In Overijse on the 20th of November. the riders will find the 6th round of the World Cup this year, a race where the tables can turn for Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal. It will be an important race, with the first presence from World Champion Tom Pidcock in the World Cup this year.
The weather has not been as bright as in past weeks in Belgium, as the cold and rain finally arrived. What the riders will find in Overijse is a muddy course and throughout this Sunday there is a big possibility of rain during the men's race (although the women's field should be much safer) - although judging by footage from the track today, this rain may have no effect. It will be a difficult circuit, having an uphill start, and the first grassy descent will isntead be technically difficult and prone for slip-ups that could dictate early-race gaps.
The track will overall be filled with tricky descending sections and several climbs, both on paved and unpaved sections. Very close to the end of the lap the riders will have another very tricky and slippery descent, and an off-camber section that could also provide a lot of trouble, before a short finishing straight that won't allow the riders to relax much before tackling the circuit back.
This will be a race unlike all World Cups so far. Whilst most races have been fast and had a lot of importance given to tactics and slipstreaming, this will be a completely different affair. Starting positions will in this race be very important as gaps will be made from the start, many riders will make mistakes and being caught behind is a real risk. It is also a track that will be very slow, a very treacherous and slippery race where it will be key to stay on the bike. The mechanics in the pits will have a lot of work to do, and this race resembles more the Namur European Championships than all races of the World Cup so far.
It will be a race where gaps will exist from very early on. Not an easy one to predict taking into account that there have actually been few muddy hard crosses so far this year. Fem van Empel has been dominating the season and thrived in Namur so it is more than reasonable to assume she is the woman to beat. Shirin van Anrooij and Puck Pieterse have been showing great form recently but there will be questions over if they will be able to match the European Champion, whilst Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado could turn out to be her main rival taking into consideration her performance in Namur and recent wins which have provided a lot of motivation. I would believe this race will favour the likes of Denise Betsema and Manon Bakker who could contest for the podium. Lucinda Brand will be interesting to watch as she returned to racing recently, the likes of Marianne Vos, Inge van der Heijden, Zoe Bäckstedt and Marie Schreiber will also be riders to consider for the Top10.
This will be a tricky day of racing for the men. Many big figures are here present, starting with Tom Pidcock who is likely still "rusty" coming into racing, however on a strong day this race would suit him perfectly. I think the main contender will be Michael Vanthourenhout, alongside Lars van der Haar who are both showing good form and will be certain cards for these conditions. It will not be a fast track, it won't be as easy for the likes of Eli Iserbyt and Laurens Sweeck to show the dominance they have in this first half of the season. Ryan Kamp, Thibau Nys, Toon Vandebosch, Niels Vandeputte, Joris Nieuwenhuis, Pim Ronhaar, Kevin Kuhn, Felipe Orts, Jens Adams and Corné van Kessel will all be in similar levels likely, it will be a balanced fight for the Top10 with many options.
The women's race will start at 13:40 local time (13:40CET) and is estimated to finish at 14:30 local time (14:30CET). The men's race is set to start at 15:10 local time (15:10CET) and is estimated to finish at around 16:15 local time (16:15).
You can watch the broadcast of the race at the UCI website; GCN+/Eurosport Player internationally. The channels which will broadcast the race will be Flobikes (Canada/USA), Telenet Playsports and Proximus (Belgium), , L'ÉquipeTV (France), Ceská televize (Czech Republic), Rai Sport (Italy) TV2 Danmark (Denmark) and TV2 Norge (Norway).
PREDICTIONS:
Women's Elite
*** Fem van Empel
** Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Puck Pieterse
* Shirin van Anrooij, Denise Betsema, Lucinda Brand
Men's Elite
*** Michael Vanthourenhout
** Lars van der Haar, Tom Pidcock
* Laurens Sweeck, Joris Nieuwenhuis, Eli Iserbyt
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