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After a continuous cyclo-cross season that has seen two riders dominate, unheralded children come to the fore and large performances change into virtually a given, consideration lastly turns squarely to probably the most prestigious race of all – the Cyclo-cross World Championships.
Courting again to 1950, the UCI CX World Championships occasion has topped the very best rider on the earth for nigh on three-quarters of a century. This 12 months’s occasion would be the seventy fifth version of the Worlds, which was first gained by the legendary Frenchman Jean Robic in 1950 and launched a girls’s race in 2000. So far, Robic stays the one rider to have gained each the Tour de France and the CX World Championships, with Marianne Vos’ La Course victories predating the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
This summer time, 2022 CX world champion Tom Pidcock can have an outdoor hope of ending on the Tour de France podium for Ineos Grenadiers, however the man trying to make historical past on the CX Worlds would be the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel, who may change into the second most profitable male rider in historical past on the occasion.
The Dutchman and reigning champion at present sits on 5 World Championship titles however will probably be hoping to take his sixth, which might place him just one victory behind the legendary Eric De Vlaeminck, who stands proud with seven titles to his title.
After all, the be-all and end-all of this weekend’s races would be the rainbow jerseys awarded on the finish of every race. The rainbow bands of the world champion are worn solely by the game’s best, from Vos and Van der Poel to Sven Nys and Sanne Cant. It’s no shock that the 2 dominant riders of this season, Van der Poel and Fem van Empel, are each sporting the rainbow jerseys because the reigning champions.
Each riders will probably be firstly of this weekend’s races, which occur in Tábor, Czech Republic, on the banks of the River Lužnice. This course is famend for producing exhilarating racing and has beforehand hosted the World Championships in 2001, 2010 and 2015, earlier than being seen on the CX World Cup rounds. Van der Poel and Van Empel would be the favourites to retain their rainbow bands, however can anyone spring a shock?
Right here’s every little thing you could know forward of the largest races of the season.
The course
The placement in Tábor will supply few surprises to the skilled members of the pack, who final raced the World Championships right here in 2015 when Mathieu van der Poel took the primary of his 5 victories thus far. It has additionally been used usually for UCI World Cup races and the Czech Nationwide Cyclo-cross Championships. The house crowd will certainly be delighted to see the retiring Zdeněk Štybar make his ultimate Worlds look on the course upon which he gained the primary of his three titles again in 2010.
Nonetheless, this 12 months’s course differs from the previous few occasions the World Championships have visited Tábor, with the riders having fun with an even bigger prelude alongside the financial institution of the River Lužnice earlier than tackling the weaving sections of mud that outlined the start of the 2015 course. From the gun, the pack will cost at a canter alongside an asphalt street, earlier than bending to the fitting and taking a flyer over the course’s first bridge.
That is the brand new a part of the course because the 2015 Worlds and can see the riders flip again on themselves and cross the bridge as soon as extra, earlier than turning left into the fields that the pack will know all too properly. Weaving up and down muddy bankings, the riders deal with the primary set of stairs earlier than passing the pits for the primary time.
Shortly after the riders go away the pit space, the route bends to the fitting and over the asphalt to a wooded space, which can convey the second set of steps after a pointy left-hand bend. Sustaining momentum by means of this part will probably be key earlier than a sequence of twists and turns outline the second half of the close to 3km-long course.
A lot of the climbing can also be held inside the second half, although there’s nothing extreme and just one set of hurdles will should be negotiated. Riders needs to be conscious that the primary of the 2 hurdles is on a slight rise, so it will likely be fascinating to see what number of can bunnyhop the impediment versus dismounting.
Because the riders method the asphalt that can welcome them again onto the ending straight, the course descends and can present for a fast finish to every lap. With out too many obstacles all through, lap occasions will probably be comparatively fast and the winner would be the rider who masters the twists and turns the very best.
The contenders
The primary favourites for the CX World Championships go with out saying: Mathieu van der Poel and Fem van Empel, each from the Netherlands. The pair are the reigning champions and have gained a mixed 29 races between them this season. For many of the marketing campaign, they’ve seemed merely unstoppable, bar just a few errors right here and there.
Heading into this weekend’s races, then, we needs to be anticipating one other masterclass from each riders, however that’s not to say the race will probably be straightforward for both rider. Within the males’s area, Van der Poel has proven indicators of being past his peak in latest weeks and famously fluffed his strains on the Benidorm World Cup.
Learn extra: Cyclo-cross World Cup Benidorm: Wout van Aert ends Mathieu van der Poel’s incredible run
Lining as much as problem the reigning champion will probably be a motivated Belgian crew, who will probably be hoping to choose up their first elite title since 2018. For a nation that prides itself on its ‘cross stars, this drought is the longest it has suffered since Eric De Vlaeminck grew to become the primary Belgian to win the Worlds in 1966.
Eli Iserbyt and Thibau Nys will probably be main the road for the Belgians, with Michael Vanthourenhout, Niels Vandeputte and Laurens Sweeck all outdoors contenders for medals on the day. Nice Britain’s Cameron Mason will probably be a person to look at on the day, however Belgium’s massive problem will probably be discovered within the power of Van der Poel’s assist crew.
Up to now, Belgium have tried to place the Dutchman beneath strain by isolating him, however this will probably be troublesome with Van der Poel flanked by the likes of Lars van der Haar, Joris Nieuwenhuis and Pim Ronhaar, all three of whom have gained rounds of the CX World Cup this season.
Dutch power is the theme of the ladies’s race, too, with Van Empel main a listing of contenders that features Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Lucinda Model and Puck Pieterse. Fortunately for the onlooking followers, nevertheless, all of those girls can have the liberty to race for their very own success, which ought to present for an actual spectacle.
Elsewhere, Laura Verdonschot of Belgium and Sara Casasola of Italy will probably be hoping to cap off spectacular seasons from each of them, while Maghalie Rochette (Canada), Clara Honsinger (United States) and Marion Norbert Riberolle (Belgium) are all outsiders to maintain half an eye fixed on.
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