Battle in the World Championship midfield: Will Belgium’s powerhouses make the difference against the Netherlands and Slovenia?

Most participants in the men's elite World Championships agree: Belgium has the strongest team. In addition to their leader and former world champion Remco Evenepoel, the team, led by coach Sven Vanthourenhout, is packed with riders expected to be key players in the final stages of the race. During Friday’s press conference, some of those riders, who might create a numerical advantage against the Netherlands and Slovenia, shared their thoughts.

Evenepoel, as the team leader, received most of the questions, but several of the supporting riders also weighed in on various topics surrounding the World Championships. The absence of Wout van Aert has left a gap in the team, but on the flip side, it opens up opportunities for others to step up.

No earpieces at this World Championship—How will the Belgians communicate?

The World Championships are raced without earpieces, but the Belgians have enough experience to keep everything running smoothly. Jasper Stuyven and Tiesj Benoot are the key figures for communication. "Communication is always essential, but you need to be prepared for the fact that in a World Championship, there are no earpieces. Tiesj and I have communicated well in recent championships and made good decisions," Stuyven explained.

"So far, things have gone well, and we want to maintain that. We need to follow the race situation closely so that we are always aware of what’s happening," Stuyven added.

Benoot on Van Aert's absence

No Van Aert in Switzerland, and Tiesj Benoot, who knows his Visma | Lease a Bike teammate better than anyone, understands the impact this will have on Sunday’s race strategy. "It’s always better to have Wout with us, as we saw again during the Olympics. On this course, it would be ideal for Remco to have Wout supporting him, because no one wants to go head-to-head with him at the finish."

"You can always count on Wout to be there, so it’s a shame he won’t be. On the other hand, we have an extra rider to support Remco, but replacing Wout is difficult."

De Plus has already seen part of the course

Laurens De Plus arrived in Zurich slightly earlier than most of the Belgian squad, allowing him to get a glimpse of the course. "It’s a tough circuit, with all those consecutive climbs. It’s going to be a hard, long race, but maybe it’s not as difficult as we originally thought."

"We initially believed riders like Mathieu van der Poel wouldn’t be able to handle it, but now it seems they might," said the INEOS Grenadiers rider.

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Why is no one talking about Stuyven?

Sixth in 2023 and fourth in 2021, on similarly challenging courses: Jasper Stuyven is a rider who thrives in big races like this, yet he’s barely mentioned in previews. The man from Leuven is strong on climbs and could play a key role in this World Championship. "I think racing on a circuit is always different, where non-climbers can have a slight advantage."

"I’m not going to claim I can replace Wout, but I definitely want to play my part as best as possible," said the Lidl-Trek rider, who hit some of the best form of his career this spring.

Shadow leader Van Gils?

The Lotto-Dstny rider has consistently earned top finishes in big races this year: third in Strade Bianche, seventh in Milan-Sanremo, third in La Flèche Wallonne, fourth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, victory in Eschborn-Frankfurt, and fourth in the GP Montréal.

"But it’s my first World Championship," he pointed out. "I’m really looking forward to it, especially since we have Remco, one of the big favorites. I hope to have a good race myself. What’s my role? We haven’t had the full tactical discussion yet."