PREVIEW | Cyclocross Tabor World Cup Men&Women - Favourites, Track, TV Guide & Poll

The World Cup is moving swiftly onwards towards the third round, the first one to take place in Europe! Tabor, in the southwest of the Czech Republic, will be hosting this race, which will see very different type of racing than that the USA has provided with fast and flowy tracks where tactics were crucial.

The first section of the circuit is very explosive and technical, featuring a few banks that will both be climbed and descended, with some off-camber included, that will make for countless anaerobic efforts. There will likely be some rain this Saturday, but it was the same case in Fayetteville and on the day of the race the track seemed to be completely dry, the same can happen here, as there won't be any meaningful sections that will feature ruts.

It's going to be quite a different affair than the previous two World Cups. Although it's almost entirely raced in a grass field, the technical aspect will be significantly more important. It is a circuit with almost no sections to have some restbite, instead it will be highly explosive, where the riders need to accelerate constantly throughout every lap. This will be draining for many, and the gaps are expected to come easier.

The circuit features two stair sections and one uphill barrier section, although in the latter they may not, I expect to see a big mix between the riders capable of jumping the barriers. The grassy terrain will also be quite heavy, making the race slower than it would otherwise be in different terrain. It is not a flat race by any means, however it does not feature any big climb or long effort.

The women's race will be quite balanced once again, I reckon. Although a different challenge, there are many which particularly like this type of explosive circuits. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Fem van Empel, Puck Pieterse will all be great contenders to take the win if the idea follows. This is more of a purist traditional circuit however, I would expect to see Lucinda Brand looking sharper, but she has had to forfeit the race following a crash whilst reconning the circuit. Kata Blanka Vas has returned to win in Ardooie and will be an interesting outsiders, Denise Betsema is in my opinion not as good of a rider for this type. Annemarie Worst is not very consistent but could also be a very lively candidate for the podium.

In the men's race there are a few notes. Laurens Sweeck struggled in Ardooie following the jetlag, and all the travelling now once again into the Czech Republic won't be good for his ambitions. I expect less competition here, specially with the under-23 riders having their own event. Last year Eli Iserbyt and Lars van der Haar had an epic battle and I would expect the same honestly. Their low center of gravity and excellent technique will give them an advantage. Sweeck has shown bad signs in Ardooie and Vanthourenhout doesn't appear to be at his best form yet. Quinten Hermans won this Thursday's race and may be an interesting addition, but I believe you need absolute peak form to win in this very demanding track.

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), NOS and NPO 1 (Netherlands), Telenet Play Sport and Proximus (Belgium), L'Equipe TV (France), Ceská Televize (Czech Republic), Rai Sport (Italy), TV2/Play Danmark (Denmark) and TV2 Norge (Norway).

PREDICTIONS:

Women's Elite
*** Puck Pieterse
** Fem van Empel, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
* Kata Blanka Vas, Annemarie Worst, Denise Betsema

Men's Elite
*** Eli Iserbyt
** Lars van der Haar, Michael Vanthourenhout
* Quinten Hermans, Laurens Sweeck, Niels Vandeputte