CRESCENT VÅRGÅRDA

After the big name riders have taken their summer breaks, Vårgårda is traditionally where the peloton reassembles to start the campaign for the World Championships. There’s the standalone Vårgårda Team Time Trial, which is the only one really comparable to the Worlds TTT, and then the road race for the Classics riders and Worlds contenders.

The road race has been won in every way, and after years of being 12 familiar laps that include part of the TTT course, last year the organisers shook up everything, adding a brand new loop including gravel sections. It still includes the lap, with a hill, and the crit-like section in the town with technical corners ithat test riders’ skills under pressure.