Cycling World Championship: The World Championship Oracle - Who will win in Scotland?
BIKE
· 31.07.2023
The facts about the Cycling World Championships:
- 8000 Cycling athletes will be competing at the biggest World Championships of all time in Scotland. A total of 190 titles are up for grabs.
- 13 disciplines in 11 daysfrom para-cycling to BMX, trials and road bikes to MTB.
- 2.8 km - The downhill course in Fort William is notorious for its length and difficulty.
The whole cycling world is looking forward to Scotland in August: can the organisers manage the UCI Cycling World Championships - the first ever eleven-day mega world championship event with all 13 cycling disciplines? After all, there are 8,000 racers and their support staff, journalists from all over the world and countless spectators to coordinate. The organisation of the race courses should be all the easier, at least in the MTB area, as the country has been a world champion here for years. The Downhill World Championships will take place on 4/5 August on the selective downhill course in Fort William, the cross-country and marathon races on the trail centre courses in Glentress Forest (CC finals: 10 to 12 August, marathon: 6 August). Who will win the titles this year is still up in the air.
We have our oracles, consisting of the two ex-racers Marcus Klausmann, Thomas Frischknecht and Wyn Masters interviewed. Here are their favourite tips for the Cycling World Championships in Scotland.
These are Thomas Frischknecht's top favourites in cross country:
The top favourites Mathieu van der Poel and Thomas Pidcock will only be back from the Tour de France shortly before the World Championships. I assume that they are still too tired for the MTB race. Matthias Flückiger has just had surgery on his hand, so it will be difficult for him to be fit in time. Hence my ranking:
Cross Country Men
1st Nino Schurter: I know that Nino will give his all. With his experience, he will win the race.
2nd Luca Schwarzbauer: The last few World Cups have shown how good the German is at the moment. I really have a lot of faith in him.
3rd Lars Forster: The 2021 European Champion won the last World Cup in Leogang. He is fit!
Cross Country Women
1st Puck Pieterse: The Dutchwoman is young (21), cheeky and carefree - she will win the race.
2nd Loana Lecomte: The Frenchwoman has weakened recently, but is currently focussing on her altitude training.
3rd Alessandra Keller: She was a bit too far behind in the last few races, but I think she's capable of bronze.
These are Marcus Klausmann's top downhill favourites:
You have to have internalised the rhythm of the Fort William downhill and be able to keep up with it. That's why the winners will be racers who are often out and about here, who have strength or who start completely carefree. In the women's race, that would be Rachel Atherton, but I don't know if she'll start. So here is my ranking:
Downhill men
1st Jackson Goldstone: Only if he comes first in qualifying could he lose his nerve. Otherwise: gold!
2nd Andreas Kolb: The move to Team Atherton and training with experienced lads is working for him!
3rd Loic Bruni: He has the strength for the many jumps on the track. At the moment, however, he often takes a lot of risks.
Downhill women
1st Vali Höll: Her problem: she doesn't want to win, she wants to dominate. But the knot seems to have burst.
2nd Camille Balanche: The Swiss woman doesn't look like one, but she's a real machine.
3rd Nina Hoffmann: She won here last year, so she knows the course well. But unfortunately she's crashing a lot at the moment.
These are the top favourites in the Wyn Masters downhill race
Hardly anyone knows the downhill scene like thoroughbred racer Wyn Masters. The New Zealander would put his money on these guys:
Downhill men
1. Laurie Greenland (26) - Team Santa Cruz - GBR: Laurie was super fast at the National Championships in Fort William this year. He even holds the current track record. Laurie's form is improving the longer the racing season goes on, and the track in Scotland seems to suit him perfectly. My tip: Gold!
2nd Jordan Williams (19) - Team Specialised - GBR: The Junior World Champion has nerves of steel - first Elite World Cup, and he wins! How awesome! Jordan likes the track in Fort William, which is why he will be annoyed about this 2nd place. In his head: first Elite World Cup = victory, first Elite World Championship = victory. That would be a summer fairytale!
3. Greg Minnaar (41) - Team Santa Cruz - SA: Greg is one of the best riders in Fort William. So far his 2023 racing season has been anything but good. Greg needs a cracking result now, because Greg won't be racing for that long.
4th Thibaut Dapréla (22) - Team Commencal - FRA: Dapréla skis 100 per cent at the limit. Take a look at his run in Val di Sole. Crazy! The Frenchman will put all his eggs in one basket: Crash or podium. There are few people who take as many risks as TD.
5th Loïc Bruni (29)- Team Specialized - FRA: Bruni is a specialist for world championships. He has already bagged five world championship titles (2017, 18, 19, 22), one of them as a junior (2012). He can perform miracles, even if he hates the track in Fort William!
Downhill women
6th Nina Hoffmann (27) - Team Santa Cruz - GER: Nina won silver in 2022. She is hungry for gold. Four things will help her in Fort William:
- She is incredibly physically fit.
- She has a strong psyche.
- She took first place at the national championships.
- She loves the track: long, challenging, rough. This is where Nina won the 2022 World Cup by a wide margin.
