A length of 271.1 kilometres, peppered with around 3,500 metres of climbing - the course of the World Championship road race in Glasgow suits the classics specialists and sprinting all-rounders. The finale is held on a 14.3 kilometre circuit, which includes many small climbs and leads up to Montrose Street 1.5 kilometres before the finish - a 200 metre stint with a gradient of up to 10.8 per cent. Ten riders who have a chance of winning the world title at the race in Glasgow on Sunday.
2023 World Cycling Championships - Favourites for the men's road race: Remco Evenepoel (Belgium)
As the defending champion, Evenepeol is once again one of the big favourites for the World Championships. The course of this year's event in Glasgow is not dissimilar to last year's in Wollongong, Australia. Last year, Evenepoel secured the title with a solo ride in the final 25 kilometres, and a similar tactic is likely to be the most promising for the Belgian this time around. This is because there are stronger riders than him in a sprint decision in a larger group. Accordingly, Evenepoel can be expected to go on the offensive and attack. The 23-year-old proved that his form is right last weekend with his third victory in a row at the Clasica San Sebastian, where he relegated the Spaniard Pello Bilbao to second place in a two-man sprint.
Cycling World Championships 2023 - Favourites for the men's road race: Wout van Aert (Belgium)
However, the Belgians have several options for the world title. Another candidate is van Aert. The Tour de France was rather unfortunate for the Jumbo-Visma pro, in which he achieved four top-three results but failed to win a stage. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old has the necessary form. And as his season has so far lacked the really big success, van Aert is likely to have his own ambitions for the 2023 World Cycling Championships in Glasgow. The winding circuit with its short climbs is at least ideal for a three-time cyclo-cross world champion. National coach Sven Vanthourenhout is therefore faced with the task of how best to combine the strengths of Evenepoel and van Aert. This already went wrong at the 2021 home World Championships in Flanders, where Belgium failed to win a medal and the tactical roles of van Aert and Evenepoel were the subject of public debate. It is possible that van Aert will be the reactive card in the Belgian team in Glasgow, following attacks instead of initiating them. In the final, van Aert can also rely on his finishing speed. At last year's World Championships, however, he only finished fourth in the sprint of the chasing group; in 2020, van Aert won silver in Imola.
2023 World Cycling Championships - Favourites for the men's road race: Jasper Philipsen (Belgium)
The Belgians have a third title contender in Philipsen. At the Tour de France, the 25-year-old established himself as the best sprinter in the peloton with four stage wins - and a sprint decision by a reduced field is not out of the question on the course in Glasgow. However, the race would have to be ridden very conservatively, which would be unusual for a World Cycling Championships and the current racing mentality in cycling. In Philipsen's favour is the fact that he is one of the stronger sprinters on the climbs and could survive the many small stitches if he rides moderately. He also proved that he likes tough, selective races with second place at Paris-Roubaix in the spring. One argument against the sprinter is that his own team is likely to want to make the race difficult for defending champion Evenepeol - to Philipsen's disadvantage. However, many attacks can also neutralise an offensive race at some point. Then the sprinter could come into his own with the Belgians.
Cycling World Championships 2023 - Favourites for the men's road race: Mads Pedersen (Denmark)
What applies to Philipsen also applies to Pedersen: The 27-year-old is one of the stronger sprinters on the mountain and definitely has a chance of winning the world title on the course in Glasgow. Especially after long, hard days of racing, the classics specialist usually has more sprint power than his rivals. Depending on the race situation, he also has a strong team at his disposal that will try to catch up with his attackers. Pedersen proved his form in July with a stage win at the Tour de France. However, too many attacks from riders such as Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar and co. are likely to push the Dane to his limits at some point. The weather could be an advantage: rain is forecast, as well as cool temperatures, conditions that Pedersen copes with far better than many of his rivals. In 2019, he already took the rainbow jersey in a sprint against Matteo Trentin and Stefan Küng in the pouring rain in Yorkshire.
