/ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
ESTABLISHED 1927 EDITIONS 86
For the first time since 2002, the cycling world road championships will return to Flanders in Belgium. Though the organisers have resisted the temptation to incorporate the iconic climbs of the Flemish Ardennes into their circuits, the races have an unmistakeable classics flavour.
The road race circuits are based around Antwerp and Leuven, with the incorporation of a new climb, the Moskesstraat near Overijse, which is set to become the focal point. The Moskesstraat got a runout in last year’s Brabantse Pijl race, and the steep cobbled climb will be a crucial battleground.
In virtually every other sport the world championships are the pinnacle. Cycling, however, has its own unique character, and the World Championships are anomalous, though less so as we go into the 2020s. Unlike most other ellite races, they use national teams, and so for one day only riders who spend the rest of the year as rivals are team-mates and this makes for an interesting dynamic. Some have questioned whether the Worlds is an anachronism, but not only is it equivalent to the monuments in terms of prestige, with an iconic jersey to wear for a year if a rider wins, but more national teamsbased races are springing up. The European championships’ jersey is an insipid version of the rainbow stripes, but it is slowly establishing a foothold as a prestigious race, and the other continental championships, along with, of course, the Olympics, are big targets for riders. National teams are a thing of the past, but also look to have a strong future.
The Worlds is also unlike most major one-day races in that it takes place on a laps-based format. This also changes the nature of the race. But what won’t change is the list of favourites, topped alone this year by Wout van Aert, for whom this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win the rainbow jersey on home roads. With a strong Belgian team at his back, he may well define the 2021 World Championships.