spectators - as well as the support vehicles - under control. The last two or three Tours have been ruined more by spectators and vehicles than by terrain. This is a bunch of crying and whining about the wrong thing. I think the inclusion of unpaved sections is brilliant - it echoes years of the past, and reflects current trends in cycling. The way it introduces uncertainty is what makes great racing.

@viktorgombos4975

6 ай бұрын

Uncertainty is great in racing when you are talking about 1 day classics. Gravel and Pavé make it very exciting but also sort of luck based. And imo the Tour should not be decided by someone getting a puncture at the wrong time on the gravel.

@deanrhode8520

6 ай бұрын

Yes Daniel, perfectly said: support cars and fans........stupid stuff.

@SubTroppo

6 ай бұрын

I didn't watch a lot of the 2023 tour because of the enveloping crowds on the narrow unfenced sections of mountain stages. I no longer tolerate bawling narcissists on my TV screen. I'm sure the riders would not be sad to notice their absence.

@basv8456

6 ай бұрын

It's very clear you've never been in a race. I have been in road races with gravel. It's absolute carnage, it's dangerous, it's fucking hell. On tv you only see the first 30 guys, you don't see the rest. This gravel will cause 30 guys to crash on a good day. Gravel is for strade and gravel racing.

@MrTeff999

6 ай бұрын

⁠@@basv8456 But how much worse couldn’t be than Paris-Roubaix?

The safest and most practical option would be stationary bikes with power/speed/distance data on jumbo screens in the center of an arena. That way the riders can all be safe and just focus on winning and the spectators can always see all the riders simultaneously.

@taylorhorner1065

6 ай бұрын

Lol But what about viral infection? Maybe keep everyone home on screens instead.

@flexxdream

6 ай бұрын

Love it

@xprodigy1x674

6 ай бұрын

Then you have the worry about cheats. Everyone must be in separate​ convinced with filtered air and COVID masks💀@@taylorhorner1065

@samsiesta8749

6 ай бұрын

Lol. That’s where we’re headed

Remco and Jonas are afraid that winning the next Tour will require more than just the highest peak watts hahaha it's so easy to see through

@willbhav

7 ай бұрын

@bene4577

@TellusJD

7 ай бұрын

Jonas has stated he like this tdf better than any other he has ridden.

@howtodoitright6936

7 ай бұрын

Uhm, I don’t think that’s what they’re worried about.

@MDP1702

7 ай бұрын

Basically every big contender and/or their team leader aren't happy with it, at best seeing it as a neutral stage. Even riders good on the gravel think it shouldn't be in a GT.

@bene4577

7 ай бұрын

@@MDP1702 cry some more

I really think this is much ado about nothing. The GC guys should ride defensively and prepare their bike’s properly ie wider, thicker tires with inserts etc so they can’t flat and then let the classic type teams race the stage. Not a big deal as long as you don’t need to win the stage.

@TellusJD

7 ай бұрын

pogacar will for sure use this stage to create havoc. This is where he sees a chance to make a change in the inevitable JV dominans in the later stages of the tour. I would have to agree that I dont like this sort of stage in a tour. It becomes something else then. But I cant deny it would be taking away an opportunity on a rider such as pogacar to win the tour. It is definately a win for him.

@HkFinn83

7 ай бұрын

Maybe, maybe not. The 2014 tour was basically ruined by the ‘mini roubaix’ stage they included early in the race. If the weathers bad that you could lose one or more of the favourites in gravel as well

@rockhopper01

7 ай бұрын

If it’s nothing why ride so defensively?

@veganpotterthevegan

7 ай бұрын

Pogo being himself will cause problems for the rest. And while not a proven GC guy yet, Pidcock will also be a problem because he's still an unknown commodity for GC

@veganpotterthevegan

7 ай бұрын

​@@HkFinn83not ruined. You may as well blame a hard climb cracking a contender as "ruining" a race

Can’t see a gravel stage being worse than a stage with pave’. This is much ado about nothing.

Noticed the improvement on pronunciation - Vingegaard spot on now! Now just got to get PoGAcar. Good vid.

@johnbecker3693

6 ай бұрын

Patrick LeFEEVre made me laugh

They need to stop crying, just ride it’s equal for everyone, next they will cancel stages due to. Rain. Vino, go practice on gravel, unbelievable

@Queen-be6md

7 ай бұрын

Well it's too easy to speak as a spectator isn't it, speaking for yourself.

