The 2024 UCI Road World Championships finish with the elite males’s highway race on Sunday, September 29, the day after the elite girls’s race, creating an exhilarating closing weekend of rainbow jersey racing.
The 273.9 km Zurich highway race route is finely balanced. Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and others are satisfied they’ll problem Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and different Grand Tour riders and at the very least battle for a medal. Pogačar is predicted to dominate however may fall right into a tactical entice from larger and stronger groups.
With riders competing in nationwide colors relatively than their skilled groups, at the very least formally; the World Championships are all the time a unique race, with totally different strengths and group sizes, and sometimes a unique dynamic and consequence.
The elite males’s race route begins northwest of Zurich in Winterthur and covers a 56 km loop earlier than heading to Zurich.
The males then cowl the 27km Zurich circuit seven occasions, with the Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon climbs on every circuit to the east of Lake Zurich. Neither climb is lengthy however collectively will steadily shake out the peloton and create a complete of 4500 metres of altitude in the course of the six hours of racing.
Each 56km lap consists of 400 metres of climbing, with the brief however late Zollikon climb simply 4.8km from the end on the shores of Lake Zurich.
These are the ten riders Cyclingnews expects to battle for the rainbow jersey and podium locations, plus our collection of outsiders and darkish horses.
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Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia)
Tadej Pogačar may be a part of Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche as the one male riders to finish the Grand Slam of Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and world title in the identical season.
While many different riders raced within the Olympics and Vuelta a Espana, Pogačar was in a position to relaxation up and put together for his end-of-season marketing campaign. His Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal victory indicated he’s unbeatable however his tactical mistake on the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec provides his rivals at the very least some hope.
Michael Matthews (Australia)
Matthews gained the GP de Québec for a 3rd time and is a contender for the rainbow jersey, 14 years after he gained the under-23 title in Geelong.
The Zurich course is arguably more durable than Québec however Matthews all the time rises to the large events and could have full help from the Australia group. He should keep along with his shut buddy Pogačar on the ultimate laps however is quicker in a dash.
Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)
The outgoing world champion has misplaced two kilograms to attempt to be aggressive on the 2 climbs of the Zurich circuit. It may make a distinction however doubts stay if he can survive an onslaught of assaults from Pogačar and Evenepoel.
Van der Poel confirmed his kind at this week’s Tour de Luxembourg and on the European Championship however he doesn’t appear on the similar stage as within the spring when he dominated the Classics.
Mads Pedersen (Denmark)
Pedersen beat Van der Poel in a dash in Luxembourg to safe at the very least a psychological benefit over his Classic rivals earlier than they journey to Zurich. However, he faces the identical dilemma – how can they defeat Pogačar and even keep on his wheel on the climbs?
For certain Pedersen will begin the World Championships with ambition and perception however they won’t be sufficient.
Marc Hirschi (Switzerland)
Hirschi is on a roll after successful 5 consecutive one-day races in the previous few weeks. He appears preferrred for the Zurich course and can fly the flag for Switzerland however maybe additionally really feel the strain.
On an ideal day, Hirschi may, in concept, beat Pogačar however that might be an enormous upset. They are nonetheless teammates at UAE Team Emirates however there will probably be little transversal group loyalty, with a mix of professional group bonuses additional complicating their relationships and rivalry.
Hirschi will experience for Tudor in 2025 and so may take the rainbow jersey to Fabian Cancellara’s group as they give the impression of being to safe a wild card invitation.
Remco Evenepoel (Belgium)
In the absence of Wout Van Aert, Evenepoel is the group chief for Belgium.
At his easiest he has the pure confidence and skill to tackle Pogačar. However, he was mentally and bodily drained after his double gold success on the Paris Olympic Games and should not have gotten again to his greatest.
Evenepoel may get a lift by successful the time trial world title, which may additionally soften the blow of defeat within the highway race.
Biniam Girmay (Eritrea)
The 2025 World Championships will probably be held in Rwanda and an African world champion could be a really perfect solution to showcase the present energy of African biking.
Girmay had an enormous and historic Tour de France by successful three phases and the inexperienced factors jersey. He seems to have recovered properly and returned to kind within the Canada races.
He could have no actual group help however he’s glorious at surviving arduous races and ready for the dash. He additionally has the identical agent as Pogačar in Alex Carera and so there may very well be a pact of non-belligerence.
Michael Woods (Canada)
Woods endured a troublesome spring attributable to a nasty virus however recovered at residence after which gained the Canadian nationwide title. He confirmed he has returned to his greatest on the Vuelta and may very well be an aggressive menace in Zurich.
37-year-old Woods went near successful the world title in Innsbruck in 2019 and is eager to make amends as his profession nears its finish in 2025.
Julian Alaphilippe (France)
‘Loulou’ is aware of how you can win the world title and is aware of what it means. He is at a crossroads in his profession as he heads to Tudor in 2025 and has endured a number of lean seasons however can by no means be written off.
He was unable to reply to Pogačar in Canada however French nationwide coach Thomas Voeckler all the time is aware of how you can encourage him.
Tom Pidcock (Great Britain)
The Yorkshireman crashed on the Tour of Britain and missed the Canada races however that meant he may spend an additional week at residence and practice particularly for the top of season. He is one among a number of choices within the Great Britain group, alongside Stevie Williams and the Yate twins.
Pidcock admitted in the summertime that he was ‘frazzled’ after speak about his future at Ineos Grenadiers however he now appears able to sacrifice his fats tyre profession for a shot on the Tour de France within the years to return.
A great world championships and late season would create a steady base on which to construct his future.
The outsiders
Maxim van Gils has been named as Belgium’s ‘shadow chief’ behind Evenepoel. He confirmed his kind with fourth on the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, he’s naturally aggressive and an ideal different if Evenepoel is marked out of rivalry. Watch for him to go in any harmful assault earlier than the true finale of the race.
Primož Roglič could have an identical function within the Slovenian group, the place Pogačar is the clear chief. His possibilities rely on his kind after his Vuelta victory however he shouldn’t be forgotten.
Toms Skujiņš is an identical darkish horse and might experience for himself in Zurich, with the help of some Latvian teammates. He was sixth in Montreal and sometimes a greater climber than most Classics contenders.
Ireland’s Ben Healy will all the time race aggressively even when not at his easiest. Watch him attempt to open up the race early.
Alberto Bettiol opted out of the Italian nationwide group, citing an absence of kind. Italian nationwide coach Daniele Bennati was pressured to pick out a blended group of veterans and younger riders, with Marco Frigo, Diego Ulissi, and Andrea Bagioli the seemingly protected riders.
The US nationwide group can also be stronger than its elements. Matteo Jorgenson, Neilson Powless, Quinn Simmons, Magnus Sheffield and Brandon McNulty may all carry out properly and even perhaps safe a spot on the rostrum.
Pablo Castrillo stands out within the Spanish group of climbers, whereas Richard Carapaz (Ecuador) additionally stands out on the checklist of outsiders and darkish horses.