The Glasgow World Cup, brought forward to the beginning of August compared to usual, has a detail that should not be overlooked, that is, being close to the Tour de France. Usually the stage race that precedes the world championship is La VueltaIn Spain, big names appear, yes, but not all of them are top of the class. At the Grande Boucle, however, the parterre is the best in the world., practically a three-week World Cup. In Scotland evenepoel will put the most coveted jersey back up for grabs (in the opening photo at the Clasica de San Sebastian), who will wear it?
Compact week
Alessandro ballan, after fifteen years, he remains the last Italian to have worn the rainbow jerseyThe Venetian has shown that he knows how to win in this event, and having run it three times has given him some experience in understanding how to handle certain situations.
«The Glasgow one is a route for riders from classical – Ballan says immediately – The Tour gave a good preview of what the World Championship could be like. Well Van der Poel and Van Aert, but I also saw him in great shape Pedersen. It will certainly be fun."
The calendar is corto, many close tests, Italy loses Ganna and Milan given the (almost) coincidence of the track.
It's a good World Cup because all the commitments are grouped together, but this puts the citizens in difficulty with the formation choices. Both Ganna and Milan They could have made a good impression, but the riders who leave the Tour have an extra gear.
The two you mentioned before, Van Der Poel and Van Aert, have been hiding a bit…
Van Der Poel more, as he had the task of being the last man to Philipsen. Van Aert has been called into question often, also because Jumbo had the yellow jersey to defend. The Belgian was certainly called upon to provide support. After he has tried to win in the first stages, he “saved himself”. He didn't spend like last year, when he attacked everywhere.
They appear to have arrived at the Tour a little behind in terms of condition…
It could be a tactic: I work for my teammates without showing off, so I look less ready. Let's say they lowered expectations, maybeThe World Championships is a tempting goal for everyone, the fact that it's two weeks away from the end of the Tour means that these two haven't arrived at their best.
Van Aert went home four days early to attend the birth of the son Jerome, can this affect his preparation?
He had a chance to recover a little more, In the end, four stages were skipped, but only one was really challenging. (the one with arrival and The Markstein, ed.). He still put a lot of effort into his legs.
Usually, those who come out of a major Giro have something extra, right?
A few years ago it was like this, me and betti we were both leaving the Vuelta, as well as Boonen in 2005. But also Alaphilippe in 2021 and Evenepoel last year came directly from Spain.
The last person to win a world championship without going through a stage race was Pedersen, in 2019.
There are some riders who are phenomenal: Evenepoel, Van Aert, Van Der Poel, Pogacar. They can win a world cup even without adequate preparation. Pedersen he's not a phenomenon, but he's a champion, yes. He has something more than the others, just look at what he has done for cicconeIf it rains like in Harrogate, Pedersen becomes very dangerous.
What do you think of the others?
Mohoric proved to be strong, he won a non-trivial stage. The Asgreen he proved his strength, and if he had made the right move he would have won two stages. I don't take pure sprinters into consideration., it's an explosive world cup, not suitable for them.
And what do you say about Evenepoel, the current world champion?
He didn't do the Tour, but he worked a lot at high altitude here in Italy, at Passo San Pellegrino. He will do everything to keep her, the path suits his attacks from afar, the 42 curves they will allow those in front to make the same effort as those in the group. Should he make an attack similar to that of the last year, it will be difficult to get it back.
Italy, as we said before, is without Ganna and Milan, but some results have arrived. True, they weren't Tour stages, but you always have to win races...
Trentino He is our experienced man, he worked hard and well at the Tour, in the stage won by Mohoric he showed up. Bettiol He'll probably be our man, knowing that if he's on form he can have a great game. But his mentality is unstable, he alternates highs and lows, but he knows how to be found on important datesLast year he let Evenepoel slip away, this year he'll have to be good at keeping up with him.
We were talking about victories, like the one in Bagioli on a similar path.
He's young and fast, he doesn't have much experience (even if he could reach his fourth world championship in as many years of professionalism, ed.). The Battistella e sobrero they are good riders who could play ahead. Insert a man up front, a classic "Italian ambush" to upset the situation. If we manage to surprise the others, the race could become very interesting.
