"Van der Poel and Van Aert are written everywhere on this course" - Jan Bakelants sees two standout favourites for World Championship glory

Tuesday, 01 August 2023 at 22:51

The Glasgow World Championships are very quickly approaching. As always when it comes to the worlds, the question of who will don the rainbow jersey as the winner of the men's elite road race looms large. For ex-pro Jan Bakelants, two names stand out.

"Van der Poel and Van Aert are written everywhere on this course," Bakelants explains on the podcast Wuyts & Vlaeminck alongside Michel Wuyts. "That's what we're aiming for. Even if you have to watch out for third dogs, like in Yorkshire with Mads Pedersen. I think van Aert is intrinsically the better rider, but Pedersen may have the luxury of being less versatile. It is easier for him to choose, and if he chooses, he is often also accurate in finishing."

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Wuyts agrees that van der Poel and van Aert are the favourites, going so far as to suggest that the Dutchman's performances in the breakaways of the Tour de France actually bode well, despite the fact van der Poel was unable to take a stage win.

"I thought: it is not possible that Van der Poel is already dropped," Wuyts analyses. "On the other hand, I heard that he got into the bus in mountain stages and that he then started riding from group to group. Ticket return and again."

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"I've never seen Pedersen ride better. The Pedersen of today is 2.5 times the Pedersen who became world champion. He finished tenth in the climbing time trial," Wuyts says of the Lidl-Trek sprinter's Tour de France performances. "On the other hand, Van Aert finished third there."

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2023 UCI Cycling World Championships

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