Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 11:01 AM
We will first have the necessary major events with the Giro, Tour, Olympic Games and Vuelta, but cycling enthusiasts are already keeping a close eye on the upcoming World Cycling Championships (September 21-29) in Zurich, Switzerland. An important question: is the upcoming World Cup too tough for classic riders such as Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert?
The local road race route takes place on a 26.8 kilometer circuit in and around Zurich. The beginning of the round is the most difficult, with two slopes that follow each other in quick succession. With the Zürichbergstrasse (1.1 km at 8%) and the climb to Witikon (2.3 km at 5.7%), there are two executioners each time. The race is a total of 273.9 kilometers long and includes 4,470 meters of elevation gain.
As an indication: in Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year there were 4,260 meters of elevation, spread over a distance of 254.5 kilometers. Can we therefore conclude that the World Cup course is too difficult for the heavier classical types such as Van der Poel and Van Aert? Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout does not agree with this. “The distance and the number of meters of elevation may be comparable, but a World Cup is always different,” he said in conversation with The newspapaer.
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“Also because you have to deal with local rounds. That is different from, for example, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Racing is often different on a local circuit. And just because Van der Poel falls just a little short in Liège does not mean that this will also be the case at the World Cup. I still remember seeing riders at the World Championships in Imola in 2020 who rode a strong classification in a big tour two weeks earlier. While at that time Flemish classic riders such as Oliver Naesen and Wout van Aert were still at the front of the race.”
“At a World Cup, the racing is different, the race is organized differently. Then the result can also be completely different. Again: in that respect I always find a World Cup a very special competition,” Vanthourenhout outlines. “There are riders who come out of a big tour well and who can score at a World Cup and there are riders who come out of a big tour less well or who have ridden a classification and therefore fall somewhat short.”
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