Greg Van Avermaet has named Gravel World Champion Matej Mohorič because the favorite for the boys’s 200-mile Unbound occasion however the former Olympic champion and Classics rider is hoping to complete within the prime ten if he can keep away from punctures and dangerous luck.
Van Avermaet is a part of the rising group of present or former European street execs who’re racing gravel and concentrating on the elite males’s Unbound race. These embody Joris Nieuwenhuis, Lawrence Naesen, Daniel Oss, Jan Bakelants and Niki Terpstra, plus former roadies turned gravel privateers Peter Stetina, Laurens ten Dam, Ian Boswell, Chad Haga, Alex Howes and Nathan Haas.
Mohoric travelled to Kansas with two Bahrain Victorious teammates, Lukasž Wiśniowski and Matevž Govekar. The 200-mile (327) km occasion will solely be Mohoric’s second gravel race after final October’s UCI World Championships however his bike abilities and WorldTour skills make him a pure contender for victory in opposition to the extra skilled US-based privateers’ and European rivals.
“Matej Mohorič would be the rider to beat,” Van Avermaet advised Belgian tv channel Sporza.
“You discover that in case you have been knowledgeable your self. If a street rider competes, they’ll at all times be a favorite as a result of they’ve that energy.”
Van Avermaet additionally charges 2023 winner Keegan Swenson, and veteran Laurens ten Dam who was fourth final yr.
Mohoric has fitted Unbound into his busy WorldTour street racing calendar. Afterwards he’ll shortly return to Europe to journey the Tour of Slovenia after which concentrate on the Tour de France the place he gained a stage in 2023.
“If it suits into your street calendar, it is enjoyable to do,” Van Avermaet mentioned of gravel racing.
“I did the World Championships two years in the past and the Belgian and European Championships. With your street racing legs, you’ll be able to at all times make a distinction.”
“Mohoric has a bonus by having two teammates at Unbound. You can change wheels with teammates right here and if his teammates actually sacrifice themselves for him, he has an enormous benefit. They are in fine condition and will definitely nonetheless be with him if he wants a wheel, which is why he’s the proper favorite.”
39-year-old Van Avermaet retired from WorldTour racing after the 2023 season however has continued to race gravel occasions at a excessive degree. He completed fourth on the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships and within the Traka 200 in Spain in May he was seventh, simply 1:35 behind winner and fellow retired professional street racer Petr Vakoc.
“I noticed the Unbound occur yearly and at all times thought it will be enjoyable to take part. I’m hoping to do properly. I’ve educated particularly for it, though will probably be vital to not have dangerous luck,” Van Avermaet mentioned.
Van Avermaet gained Paris-Roubaix in 2017 and realized the artwork of avoiding punctures. However he fears the flint gravel that so typically impacts the racing at Unbound.
“The gravel is rather a lot rougher right here,” he admitted after doing two 100km recon rides after travelling from Belgium at the beginning of the week.
“The tracks are wider and barely much less technical. In that respect it’s actually concerning the using. But there are just a few sections which might be on the restrict by way of the chance of flat tyres and mechanical issues. Not having any issues might be an enormous issue.”
The new northern course means nobody has a big course expertise benefit.
“Unbound is 327 km of slowly dying,” Van Avermaet mentioned, succinctly summing up the way it felt to race such a tricky offroad occasion.
“There aren’t any actual benchmarks. The strongest will emerge. I’m not afraid of that. This fits me. Years of coaching are nonetheless in my legs.”
“As the race progresses, that might be a bonus. It is a matter of not struggling any issues or having the ability to repair them shortly. If I haven’t got any issues, I feel I can end within the prime 10.”
“Just like in Paris-Roubaix, in the long run it’s not about using quick, however about having sufficient vitality to win the race.”