@willbhav

7 ай бұрын

Well, who's crying? - Have you heard anyone crying?

These guys crash out regularly on tarmac and risk their lives on the downhills. Kind of amusing to hear any of them complain about riding (slower) on dirt.

@MDP1702

7 ай бұрын

It is more about the increased risk of mechanicals than crashes.

@viktorgombos4975

6 ай бұрын

​@@MDP1702exactly. Not the danger is the problem. It's the increased risk of flat tires and mass crashes that can cause you to lose the Tour in a few minutes.

If you really think about the roots of the TDF then you'll realise that they have actually been taking away gravel roads for decades. '24 is going to bring out the real talent, can't wait .

@phililpb

7 ай бұрын

maybe they should bring back single speed bikes or EPO

sponsors want to push gravel bikes

GT should be awarded to the most complete rider, whatever the type of road it is as long it's possible to ride on it with a road bike, gravel road is part of it so i gladly approve with this addition, and i would add there should be more of this kind of stages because, flat races can be ok, but a contest of sprinter should be done indoors where full watts are deployed, not outdoor with 200km boring stage. To resume GT should be a contest of the most, fittest/skilled/adaptable/knowledgable rider.

Cobbles have always been my favorite part of cycling and gravel is even better as nobody can just drive on the side of the road. If anything, there should be multiple stages with these obstacles. Would be amazing to see cobble specialists competing with climbers for grand tour gcs. Hell, throw in some cyclocross time trials for good measure. Why should only one type of rider be winning these tours?

@MrBennyrick77

Ай бұрын

isnt it already going that way considering howmany tour riders also ride cyclecross..

With todays Equipment it's fine to put such a stage in. The grand tours have to become less predictable they are becoming boring.

It shits me when they put gravel and cobble stages in the tour. It’s a road race and can potentially impact the GC layout far too much. People seem to love it but I don’t think they understand the potential consequences. We already have cobble and gravel races and they are so dangerous as is. Leave the TDF as a road race.

Wonder if they will switch bikes just before the gravel stage. It’s just long enough that it might make sense in terms of the time spent switching v. Time gained on the gravel. Plus reduction of puncture risk. I ride my Roubaix on gravel occasionally with the stock 28 Tires. It’s like riding on ice for an amateur…

@dakalla

7 ай бұрын

They will ride their normal road bike, as most models have big tire clearances now. I could imagine they run 32mm tires on wide gravel wheelsets with 22-26mm inner width to keep aero benefits as high as possible.

@MrBennyrick77

Ай бұрын

you would think they would have to have some sort of switch for the gravel to gravel bikes... 100% they will.

Why not also add a Bmx Stage, hm? Or a good old Bike Polo Match at stage 14, mh? You know what, lets also add a Downhill section to make it extra dicey.

@samsiesta8749

6 ай бұрын

Lmao

Love all the Lifetime footage in this vid lol.

The gravel makes no sense. Even if you are Wout van Aert or Van der Poel, you can have a mechanical. If for example 1 or two of the favorites drop out because of a mechanicel issue and loose 2 minutes, everybody will complain that the Tour is boring

@Knofris

7 ай бұрын

So what if someone has a technical issue? Your equipment is part of the race, it’s your own business whether or not you have good or bad equipment.

@Queen-be6md

7 ай бұрын

Luck is a factor here, is it really necessary to make the race so tricky just for the entertainment of the people? You may have the best equipment yet still get a technical issue, Wout Van Aert used the special tires to change the pressure throughout the race in this year's paris roubaix yet he still punctured at the end and lost to Van der poel.@@Knofris

@Knofris

7 ай бұрын

@@Queen-be6md And that’s racing, not everything can be controlled, such as punctures, weather conditions, etc. but the teams try to minimise very risk to the lowest amount possible and that they can calculate everything. I think it’s a nice change of pace.

@Queen-be6md

7 ай бұрын

Racing has its inherent difficulties however as the organizers that choose the parcours choosing unnecessary tricky stages is something that can be controlled. A puncture can't be controlled but a tricky stage that can make someone lose the tour is indeed ridiculous. And for what purpose does that serve? Creating a circus and chaos so that the spectators are pleased.@@Knofris

@Knofris

7 ай бұрын

@@Queen-be6md The Tour de France is a national multiple stage bicycle race. The person who wants to win it has to ride the fastest aggregated time of the course given by the organisers. It’s a combination out of your own fitness, your material, luck and your racing intelligence. The riders who participate in this race know what they are participating in. If they don’t want to take the risk to ride this gravel course, they shouldn’t take part in the race. If they do want to win this race, they have to race the course given. Really nothing problematic here, the cycling community is just so soft and that’s why it gets zero respect from other sports.

