"Our captain is Skjelmose, but we'll try to play with multiple cards" - Danish coach hopes to play team quality to their advantage in Zurich

The men's elite road race at the World Championships in Zurich are scheduled already for next Sunday. The big favourites will be wearing colours of Slovenia and Belgium, but Danish fans also feel like their selection can play a major role at the hilly course in Switzerland. However to succeed, they'll need to animate the race from early on.

"We must try to lay down a strategy where we take advantage of the fact that there are more of us who are in shape," Danish coach Anders Lund reveals in an interview with Ekstra Bladet. "One of the measures could be to get things started a bit early. So therefore you can be in a supportive role, but at the same time on an offense."

While Mattias Skjelmose headlines Denmark's lineup for the World Championships, it'd be naive to expect the 24-year-old to take on the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel on his own. That is where his teammates will have to play their roles. "Our captain is Skjelmose, but we have to beat some good riders, including Pogacar. So we have to get it right."

Starting in support of Skjelmose will be also his trade team teammate Mads Pedersen. The former world champion usually carries the hopes of home crowds himself, but in Zurich, the route is expected to be too hard for Pedersen who might therefore do what he knows best and anticipate the race by attacking from a far to put pressure on other teams.

"Mads will be a man who will sit close to Skjelmose to help him." However, the national coach also emphasizes that Mads Pedersen is in insanely good shape. Therefore he doesn't rule out playing his card if the situation plays into their hands. "A Mads in this form will also go far in the cycling race himself. That is also why he is here."