What can your country do in Glasgow?
It's early August and the Worlds are already there. Like a few decades ago the Worlds are moved back two weeks after the Tour de France already. Time to make an evaluation of the participation nations. Which nation has the best cards to play and what might their strategy for world conquest be? Below we line-up the nations to watch and other interesting riders who might make an impact on the race. Who will be victorious?
Belgium
The biggest squad in the race and problably also the team that has the most potential worldchampions. Defending champion Evenepoel and Van Aert & Philipsen all have qualities to win the the race in some ways. Targeting a mass sprint with Philipsen is the safest bet to make, but to keep all leaders pleased, the national coach will problably give each leader a moment in the race, what also could lead to complex tactics where everything can go wrong. Belgium has a difficult history of bringing unity in the national team but still has by far the highest amount of world titles. How will it turn out this year?
France
France lines-up with Alaphilippe. The two times worldchampion is not in his best form this season but maybe could bring some nervousity in a break. Laporte and Coquard are potential worldchampions in a small bunch sprint. France will problably try to enter the final lap with as many riders as possible and try to bring Laporte or Coquard in the best position to sprint for the world title.
Denmark
Denmark has 8 decent riders in their line-up with Pedersen & Asgreen as their leaders. The Danes might enter the final with still a full team present. Asgreen is a specialist to finish off races in a small breakaway and Pedersen can win a sprint after a hard race. Denmark has 2 big cards to play and can target 2 race scenarios. The biggest challenge will be to be at the right place at the right moment, but when they are, the Danes will be the riders to beat.
Great Britain
Pidcock prefers the mountainbike and that's also quite a big blow for the home nation. Apart from Fred Wright there are only few finishers in the British selection. They will problably want to leave a good impression for the local fans but there are not many possiblities to conquer the cycling world this year.
Slovenia
No Roglic and Mohoric and that limits the tactical space for Slovenia. Pogacar is there only big card to play and most of his compatriots won't make it to the final. The Central European nation could line-up a very strong selection to join many dangerous breakaways but unfortunatly they will have to target only one potential decisive moment.
Spain
Spain has 8 riders but they don't really receive a parcours where they can exploit their quantity. That's also why riders like Mas, Landa or Ayuso aren't included in the selection. Spain will rely on Garcia Cortina for a good result but that's about it.
Netherlands
Mathieu van der Poel is the logical leader for the Dutchmen. Van Baarle is a good alternative in case something unexpected would happen. Kooij is a decent sprinter but it's hard to predict on what he can in such a long race. The biggest danger for the Dutch is to not have enough riders in the final round so it wouldn't be bad if the race comes down to an elimination race where only the big leaders in the peloton remain.
Australia
For Australia the plan is clear : Sprint. Both Matthews and Ewan are fast after a long race and depending on the form of the day, they could sprint for at least a medal. But Australia will also depend on other nations to keep the bunch together, as they don't seem to have the quality to really do it all alone.
Colombia
Colombia seems to have the same issue as Spain. 8 spots but none of their best riders seem to get a parcours where they can do something. Gavaria is the outspoken sprinter in the team but he never made a big impression on parcours of this lenght. It seems like Colombia has to wait another year for a parcours that suits them better.
United States
Powless, Simmons, Sheffield, Jorgenson,... The United States have a really exciting line-up for this parcours. None of them is a top favourite for the world title but they could all make a breakaway more interesting by their agressive way of racing and unpredictable strenght. Really looking forward to what Team USA can do on this parcours.
Germany
Degenkolb is the leading man for Germany. Next to him the Prussians can rely also on Politt or Schachmann in support or in breakaways. Germany is decent as always but they are not having their strongest generation right now. Don't expect too much this year by the team in white & black.
Interesting riders from other nations :
Sam Bennett (Ireland), Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland), Peter Sagan (Slovakia), Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan)