I say dirt and gravel roads have to be included or it’s not a real tour. Because you can get insane shots which in turns showcases the rare beauty of the country which would bring in more people

I think the responsibles should do even more changes, just because all the teams are so prepared for the tracks, that something like that changes everything and might give some new learnings and new tactics. Otherwise it can become kinda dull. For example pogacar is one of the best things that could have happen, because he forced everyone else to race differently again. Way different to the Tours before his first win

its only marketing hype, for the gravel bikes to sell more.

Riders complaining abut having rough terrain on the TDF? Sounds like a skill issue to me.

How much time did Remco lose in the Vuelta? Just ride the route as provided

6:49 this looks really dangerous and with all people near the gravel road .. uff, be safe riders 🤞

It will bring a lot of sponsors in. The gravel bike market is massive. Also the Tyre technology might become better. And they will have to watch the road carefully. Easier said than done with the dust in the air

@timdowney6721

7 ай бұрын

Of course, it’s about money.

@willbhav

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for explaining flat out.

@MyDemon32

7 ай бұрын

​@@timdowney6721how tf do you think the Tour started in the first place?

@stewartmckay9830

7 ай бұрын

@@MyDemon32 You might get gravel bike riders coming flat out at these big guys. All sports have become for the elite now anyway

Riders always agree not to race this gravel stage. They can just drive it easy and safe for anyone. This way they can show organizators what kind of race, tour, is acceptable.

@MrBennyrick77

Ай бұрын

if you ever raced, you would know that no rider lets anyone win other than them, period. That will not change.

@judomaster222

Ай бұрын

@@MrBennyrick77 I've never raced, but I understand that. And there is an answer, why cycling is every test more agresive, hard and danger 😯

Gravel stage! Fabio Wibmer could now be in serious risk of winning the Tour de France.

Bro the only reason Vingegaard doesn’t like it is because he knows how good both remco, Tadej and pidcock is on gravel

Adding a pure gravel race sounds like a great idea to me, so I would stop the negatives

I have heard riders complain about gravel now, but downhill finishes before, the Angliru being too tough… yeah, wouldn’t it be nice to have just flat stages?

Feel sorry for all riders wanting to breath with the hundred of so motorcycles & cars kicking up dust!

130 km would be a gravel stage. 30km of gravel (really just dirt roads-the Flint Hills is gravel) is just a spicy bit.

A lot of whining going on about gravel compared to the cobbled sections regularly added to the tdf or the steep narrow poor pavement descents used every year

Gravel in the tour, yes bring it on its far from being a mistake

Remco is complaining? Wow, how surprising.

@MDP1702

7 ай бұрын

Most everyone complained about it, Remco was actually pretty neutral on it compared to some others.

The best all round rider in the world should win the TDF .. bring it on. Definitely favours POG

Just make a special gravel sage with 100K to win and a legendary made trophy. It doesn't count for the classement but its important enough so people fight on it

I prefer a gravel TT than at least that stops mass crashes.

I love the addition of gravel, just like I liked cobbles - an all around rider should win the TDF, not just the best climber.

@rockhopper01

7 ай бұрын

The problem though is that we don’t watch any of this to see the “best rider” win. We watch to see good racing. Given that no one wins on the gravel but one could certainly lose, does its inclusion really make for good racing?

@Queen-be6md

7 ай бұрын

Thad doesn't make sense, as the comment above points out you can't win the tour here but you can lose and by what factors? The luck factor becomes more important for this stage than actual skill. Let's say Jonas punctures or crashes hard then loses a lot of time.Same stuff with the cobbles stage last year, was it necessary? Jonas still won the tour so these tricky stages don't decide the race.

@ConsciousBreaks

6 ай бұрын

Yes, let's add some mountain biking and track stages as well. Heck, let's add some BMX!

Better to reduce crash infested flat stages. Those are dangerous.

i would love too see it and i think it will give otherwise weaker teams a better chance of winning

@libbens

6 ай бұрын

I think it favors the GC Teams with strong rouleurs... so Jumbo and maybe Quickstep. Pogi doesn't need much babysitting. So in the end, I actually don't think it will make a big difference and perhaps even give a disadvantage to weaker teams. But I still like the addition, makes for more exciting viewing. I just hope none of the favorites go out that day.

