At Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe (Roglic), they fear the notorious gravel stage: "A key stage, standings can easily go haywire"

At the German WorldTour team, this edition of La Grande Boucle revolves, of course, around team leader Primoz Roglic, who isn't exactly known for his superior bike handling skills. The Slovenian has frequently crashed in the past and will likely approach the gravel stage with apprehension, much like many others. "Personally, I'm not really a fan of including a gravel stage in a Grand Tour," confided team helper Danny van Poppel to us in France.

"For example, if Primoz gets a flat tire, or any other contender for that matter, your entire general classification can be ruined," continued the amiable rider from North Brabant, discussing the luck factor. "You really just need luck on such a gravel course. That factor might be a bit too significant. But there's not really anything you can do about it. They just throw it into the route and that's it. They did it in the past Giro d'Italia, of course. It went okay there. It also depends on how difficult the stage itself is. If it's very tough, usually a strong group of riders gets ahead, so it's less risky. But if it's flat and there are gravel sections, it becomes dangerous. Many guys can't handle that and it could cost them dearly. That's just unfortunate for the Tour, in my opinion."

Regarding this matter, all heads at Ralph Denk's team are aligned. "I also don't think a gravel stage in a Grand Tour is a good idea. I'm a big fan of one-day races, especially races like Paris-Roubaix and Strade Bianche. But applying it in such a big tour is a bit too much for me. I'm skeptical about it," added warrior Marco Haller.

"You can't win the Tour in a gravel stage, but you can definitely lose it. I think it's quite controversial to potentially lose the Tour due to flat tires," continued the experienced Austrian. "That's what worries me a bit. However, it can happen to anyone, right? I'd prefer to see it included in classics. Most teams will enter that gravel stage with apprehension, including us. Everyone will need to be fully focused. Maximum sharpness is required. For everyone. It will definitely be a key stage."

Nico Denz echoed the sentiments of his Dutch and Austrian teammates. "I'm also not a fan of gravel stages in Grand Tours. I'm not particularly fond of gravel in general. Strade Bianche is a pure gravel race, which is manageable. In Paris-Tours, we already encounter rough stones similar to what we'll face in this gravel stage. So, it will be a pure lottery whether you get a flat or not," he asserted firmly.

"I don't think it belongs in a Grand Tour because you work towards one goal for months. If you drop out of the general classification purely due to bad luck and not because you're not strong enough, that's not fair. That's my opinion," Denz concluded, discussing the expected chaos. "It's going to be a huge stress fest. That's for sure. We've been preparing for this stage for a long time ourselves. For us, the most important thing is to defend and avoid losing time. So, it's about safely getting through the day to then focus on the mountain stages. But we have to deal with it. There's nothing we can change about it."