"Van der Poel and Van Aert are written everywhere on this course" - Jan Bakelants sees two standout favourites for World Championship glory
Cycling
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."
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."
"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."
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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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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