Do you remember? The day that Van der Poel could have become world champion

The weather in Wollongong seems favorable for the men, but as we mentioned yesterday, women can suddenly open the lice. It will not be as bar and angry as in Yorkshire in 2019, but Van der Poel will still stand his ground.

At least when he has drawn his reduction, for then he leek the leeks until he was overcome with cold and hunger.

Traditionally, the World Championship road race for men is a battle of attrition of more than 250 kilometers. This time, the men have to arise 266.9 kilometers on the same course as the women on Saturday. From Helensburgh, the men ride the scenic coastal road for the first few miles to Wollongong, where they head inland for a loop over Mount Keira.

Then they start the local rounds in Wollongong, twelve in number. And that also means twelve times the two-step Mount Ousley and Mount Pleasant.

Van der Poel compares course with European Championship of 2018 in Glasgow

Mathieu van der Poel himself compares the course in Wollongong with that of the European Championship in Glasgow in 2018, where Van der Poel finished second behind Matteo Trentin and before Wout van Aert.

You probably want to see that again.

Van der Poel: ‘I think I will play a role’

From a Dutch perspective, Mathieu van der Poel was naturally made to succeed Zoetemelk. You can call Van der Poel’s preparation for this World Cup unorthodox, with Flemish fair races and the GP Wallonie as the most important. He managed to win all those races, including a victory over another competitor today Biniam Girmay at the Citadel of Namur.

On the last time trial he came close to his best values ​​season with only Daan Hoole. “I think I will play a part,” he said earlier this week. “Perhaps by waiting? Or not. You can also start early on this course.”

Fortunately no socks gate, but a fine

Until the last 600 meters, the World Cup in Wollongong was actually a big failure for Annemiek van Vleuten. On the time trial she fell, the interim time trial against her already after 20 meters with a hard blow against the asphalt and also in the road race everything went wrong initially.

For example, the jury ordered her to put on a shirt over her time trial suit, because the back of that suit was orange and not the faded color that we have this year. But there was also a lot to do about the length of her socks. Hasn’t the UCI been so fanatical about measuring the length of those socks in recent years (to the indignation and hilarity of the followers)?

Van Vleuten’s socks were clearly higher than half of her calf, so it’s a mystery why they start. Angry tongues even shouted that they could have been disqualified for her “football socks.” Fortunately that did not happen, but the UCI fined Van Vleuten 200 Swiss francs for her stockings and another 400 Swiss francs for the abnormal shirt.

A fine that she will gladly take for granted.

The last Dutch world champion

It has been a while since a Dutchman became world champion on the road in the men. We have to go back to 1985, when Joop Zoetemelk won the title at the age of 38. He did that in Italy’s Giavera del Montello, in a way that is reminiscent of Annemiek van Vleuten’s ultimate attack on Saturday morning.