Preview World cycling championship 2024 - U23 | (Dutch and Belgian) names we will hear a lot

If you look at the recent list of winners in the U23 race, you will see that few riders made it to the top of the world rankings. Marc Hirschi is also considered one of the favorites for Sunday's road race, and Benoit Cosnefroy has also won quite a few trophies, but other than that, it's not too bad.

Guys like Kévin Ledanois (2015) and Kristoffer Halvorsen (2016) should still be doing well in the WorldTour, but the opposite is true: they are not even cycling anymore. Last year's title went to Axel Laurance, who will swap Alpecin-Deceuninck for INEOS Grenadiers next winter. For the Dutch, the 2019 edition is especially imprinted in the memory of when Nils Eekhoff lost his title.

2023 Axel Laurance
2022 Yevgeniy Fedorov
2021 Filippo Baroncini
2020 Not ridden
2019 Samuele Battistella
2018 Marc Hirschi
2017 Benoit Cosnefroy
2016 Kristoffer Halvorsen
2015 Kevin Ledanois
2014 Sven Erik Bystrom

The elite men start Sunday in Winterthur, while the U23 start Friday in nearby Uster. From there, they will do two laps around the Greifensee before heading to the city where this World Championship occurs.

After almost thirty kilometers, we arrive at the local lap in Zurich, which is 27 kilometers long and must be completed four times. Just before we get there, the riders will have to deal with the Binz Hill (1.5 kilometers at 9.4 percent).

Okay, then the lap in Zurich itself. After all, that's where it all has to happen. World Championship organizer Oliver Senn explained precisely what, where, and when we can expect. "At the beginning of the lap, there is a fairly steep but short climb," he refers to the Zurichbergstrasse ab, out 1100 meters long. "After that, we get a bit of false flat downhill, and then a longer hill (the Witikonerstrasse, 2.3 kilometers at 5.7 percent, peaking at up to nine percent, ed.)."

"That in itself does not immediately cause problems, but when you have to do it seven times spread over so many kilometers ... after that, it keeps going up and down a bit, without one real descent where you can recover properly for a while." The Pfannenstiel plateau is next on the list, after which the cyclists set course each lap toward Küssnacht.

"At a certain point, we move to the next two-kilometer climb towards Zollikon, which I think will be the crucial point in the race. There, we will surely see attacks unless someone is already away solo. After that, it's only about a kilometer and a half flat, and it finishes at Sechseläutenplatz, right by Lake Zurich."

"So there are many potential moments to force the breakaway and make the race tough, so it will be entertaining from start to finish,' Senn assessed. 'The course is tougher than you think at first glance because of the long climbs and the constant up and down. So I think the best rider on this course will win the rainbow jersey."

"I don't see it as a race for the pure climbers, but it is very tough," stated the man behind the World Championship in Zurich. "That was also the plan from the beginning: to create a course on which as many riders as possible can go their chance, not a small group."

Weather
There is a chance that the riders will experience a downpour on Friday on the course in Zurich. More rain is expected as the evening approaches. The temperature will be around 18 degrees Celsius.

Times
Start: 12:45 pm 
Finish: 4:45 pm 

What an excellent field of contenders! Behind the scenes, people are working on a World Championship for U23s without WorldTour pros, of which this World Championship is probably living proof. There are already quite a few men with professional victories or big tour participation behind their names at the start in Uster, who thus unintentionally have an advantage.

According to us, the top favorite is home rider Jan Christen. The puncher from Leuggern already finished third in the time trial—with stomach problems—and indicated after that ordeal that he sees Friday's race as his main goal. He wants to create something attractive with his brother Fabio, a contender who immediately indicates he is going "full-attack." Christen already picked up three pro victories this year.

The British have a strong team with Joseph Blackmore, Robert Donaldson, and Matthew Brennan. Mexican Isaac del Toro, the last two winners of the Tour de l'Avenir, is also at the start. They also have a good chance at this World Championship with their abilities. Blackmore, for example, also won the U 23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year, while Del Toro immediately won a stage in the WorldTour race Tour Down Under in January.

The Italians have a strong team across the board. Davide De Pretto has been very good in recent weeks in the autumn races in his country, where Giulio Pellizzari has already proved what he is capable of in the Giro d'Italia. They also have Fransesco Bussato, the winner of last year's U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The Belgians may also be at the start with aspirations. Top talent Jarno Widar is on their behalf, but with Robin Orins, Alec Segaert, and William Junior Lecerf, they can tick off several pawns for the final. The same goes for the Dutch. Perhaps not the top favorites, but count on Tibor Del Grosso, Menno Huising, European champion Huub Artz, Darren van Bekkum, and Wessel Mouris, who are not coming just to compete.

With that, we are far from having had all the top talents. The Spanish are counting on climbers Pablo Torres, Igor Arrieta, and time trial champion Ivan Romeo, while Visma | Lease a Bike's Norwegian Jorgen Nordhagen will hope that the illness that kept him out of the time trial is back on the mend. The Scandinavian country also features Johannes Kulset. A Portuguese, Antonio Morgado, already finished fourth at this year's Tour of Flanders, accurately reflecting his abilities. Last year, he finished second in the World Championship.

Furthermore, we would like to name Americans Artem Schmidt and Andrew August, their INEOS teammate Michael Leonard from Canada, and EF Irishman Darren Rafferty. Ewen Costiou, Thibaud Gruel (France), Martin Srvcek (Slovakia, third last year), Alexander Hajek (Austria), and German Emil Herzog will also be hoping for a chance to play a role in the final.

Top favorites: Jan Christen (Switzerland) and Joseph Blackmore (Great Britain)
Outsiders: Isaac del Toro (Mexico), Giulio Pellizzari, Davide De Pretto (Italy), Jarno Widar (Belgium) and Antonio Morgado (Portugal)
Long shots: Tibor Del Grosso, Menno Huising (Netherlands), Fransesco Bussato (Italy), Jorgen Nordhagen (Norway), William Junior Lecerf, Robin Orins (Belgium), Darren Rafferty (Ireland), Pablo Torres, Ivan Romeo (Spain), Ewen Costiou (France) and Fabio Christen (Switzerland)

Sporza (VRT 1) and Eurosport (the main channel and HBO Max) will televise most of the World Championship for U23 starting around 2:30 p.m. The race finishes typically around 4:45 p.m. in the afternoon.