A royal showdown between Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar, and Mathieu van der Poel is expected on Sunday in Zurich for the World Road Cycling Championships.
The 273.9 km course features 4,470m elevation gain. The final 26.8 km circuit, to be completed seven times, includes challenging climbs such as Zürichbergstrasse (1.1 km at 7.4%) and Witikonerstrasse (3.5 km, particularly steep in the second part at 1.4 km at 7.2%). Additional climbs like Zollikonstrasse, Farlifangstrasse, and Alte Landstrasse will test the riders before the finish. All the elements are in place for an aggressive race favouring a strong climber.
Evenepoel made history last Sunday, becoming the first cyclist to win both the Olympic and World Championships time trial titles in the same year. Achieving the same in the road race would be unprecedented. This would also secure him an astonishing quadruple of gold medals this year.
ANOTHER double in Zurich 🤩 Remco Evenepoel defends his time trial world title after becoming Olympic champion earlier this summer 🔥 pic.twitter.com/doXrfD9TQA
— Eurosport (@eurosport) September 22, 2024
Tadej Pogacar aims for his piece of history too. The Slovenian could become the third man to win the Giro, Tour, and World title in the same year, following Eddy Merckx in 1974 and Stephen Roche in 1987. Pogacar has already claimed 22 victories this season.
Given the mountainous profile, the defending champion Van der Poel will likely start behind Evenepoel and Pogacar. However, the Dutchman excels in one-day races.
Swiss rider Marc Hirschi, in excellent form and on home soil, will be the main outsider. The French team, featuring Julian Alaphilippe, David Gaudu, Romain Bardet, and Valentin Madouas, could be a tactical threat. Riders like Slovenian Primoz Roglic, American Matteo Jorgenson, Briton Tom Pidcock, and Irishman Ben Healy might also upset proceedings.
