Reception has been somewhat mixed. Last year's winner,
Mathieu van der Poel responded by asking "Is this a joke?" Whilst van der Poel will again start as favourite this weekend, Jorgenson will be one of his main rivals and the Team Visma | Lease a Bike does not share the world champion's chagrin at the addition of the chicane to the course.
"Is this what fans want to see? Riders completely covered in blood after sliding face-first at 50mph/80kph on sharp rocks in a forest?" asks the 24-year-old in a post to his X (Twitter) account with a picture of a battered an bloody rider post-crash. "I’ll take a couple of turns and some guys sliding out on pavement any day…"