The World Cycling Championship in Zurich promises to be one of the most challenging tournaments of the year, where the best riders will have to fight for victory. Among the riders are Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, who is still celebrating his double victory at the Olympic Games. Read everything about this championship in this article.
Course
Last year, the athletes rode through the streets of Glasgow, where Mathieu van der Poel claimed a solo victory. He will be there again, but he admits that this course might be too challenging for him. On Sunday, September 29, the men will ride a total of about 274 kilometers, making it one of the longest races of the year, just shy of the 288 km of Milan-San Remo. The women will ride 154 kilometers through the city. In total, the male riders will climb over 4,000 meters, while the women will ascend 2,384 meters.
It’s clear that this race won’t be easy. Compared to last year in Glasgow, both the women and men will face more climbs, starting from Uster and Winterthur respectively. The women’s route includes one lap around Greifensee, followed by four and a half laps around Zurich. That route includes a short climb on Zürichbergstrasse, with a gradient of almost 16 percent. The men start in Winterthur with several climbs before entering the city, where they will complete seven and a half laps of the same route.
Men’s Favorites
It’s hard not to see Tadej Pogacar as the favorite for this championship. He won the Giro d’Italia in May and the Tour de France in July, two prestigious titles for riders from around the world. If he can also win the World Championship, he would join a select group of cyclists who have claimed the ‘Triple Crown.’ That group includes Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche. After his phenomenal victory in the GP de Montréal on September 15, following a solo break of about 20 kilometers, he appears to be in excellent form once again.
The team Pogacar will be riding for is also not to be underestimated. In the World Championship, riders don’t compete for their usual teams but for their national teams. For Slovenia, Pogacar will also be joined by Primoz Roglic, who just achieved an excellent result in the Vuelta a Espana, securing the red leader’s jersey before the final time trial, which posed no further threat. If they work together in the right way, they could form a deadly team for any competitor.
Compatriot Remco Evenepoel will have to race without strong support from Wout van Aert this time. The Visma / Lease a Bike rider suffered a serious crash in the Vuelta, and his injuries have not healed sufficiently. But Remco Evenepoel now has plenty of experience and can rely on some outstanding performances, so he’s more than capable of leading the Belgian team. He already proved this by winning gold in the time trial at this World Championship.
Women’s Favorites
Lotte Kopecky has a good chance of defending her title at this World Championship in Zurich. The Belgian rode to victory last year in Glasgow, and since then she’s had another successful year. She would love to extend her title on this challenging course.
All eyes will also be on American star Kristen Faulkner, following her gold medals in Paris. Her team is completed by Lauren Stephens and Ruth Winder. With her American team, she claimed not only the road race at the Olympics but also a gold medal on the track.
In the time trial, Grace Brown was the strongest at the Olympic Games. The 32-year-old athlete already demonstrated her great form at this World Championship by riding to victory and claiming the world title in the time trial on September 22. Along with Amanda Spratt, she will be representing the Australian team.
Keep an eye on Denmark’s Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig as well. She suffered a sacral fracture at the end of February, forcing her to rehabilitate for months. As a result, she had to miss the spring classics and the Vuelta Femenina, but she’s fit again and ready for action. Last year, she took bronze at the World Championships.
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