World Cycling Championships 2023 - Favourites for the men's road race: Kasper Asgreen (Denmark)
Another candidate in the Danish team is Asgreen. Over the past year and a half, he has been repeatedly set back by crashes, coronavirus illnesses and fatigue syndrome. In July at the Tour de France, Asgreen made a comeback with a stage win. The 28-year-old appears to be back to his old level of performance and is therefore a serious contender for the 2023 World Cycling Championships in Glasgow - both in the road race and the individual time trial. While Pedersen is the man for a sprint decision, Asgreen should be given the freedom for groups and his own attacks with the Danes. Asgreen undoubtedly has the motor for longer solo rides, he can also win sprints from small groups. And his victory at the 2021 Tour of Flanders shows that he can win tough races, when he beat Mathieu van der Poel into second place with a clever sprint.
World Cycling Championships 2023 - Favourites for the men's road race: Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia)
Pogacar initially left his start at the 2023 World Cycling Championships in Glasgow open after the Tour de France. He was "exhausted", the Slovenian announced, and cancelled several post-Tour criteriums as well as the European Championships in the mountain time trial. However, speculation about a longer break ended at the beginning of this week when Pogacar confirmed his participation in both the road race and the time trial. With his class, Pogacar will certainly be among the favourites on Sunday. The two-time Tour winner has long since established himself as a one-day specialist, winning the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race this season, among others. However, Pogacar needs a selective race to win the World Championships, and the 24-year-old is therefore a candidate for attacks on Montrose Street. Although Pogacar is not to be underestimated with good finishing speed from small groups, he does not have the calibre of Wout van Aert. Pogacar will have to shake off the faster riders in Glasgow.
2023 World Cycling Championships - Favourites for the men's road race: Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)
Behind the Dutchman lies a comparatively unremarkable Tour de France, in which he primarily stood out as the lead-out man for Jasper Philipsen. Therefore, there are at least slight doubts about his form. In terms of his abilities, however, van der Poel is without doubt one of the favourites in Glasgow. Especially as the course plays to his strengths: a winding circuit, lots of accelerations, plus the short, steep climb just before the finish to Montrose Street - conditions that should suit van der Poel as a world-class crosser. With Dylan van Baarle, he can also rely on a strong co-captain. And if there is no major selection, the Netherlands also has a promising sprinter in Olav Kooij, who won a sprint stage of the Tour of Poland in preparation.
2023 World Cycling Championships - Favourites for the men's road race: Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland)
Kwiatkowski's World Championship victory in Ponferrada was nine years ago. And the 33-year-old is certainly not one of the big favourites in Glasgow. Nevertheless, the Pole should be kept on the radar. Kwiatkowski, who has also won Milan-San-Remo and twice each the Amstel Gold Race and the Strade Bianche in his career, is hard to beat in terms of racing experience. He also combines all the qualities that this year's world championship route demands: Riding skill, sprightliness on the climbs and finishing speed from smaller groups. Kwiatkowski demonstrated his good form in July with a stage win at the Tour de France and most recently with two third places at the Tour of Poland.
World Cycling Championships 2023 - Favourites for the men's road race: Ben Healy (Ireland)
The Irishman was the discovery of the spring and, in addition to a stage win at the Giro d'Italia, secured second place at the Amstel Gold Race and fourth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège - results that also make Healy a promising candidate on the world championship course in Glasgow. After a break from racing, the current Irish road champion returned at the end of July with second place at the Prueba Villafranca - Ordiziako Klasika. However, the 22-year-old only has a chance of a medal if the field flies apart in the final circuit, so Healy is likely to be interested in an offensive race. Disadvantage: Healy is likely to lack support from the Irish team in the final phase.
2023 World Cycling Championships - Favourites for the men's road race: Christophe Laporte (France)
At the Tour de France, Laporte's main focus was on helping Jonas Vingegaard win the overall, but he is probably the French rider's most promising candidate for a medal in the World Championship road race. Julian Alaphilippe clearly lacks the class that saw him win the World Championships twice in 2019 and 2020. Last year, Laporte took silver in the sprint of the chasing group on a similar course, and a similar scenario seems possible in Glasgow. However, Laporte's results from the spring show that he can also hold his own in a tough, selective race: this season he won Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars Door Vlaanderen and was one of the major assets of the Flemish classics season. French champion Valentin Madouas could play a co-captain role.
