UCI forces Ganna, Pidcock, and Van der Poel to make choices at the World Championships: "What Mathieu is doing is fantastic"

Lappartient was elected president of the global cycling union in 2017. "Even then, I had the vision to set up a multi-disciplinary event, and I am very proud that my vision has become a reality," says the Frenchman. "We are getting eleven days of non-stop action in different disciplines, something we have never experienced in our sport before."

By 2027, the Cycling World Championships should be even bigger, as we previously published. With eSports, pump track, enduro, polo bike, gravel and juniors on track, six more disciplines will be added in Haute-Savoie, bringing the total number to nineteen. That World Championship will also be held again "as usual" at the end of September, given the unusual August date in 2023. The reason for that? In Scotland, where Glasgow has the "wild dream of developing into Amsterdam", it was not possible to organize the World Cycling Championships at the time the hugely popular World Rugby (in France) was also ongoing.

Purely positive things, if you believe the smooth talker Lappartient's blue eyes. Yet it's not all sunshine and rainbows. For example, there were problems with the residence permits of some riders from Eritrea (including Biniam Girmay, who in the end is officially not starting due to the effects of a fall in the Clasica San Sebastian) and criticism from multiple sides about the (logistical) puzzle that riders and support staff must solve in Scotland.

There are several big riders who have to skip Sunday's road race - the highlight - to achieve other goals. The Italian national coach Daniele Bennati saw Filippo Ganna and Jonathan Milan, two shadow favorites, opt for the track tournament, which of course caused some frustration. Also, in terms of mountain biking, several riders had to make choices. Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan can be seen on the road on Sunday, but the British favorite Tom Pidcock cannot.

IDLProCycling.com was thus curious about Lappartient's opinion on the obstacles formed for some top favorites. The Frenchman mainly saw the positive side of it. "I see it as a fantastic thing. The fact that Mathieu can combine the road race and mountain biking here would not have been possible without such a super World Championship. The fact that he is actually going to do that, I find very inspiring."

"It was also something we had to pay attention to when making the schedule," the UCI president admits. "To avoid a clash between disciplines, we looked very precisely at the agenda, and we will do that even better next time. In this way, we can ensure next time that more riders can do two or even three disciplines."

"In 2027 there will also be gravel, a sport that is also practiced by many road riders nowadays," he continues. "So these are things we also have to take into account." Cyclocross - where among others Van der Poel, Pidcock and Wout van Aert excel - will be absent in Haute-Savoie. "That turns out to be difficult to plan, because it's a winter sport and will continue to be."