Belgian national coach believes Remco Evenepoel can revalidate time-trial world title: "It is a time trial tailored to his needs"

The World Championships will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, next year; and the Belgian national coach was happy with the announced profiles. He believes Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert can fight for the rainbow jerseys.

"Then you automatically think of climbers. The type of climbs will determine which riders we take with us. To do this, you must first have seen the course with your own eyes," Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout told Sporza. The 273-kilometer race will feature 4500 meters of climbing and with the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel who can climb but also do these short efforts with the best puncheurs, there is a good chance that it will end up a race too hard for many classics specialists.

"You first make a longlist based on the route and then you look for riders who want to join the exploration, which often depends on their program." Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert will both be contenders for the win, Vanthourenhout believes: "They have both already shown that they can handle different courses. That is no different here. I also think that [Lotte] Kopecky should be able to handle this. She has often excelled in one-day work and this course certainly suits her abilities."

Aside from the road races where the Belgians frequently excel, he also argues that the team can succeed in the time-trial. Remco Evenepoel will likely try to defend his title and the 46-kilometer course suits his skills. "Evenepoel gets a kick out of climbs in a time trial and in that respect, he gets what he has always wanted here. It is a time trial tailored to his needs."