Gravel is the US industry pushed nonsene no real roadie ever needs. Which rider wants one year of preparation busted by a flat in bad terrain ? To go off road an MTB is more than adequate. But for spectators one partial gravel stage might make it more interesting and thats the driver, especially for US market.

The arguments are weird... you can bring every argument for every flat stage for sprinters... risky, you cannot win on these stages but you can lose the tour, and sprinters also have no way to win the GC on a tour. so why shouldn't there be a stage for guys like mohoric, vdP or else when there are stages for Philippsen & Co. and there are stages for Vingo and Pogacar.... Actually i'm pretty hyped for the gravel-parts in the coming TdF , more than for the sum of mass-sprints...

more gravel not less. We want more. and cobbles.

Gravel should stay with gravel racing road racing is just that hard surface racing let it stand.

Bruh I'll just watch mountain bike races then☠

This is typicalof any sport that makes ANY change... everyone complains and complains like the world is ending.. GUESS WHAT!... someone will win... someone will come second, and third, and everyone else will lose or come so other place!. We dont need the current champions to like it, and we dont need them to win it, we only need a winner, and every year following we will watch it again wondering who will win... SIMPLES

Obviously Jonas is scared.

...or riders could just go on strike and ride as a bunch at 35 km/h

i fkn love gravel.... buying a gravel was the best thing.

Not really, if you are slightly familiar with the Tour de France, you will know that historically it was mostly gravel. Cheers 🍻

@willbhav

7 ай бұрын

A natural part of Tour de France, when France had no paved roads. So, what is your actual point?

I'd rather see a couple of these stages than another flat sprinters' event.

These are pro rider they should be able to ride the stage or any other stage

Is this a real channel or an AI bot. Careful folks. You need to pronounce Tadej's name correctly to make me believe.

Stupid gimmick and can’t wait for this stage to be done and over with.

train on gravel?

*** Not a smart decision. This guys ride ROAD BIKES. It´s like asking an F1 car to race a Rally stage. Same goes for cobblestone races. Tour organizers want more drama, but of course, they are not the ones crashing or loosing races because of silly ideas like this one.

@monkmchorning

6 ай бұрын

Mountain passes used to be gravel. That never stopped the race. Put on fatter tires and ride on.

I think that this is the Tour Tom Pidcock should be in good shape. Stage 4 down Galibier and the stage 9 he can take minutes to the others. It will be difficult but he can do it. And Vingegaard, Evnepoel and the rest has time to practice riding gravel before the Tour.. Nibali did practice riding cobblestones before the 2014 and that worked out quite well for him.

@Queen-be6md

7 ай бұрын

That is asssuming he can drop the favourites. Can he? His descent relative to the favourites doesn't seem like would take "minutes". For instance Jonas, primoz, they're good descenders.

@denisspratt926

7 ай бұрын

@@Queen-be6md Yeah they are but not as fast as Pidcock if he pushes. And he is currently the world and olympic champion in offroad cycling and world champion in cyclocross. So compared to the others stage 9 should suit him a lot better.

@Knofris

7 ай бұрын

Maybe he can take a stage, even top 10 in the GC would be surprising

@pureno1z

7 ай бұрын

Tom will shed 10 minutes in the high mountains to Jonas and can't time trial for shit. Will he break top ten, maybe. He is an exceptionally good bike handler, but he is nowhere near tadej, jonas, sepp, remco when the road goes up up up.

@pureno1z

7 ай бұрын

Stage 14 last year, downhill mountain finish, Tom loses 8:40. To be a great descender and have it matter, you have to be in the front group when it goes downhill.

Why would they add gravel? This is road racing not gravel racing. Gravel is so stupid.

@cst99003

7 ай бұрын

Maybe but it's actually a road race. Gravel is road as is cobble stone.

@808matson

7 ай бұрын

What about the Strade Bianchi? Is it not a road race?

@shieldofdr3588

7 ай бұрын

When Watts put in the clips of Brian SAFA on the singletrack, you seemed to have missed the joke. Gravel roads are dirt roads which are in fact roads. Road racing has historically raced on dirt roads, a lot in the olden days, but still recently.

