World Championship men's road race - the most important facts in brief
- Start: Sunday, 29 September 2024, 10:30 am
- Target: ~ 16:45 - 17:20
- TV broadcast & live stream: Eurosport 1 (from 10:15), ZDF (from 15:30 on TV + live stream), Discovery Plus (from 10:15)
- Route: Winterthur - Zurich (Sechseläutenplatz), 273.9 kilometres, 4470 vertical metres
- Defending champion: Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)
- Record winner: Alfredo Binda (Italy), Rik van Steenbergen (Belgium), Eddy Merckx (Belgium), Oscar Freire (Spain), Peter Sagan (Slovakia) - 3 wins each
- Schedule and routes of the World Cycling Championships in Zurich
The TOUR favourites by stars*
***** Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia)
**** Remco Evenepoel (Belgium)
*** Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)
** Marc Hirschi (Switzerland), Primoz Roglic (Slovenia), Julian Alaphilippe (France), Maxim van Gils (Belgium), Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Thomas Pidcock (Great Britain), David Gaudu (France), Ben Healy (Ireland)
* Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark), Michael Matthews (Australia), Toms Skujins (Latvia), Mauro Schmid (Switzerland), Stephen Williams (Great Britain), Juan Ayuso (Spain), Mads Pedersen (Denmark)
* The more stars a driver receives, the stronger he is rated
The favourites in the TOUR-Check
***** Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia)
Having won the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in one year, a feat last achieved by Marco Pantani in 1998, it is already a historic season for Pogacar, which he would like to crown with the rainbow jersey. His Slovenian team, which has to cope with the short-term absence of Matej Mohoric, will have to carry the burden of the race and take care of the chase. At the last test of form, the Grand Prix Montreal, Pogacar impressively outpaced the entire competition. The 26-year-old, who has already won the Tour of Lombardy three times and Liège-Bastogne-Liège once, which have similar characteristics to the world championship race, is on his Colnago with special paintwork clearly the top favourite for Sunday.
**** Remco Evenepoel (Belgium)
If there is one candidate who can be trusted to follow Pogacar in a man-to-man duel, it is Evenepoel. Unlike the Slovenian, the Belgian has already been world road champion - in 2022 in Wollongong, Australia. With two victories at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Evenepoel has also proven that he can win monuments. He also won double gold at the Olympics. In the road race, however, Evenepoel also benefited from Wout van Aert, who shadowed top favourite Mathieu van der Poel, while Evenepoel took advantage of a lull when everyone was watching each other to ride up and away. Van Aert is missing from the World Championships due to injury, which limits Evenepoel's room for manoeuvre somewhat. After his double Olympic victory, the Soudal - Quick Step pro initially struggled to regain momentum at the Tour of Britain. In the individual time trial last Sunday, however, he won world championship gold. If everything goes right for the 24-year-old, he is the man who can pose the greatest threat to Pogacar.
*** Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)
The defending champion and perhaps the best classics rider of his generation only gets three stars in our ranking. Why? Because on paper, the course in Zurich has at least a few metres too much elevation gain for the type of rider van der Poel is. But that doesn't mean that the Dutchman won't be able to defend his title. But for that to happen, the race would have to go as smoothly as possible for as long as possible. An attack by Pogacar can probably be countered by van der Poel, but if it gets really tough over three or four of the seven laps, it could be too demanding for the 29-year-old. In preparation for the World Championships, the Alpecin-Deceuninck pro has therefore shed a few extra kilos in order to be able to keep up with Pogacar and Evenepoel on the climbs. Sunday will show whether he succeeds.
** Marc Hirschi (Switzerland)
Hirschi has been on a roll since August. After his victories at the Clasica San Sebastian and the Grand Prix Plouay, the Swiss rider also won three of the traditional Italian World Championship preparation races. The 26-year-old UAE team-mate of Pogacar, who is moving to the Tudor Pro Cycling Team for the coming season, will lead the Swiss team. So far, Hirschi has tended to win the races in which the big stars were not present. Will that change on Sunday?
** Primoz Roglic (Slovenia)
It is quite possible that Pogacar's biggest rival is in his own team. It remains to be seen how loyal the two top stars will be to each other when the going gets really tough. A scenario in which Roglic becomes world champion is probably only possible if he breaks away with a breakaway group that perhaps forms in the middle section of the course. In a man-to-man duel, it would be difficult for the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe pro to defeat his compatriot. It is also possible that the air is a little out after the Vuelta victory. Only twelfth place in the world championship time trial last Sunday could be an indication of this.
** Julian Alaphilippe (France)
In 2020, Alaphilippe won his first of two world championship titles on a similarly demanding course in Imola. Although the 32-year-old is no longer the number one contender for the rainbow jersey, the puncheur has recently shown himself to be in good form with second place at the Clasica San Sebastian and third place in Montreal, which makes him a medal candidate.
** Maxim van Gils (Belgium)
The 24-year-old, who is making his world championship debut in the elite road race, will start the race as Evenepoel's right-hand man. With his victory at Eschborn-Frankfurt this year and third place at Strade Bianche and Fleche Wallonne, van Gils has proven that he can shine in the classics. However, he will probably only have a chance of winning a medal if he breaks away with an early group and gets a free ride from his boss.
** Matteo Jorgenson (USA)
The 25-year-old has taken another huge step in his development this season after switching from Movistar to Visma | Lease a Bike. Jorgenson is extremely versatile - he can win tours like Paris-Nice, but also classics like Dwars door Vlaanderen.
** Thomas Pidcock (Great Britain)
The Brit is one of the all-rounders in cycling, which he once again impressively demonstrated with his Olympic mountain bike victory in Paris. On a course like the one in Zurich, Pidcock would get one, maybe even two more stars if he were in absolute top form. However, the 25-year-old recently suffered a concussion at the Tour of Britain, which affected his preparation.
** David Gaudu (France)
The 2022 Tour de France runner-up has apparently overcome his slump in form. With sixth place at the Vuelta a Espana and a stage win at the Tour of Luxembourg, Gaudu has recently been in very good form. The 27-year-old can climb very well and is extremely resilient - virtues that will be needed in Zurich. As one of several French trump cards, he could spring a surprise.
** Ben Healy (Ireland)
Another rider for an early attack. Healy has often proven in the past that he is not afraid to take risks and sometimes attacks far away from the finish line - such as in the Olympic road race. However, his actions have often come to nothing. Second place in the Amstel Gold Race 2023 - behind Pogacar - is Healy's best Classics result. A lot has to come together for that to happen on Sunday.
* The outsiders
Many teams are likely to adopt the strategy of attacking before the final, similar to Healy. Candidates for this would be Stephen Williams (Great Britain), winner of the Fleche Wallonne 2024, the Swiss Mauro Schmid, the Spaniards around Juan Ayuso, the Latvian Tom Skujins or the Danes with Mattias Skjelmose. His team includes Mads Pedersen, the 2019 road world champion. However, the course is likely to be a little too difficult for the Lidl Trek pro. The situation is similar for Australian Michael Matthews. The latter two riders are extremely strong sprinters, but are only likely to have a chance of winning a medal if the race is ridden at a moderate pace for a long time.
The chances of the Germans
Marco Brenner, Simon Geschke, Florian Lipowitz, Maximilian Schachmann, Georg Steinhauser and Georg Zimmermann will be competing for Germany. They can't wait until the final, because none of them can do anything against the big stars. It is therefore likely that the riders of the Bund Deutscher Radfahrer will be seen attacking early on. A top 10 finish would already be a great success.
