Graveling is hip and that has led to the first clay court World Cup in Veneto this weekend. Reasons enough for In the leader’s jersey
to conclave with one of the Dutch gravel specialists, Piotr Havik. ‘Participation Mathieu van der Poel immediately raises the level.’
Hawk, who won this year’s Italian Gravel World Series match La Monsterrato, is really excited about the event. “We worked really hard for it this year, this was the main goal. It is nice that it will eventually come to life, also among the professionals. That gives even more value to this World Cup.’
The rider from Gouda notices that the World Cup is alive. ‘It is really suddenly a hype that is now emerging. Based on the races I’ve driven, the Gravel World Series, I can just go there with a lot of confidence. The form is good, but it’s not that I was able to compete with the professionals this year.’
“In that respect you know just a little less well where you stand compared to those men,” he refers to, among others, Van der Poel. “I have to trust that my form is good and that I can find the peace that as an ‘amateur’ I don’t have to carry the race.”
Havik: ‘I would have liked to have fought the World Cup among specialists’
Isn’t it double that, that riders like Van der Poel ‘suddenly’ join in? ‘On the one hand, it’s great for the sport. It takes it right up to a higher level. Could it have been a year later? I would have liked that too’, Havik answers his own question. ‘I would have liked to have fought it out among clay specialists. That they had to select themselves, as it were, just like Niki Terpstra (who won the competition in Millau, France, ed.). That might have raised the threshold a bit, now they have a fairly easy entry.’
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Havik is certainly not the only Dutchman at the start. Specialists Jasper Ockeloen, Ivar Slik and of course Van der Poel also participate on behalf of Orange. ‘Because it is an official World Cup, we are obliged to ride in AGU, the national selection outfit between the professionals. That is also something beautiful and worth something, because his shirt also has historical value from Dutch sports heroes. It is kind of a status symbol, that way it is also taken a little more seriously.’
“Unfortunately, there is no national coach and no hotel has been arranged or anything,” says Havik about the national intentions towards the World Cup. ‘Everyone has to go there for themselves, the clay sport is still quite individual for the time being.’ Does the fact that there are many good Dutch people open opportunities for unions? ‘I haven’t thought about it myself yet. It is often a price situation that determines itself. So many things can happen: you can agree something with three riders, but then two of them have a flat tire and your plan falls apart.’
“That is of course a much greater risk in gravel sport: that you have a puncture and that you have to make sure you have repaired your wheel or tire quickly enough,” Havik points out. In his own words, the specialist goes to Veneto for a ‘combination of results and pleasure’. “I’m not going there with pressure, because I’ve already had a very good year and participating in the World Cup is icing on the cake. I want to participate fully in this and drive for the win. If everything falls into place, I’m not just going to give away a World Cup title.’
Havik sees 2022 as ‘investment year’ and hopes for more
The speed rider decided to focus on gravel last winter, but also works part-time. If it is up to him, that will change again in the short term. ‘That has kind of been the approach this year: I really saw it as an investment year again, a world to discover.’
‘If you ask me now, I really want to practice it even more professionally’, he says when asked. ‘I get a lot of satisfaction from that, and a good result at the World Cup can definitely help with that. Especially to get that financial puzzle in order. Such a World Cup can accelerate everything.’
The switch from the road to the gravel has not done Havik any harm. “Personally, I was done with the continental level, so to speak. The challenge in terms of competitions was also a bit gone. After my step to the procontinental level at Riwal (in 2020, ed.) I would have liked to have continued to grow and have been a pro for another ten years, but due to a combination of circumstances, many talented riders like me could no longer find a place at the time. .’
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‘In any case, I was already a fan of clay-court competitions on the road and so on’, he describes his final choice. “That was what I did it for and got the most kick out of it, and I have now found that again in the clay. It’s a battle with technical aspects every time, I like that. That makes it a very nice sport.’
Organizer Erwin Vervecken already indicated that he wants to make something ‘very big’ from the (World Cup) gravel, a rider like Havik wants to go along with it. “I also think it will be very big. Also because it is not only an interesting trip for road cyclists, but also for professional mountain bikers who specialize in it. And above all: the best thing is, as it is now arranged, that everyone can participate and there is no separate professional category.’
‘That makes it a much more inclusive sport, with women who can start. I find that a charm, because it can become very interesting as both top and recreational sport. You can’t compare one-on-one with the pros, that’s not possible anywhere else’, says Havik.
Havik already drove in football uniforms of the Netherlands and Belgium
After the World Cup on 9 October, the Dutch clay court is also on the program, on 22 October in Epe. Hawk will not be seen there, he indicates opposite In the leader’s jersey. ‘It hurts a little in my head, but my body says, Piotr, enough is enough now. Of course there is much more to it than just training and resting, you have to do all your preparation yourself and there is still a bit of work to do. It is a big sum and somewhere you have to set a limit, which I now set for myself at the World Cup. So I probably won’t do the NK.’
Finally: Havik did not only stand out this year with his cycling very hard, but also with very cool outfits. He drove matches in the football uniform of the Dutch national team in 1988 and that of the Red Devils at the 2018 World Cup. ‘We were brainstorming what would be nice for the second part of the season, with the freedom we had. have in the clay sport. You are not tied to a team or a shirt. I thought: let me work out a nice plan with my clothing partner, with a nod to the country and another sport. It’s a bit of a marketing stunt, but fortunately that’s also part of my job’, says the outright marketer in him.
Tom van der Salm (Twitter: @TomvanderSalm) | e-mail: [email protected])
