When we reach him on the phone, Tomas Van der Spiegel gets stuck in Brussels traffic which in the morning is something incredible. He says it's similar to the one in Milan and we immediately take him for granted. The CEO of Flanders Classics it always goes at full speed. And so, after having organised with his team the recent European Championships of Limburg 2024, Now sets sail for the European gravel of Asiago of October 13th, before the cyclocross season arrives like a tornado.
The reason for the call is precisely the Asiago race, after Mattia De Marchi's reaction who, speaking on behalf of the specialists, pointed the finger at the date and type of routeThe date, due to its coincidence with another event in Spain, means the Friulian has chosen not to compete in the European Championships. The route, pointed out as too easy and consequently, according to him, designed to favour road cyclists and penalise those who live on gravel all year round (Wout Van Aert at the opening last World Cup in Treviso).
What do you think of this controversy?
I followed her, I know Mattia well. I would say first of all that Gravel is a discipline that is still finding its place in the cycling worldWe're well aware of the problems with calendars, and not just for road cycling. Cycling is very popular, and the calendar is packed. Organizing gravel events all year round for the gravel community is wonderful. I'm also very passionate about it. I came to Conegliano two months ago to ride with Mattia, too. At the beginning of the year I did The Traka from 360 kilometers in SpainI really like gravel, but we're trying to figure out where it fits in.
How do you choose the date of a European Championship?
There are so many gravel events and road races going on at that time, it's not easy to find the right date. We work with the international federations, with the UCI and the UEC, it is not you, the organiser, who chooses and communicates it to them.In my opinion, the calendar is the first topic. And on this I agree with Mattia who It also requires a lot of respect for the people who ride gravel all year round and who develop the discipline.
What is gravel for you?
It's something very inclusive for everyone and even we who organize events are looking for the right formula for the championship trials. It is the method that in English is called trials and errors, that is, try and correct based on the results. I believe this is the process we're experiencing right now. Maybe the Asiago one isn't the ideal one, but To say that it is made only for road riders seems a bit exaggerated to meI've been there many times, I know the area very well. I think it will be very beautiful this way too and that We will be able to please many people, while it is not always easy or possible to please everyone.
Are there many differences?
There are races of 100 kilometers and others over 300. Obviously there are specialists in the first and specialists in the secondSo I think if we find a good mix of gravel riders, road racers, and cyclocross riders—because they're there too—we can say we've done a good job. It's only the second European Championship; we have the rights for next year too. If we don't like something this year, we can improve it next year..
While you were talking, we were thinking about mountain biking, which has the cross-country and marathon world championships, because not everyone can coexist in the same events, do you think?
It could be, I hadn't thought of that yet. We have to take a few things into account. For example, today it is very important to be able to tell the story of a raceIf you make a 300-kilometer long one in the middle of nowhere, it's very difficult to make a successful TV production. At the same time, as a gravel amateur I hate circuitsEspecially because there are races where you have to go around 15-kilometer loops 6-7-8 times. In my opinion, that's not the right spirit. So we need to find the right formula. I hadn't thought of the parallel with mountain biking, but it deserves further study.Maybe it makes sense to have a shorter race on Saturday, perhaps with a finale on a more explosive circuit. And then a longer race the next day.
That said, it's pretty clear that the presence of Van der Poel, Van Aert, Pidcock and champions like that has a significant impact on fans and sponsors, right?
We, who are cyclocross specialists, have been experiencing it for years. Today there are stars of multi-discipline and I believe that this is the future of cycling, gravel and road.. Not only Mathieu, Wout and Tom, there is also Puck Pieterse among the women, there is Fem Van Empel, there is also Thibau Nys who wins on the road and in cyclocross… Maybe the rider of the future is made like this, even for gravel. I think this is a time to gather, we must use this fact to also make the movement growWe need to find the middle ground. It's true that there's this gravel community that runs all year round, that has its fans, but To attract more people you also need to have stars and I think this is the real challenge today.
So no controversy?
I understand certain frustrations very well, however. I believe that controversies are not useful for the movement to growWe need to look together at how we can do this. From my perspective, that's the whole point.
