Van Aert and Van der Poel victims of the World Cup course? Vanthourenhout responds

With the Giro, Tour de France and the Olympic Games, the coming months will be packed with top events in cycling. In September we will know who will succeed Mathieu van der Poel as world champion, although the course in Zurich does cause doubts.

In Switzerland the riders are presented with no less than 273.9 kilometers and 4470 meters of elevation gain. An extremely tough course with the Zürichbergstrasse (1.1km at 8%) and the climb towards Witikon (2.3km at 5.7%) as executioners. The question then remains whether classic riders such as Van Aert and Van der Poel can perform stunts on such a course.

Not to compare

“A World Cup is always different,” national coach Sven Vanthourenhout said The newspapaer. “Also because you have to deal with local rounds. That is different from, for example, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. On a local circuit the racing is often different. And it is not because Van der Poel is just a little short in Liège, 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 big classification two weeks earlier in a Grand Tour. While at that time Flemish classic riders such as Oliver Naesen and Wout van Aertwel were still at the front of the race. ”

Falling short

“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 think a World Cup is a very special competition,” Vanthourenhout continued. “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.”