Preview of the World Cycling Championship - Elite Women 2023 | Kopecky needs to keep her head in the game against strong Dutch riders

The final piece of the World Cycling Championships: the women's elite road race, with plenty of opportunities for the ladies from the Low Countries. Exactly one week after Mathieu van der Poel's showpiece, the Netherlands can conclude the highly successful World Championships with a bang. IDLProCycling.com will tell you all about it!

If there's one country that has dominated the world championships in the past decade, it's the Dutch. Of the last six editions, no fewer than five have gone to the Netherlands, for which three different riders (Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen twice, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak once) were responsible.

One of the most remarkable editions unfolded last season, thanks to Van Vleuten. Even after sustaining an elbow fracture during the Mixed Relay, she astonished both supporters and rivals by winning the road race in Wollongong, Australia. This season marks Van Vleuten's final appearance in the World Championship.

Practical information Cycling World Championship elite women 2023

• Sunday, August 13, 2023
• Participants
  
• Classification: WC

In this article

• Most recent winners
• Course, weather and times
• Favorites
• TV information

Most recent winners of the Cycling World Championship elite women

2022 Annemiek van Vleuten
2021 Elisa Balsamo
2020 Anna van der Breggen
2019 Annemiek van Vleuten
2018 Anna van der Breggen
2017 Chantal van den Broek-Blaak
2016 Amalie Dideriksen
2015 Lizzie Deignan
2014 Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
2013 Marianne Vos

Cycling World Championship elite women 2023: Course, weather and times

The men were allowed to start in the Scottish capital Edinburgh on Sunday, but the U23 men (Saturday) and elite women (Sunday) won't get there. However, they shouldn't lament about it, as their start is in Balloch. This place is on the shores of Loch Lomond, a large lake that attracts many tourists every year.

From there, they head northeast to reach the same path that the men previously navigated, arriving there after roughly 25 kilometers. This route will include traversing Crow Road on both Saturday and Sunday, the day's first significant climb. Spanning five kilometers, but positioning will be especially important in this phase. After approximately 25 more kilometers, the riders will enter the local circuit in Glasgow, where the competition is expected to heat up once again.

What does the circuit look like? Exactly the same as last Sunday. More like a cyclocross course, with as many as 45 (!) turns. Twisting, turning, accelerating, and paying very close attention: these will be the key factors on the fourteen-kilometer circuit in Glasgow, which we saw last Sunday in the men's road race won by Mathieu van der Poel. The women will complete six laps.

The seven hills on the city course are not long, with lengths between 150 and 500 meters, but they are certainly steep. Especially Montrose Street is suitable for racing: this ultra-short climb of less than 200 meters at a whopping 13 percent must be conquered in the penultimate kilometer and is also presented by the organization as a crucial hill, but there are many more. Scott Street and the passage through Kelvingrove Park, for example.

After the top of Montrose Street, it's a little less than one and a half kilometers to the finish line at George Square, but there are still several tricky turns. In the last 500 meters, there are two right-angle turns before the last 400 meters are straight in this street circuit. A feast for the viewers, but what pain it will inflict on the legs!

Weather
Last week the weather was quite good, but over the weekend when the U23 and women need to perform, that's not the case. On Sunday, rain is expected all day in Glasgow at a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius, likely turning the city circuit into a race of attrition.

Times
Start: 12:00 p.m.
Finish: 4:00 p.m.

Favorites Cycling World Championship elite women 2023

Looking at the weather forecast and the course, it's hard not to conclude that there's only one top favorite for this Cycling World Championship: Lotte Kopecky, the superstar from Belgium. She has been dominant on the track all week and wants to continue that trend on the road. With her cyclocross skills and good punch, she finds a course tailored to her in Glasgow. Kopecky won't get it handed to her, especially looking at the strong Dutch team.

Annemiek van Vleuten can make it a long, hard race, while Lorena Wiebes and Marianne Vos, with their cyclocross skills, may prefer a sprint with a smaller group. Demi Vollering is the oracle possessing just about all the right skills, while there is still a lady named Shirin van Anrooij who can do this very well on the sly!

With Kopecky, Vollering, and Wiebes, we have already named three women from the SD Worx team, but others also stand out. Marlen Reusser, representing Switzerland, withdrew from the time trial on Thursday, while Blanka Vas is expected to perform well on this course, thanks to her cyclocross abilities. Silvia Persico, who usually competes for UAE, stands out as an Italian contender. Meanwhile, Elisa Balsamo, a former world champion representing Italy, appears to be off her game at the moment, and Elisa Longo Borghini has previously chosen not to participate.

Then, women who recently showed to be in shape: Liane Lippert (Germany) and Emma Norsgaard (Denmark) won stages in the Tour, while Kasia Niewiadoma as a Pole also showed beautiful things. Chloe Dygert (United States), Grace Brown (Australia), Christina Schweinberger (Austria), Juliette Labous (France), and Anna Henderson (Great Britain) rode a good Time Trial World Championship. The latter has two good countrywomen in Elizabeth Deignan and Pfeiffer Georgi.

Other outsiders include Cecillie Uttrup Ludwig (Denmark), Mávi Garcia (Spain), Aisleigh Moolman-Pasio (South Africa), Elise Chabbey (Switzerland), and Soraya Paladin (Italy), but it seems to be primarily a game between Kopecky and the strong Dutch team.

Favorites Cycling World Championship elite women 2023, according to IDLProCycling.com

Top favorites: Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Demi Vollering (Netherlands)
Outsiders: Lorena Wiebes, Marianne Vos (Netherlands), Silvia Persico (Italy) and Marlen Reusser (Switzerland)
Long shots: Shirin van Anrooij, Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands), Liane Lippert (Germany), Blanka Vas (Hungary), Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland), Chloé Dygert (United States) and Anna Henderson (Great Britain)

TV Cycling World Championship elite women 2023

The women's cycling World Championship will, of course, be broadcast Sunday on the channels that have been providing coverage all week. The NOS (NPO 1), Sporza (VRT 1) and Eurosport (both on TV and online) are giving considerable attention to the race in their Sunday programming!