"It was an insanely difficult World Championships" - Jasper Stuyven admits Belgium struggled to keep control in World Championship road race
Cycling
The Belgian team were widely regarded as the team to beat heading into the Glasgow World Championships. Although they had three riders finish in the top 9, they were unable to win the race. As Jasper Stuyven (6th) admits post-race, it was a day of struggle.
"It was an insanely difficult World Championships," said the 31-year-old after the race where Wout van Aert was the highest-finishing Belgian in second behind eventual winner, Mathieu van der Poel. "We kind of predicted the Danes would open. I think a lot of riders already lost the race there."
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Other than a near-hour-long pause due to a bunch of protestors, the racing was completely flat out from start to finish. This understandably made life difficult for teams looking to control the race, most notably Stuyven and Belgium.
"You always had to be in the front and when you made an effort, you were not allowed to slide too far," he explains. "How many gaps did I close? No idea. It was very difficult to control, but we always reacted immediately as a team."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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