@dakalla

7 ай бұрын

Correct, it's called road race. Not tarmac or asphalt race. There are many roads that surface is not tarmac and in addition traditionally the tdf was race a lot on loose gravel roads, so why not bring back some of that?

Hybrid tour New normal soon

The only thing really jeopardizing the tour and all the cycling sport's enthusiasm are those doped-up, controversial tour Favorites who make their competitors look like amateurs, at one point. That for me kills it every time. Maybe some Gravel is a good thing to get everybody out of their comfort zone and even let chance have a say in the decision.

@willbhav

7 ай бұрын

Welcome to this century, you are reported for both begin an a**hole and for being brain dead. Welcome to this, if not millennium, then these decades.

@TellusJD

7 ай бұрын

And you just have the assumption that that is what is going on ? There will be always some who's better than the others and significantly so. It is more true when doping is not in the scene that if it is. It happens in all sports, whether mental,physical, etc. Noone beat Usian bolt in his prime. Noone beats Magnus carlsen in chess for the last 10 years. Noone is close at the level of Djokovic in Tennis, in soccer you have Messi and Christiano Ronaldo way above others. And all these other sports doesnt have close to the same level of testing. If you knew about testing and how high specificity the tests have. You wouldnt think like this. Some may say but they also have doping.- well then why dont people say that in their sport? Every time someone is good in cycling doping allegations fly around its so stupid and the evidence points exactly opposite this exactly that there is no indication of doping. and the tests are scientifically valid. Cheating with a bloodbooster of any kind is extremely risky and extremely likely to be caught if you have any sort of name in the sport. You can also just look overall, the times set in the 90s are untouchable today. Even for pogacar and Vingegaard. they are not close.

Every team and rider should agree to just soft pedal the entire gravel stage as a giant peleton as a big FU to the race organizers.

@JosesAmazingWorlds

7 ай бұрын

And the same on cobbles, and the same on downhill finishes, and windy days. Let’s just have flat stages on highways

@alaefarmestatesllc

7 ай бұрын

Why? Gravel has been in your routes in the past. So riders know it’s a possibility. 2024 has gravel. Big whoop. Who ever doesn’t like it can drop out of the tour that day. Period. Too many damn cry babies in today’s world.

WTF a gravel stage in the TTF 2024??? They are road cycliste.

@shieldofdr3588

7 ай бұрын

Dirt roads are in fact roads. Road cyclists have been racing on them since the beginning.

watts has got to be one of the worst most useless channels on youtube smh

The real threat is not the gravel for Jonas it is the Olympics. Mr hide from the wind and race the last 2k will not have the strongest cast in history wout will want gold rather than carry the weight for Jonas.

@HolgerDanske874

7 ай бұрын

Is this comment sarcastic? Vingegaard is known to attack far out. And how exactly did he 'hide from the wind' in the ITT? I think you meant the two mountain sprinters, Pogacar and Roglic, and not Vingegaard.

@dylangrantz8124

7 ай бұрын

@@HolgerDanske874 you are a riot thar wheel sucker couldn't do shit without the strongest team in history pulling him up

@willbhav

7 ай бұрын

I do hate nothing more in this world than wout fans. They pop up everywhere, also in the most irrelevant places. To do what? - Put hate on Wout from non-wout fans.

Even Mohoric, the WC gravel, doesn't think such a stage should be in the TdF. There is essentially almost no big name that thinks the gravel stage belongs in the TdF.

@dakalla

7 ай бұрын

Thats not true. He said: "I'm not shure it has a place in a grand tour. (...) But maybe the GC is a reward for the most complete rider, so it's it's a discussion, it's an open discussion."

@MDP1702

7 ай бұрын

@@dakalla It is an open discussion regardless (since it still gets discussed), but he said that he didn't think it would belong in a GT. So this is just spitting semantics.

Most overrated race.

Yeah, the race organizers are absolute a--holes; proving they care little about the safety of the rider. That said; I suppose it behoves the riders to train there between now and race day.

AGREE 100 % THE UCI & THE ORGANIZERS COULD WELL HAVE BLOOD ON THERE HANDS . IT'S A POOR INCLUSION. DRAMA MORE DRAMA . GUESS IT'S COME FROM THE TV STATIONS. THE RIDERS & TEAMS SHOULD JUST STAND UP AGAINST THIS B.S.

@ClockCutter

7 ай бұрын

"Blood on their hands"? Get a hold of yourself, man.