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The 2023-24 cyclocross season culminates this weekend with the World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic. Defending champions Mathieu van der Poel and Femme van Empel are aiming to retain the rainbow jersey, with both emerging as favorites after dominating their respective elite calendars.
During that time, they have won 29 of the 32 races they started. Van Empel won 11 races in a row before losing at Gavere, but van der Poel’s only loss came when he crashed into the pole at Benidorm, giving victory to close rival Wout van Aert. was.
Van der Poel has a long history with Tabor, and 2024 will mark the ninth year since he won his first elite world title in the Czech city and became the youngest ever elite men’s world champion. . He and Van Aert have chosen to make their debut at the senior world championships after a season in which they have already competed against the best players at just 20 years old. He called his decision in 2015 “the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
Although he didn’t realize its significance at the time, Tabor became the place where one of the greatest cyclocross riders ever achieved his first monumental success in the seniors. He is the first of many riders who has now grown into one of a generation of riders, both in off-road and road disciplines. Since that day, four more CX rainbow jerseys, a road world title, a Grand Tour stage, stints at the Maillot Jaune and Maria Rosa, and four monuments have followed.
The Dutchman doesn’t have much left to accomplish in the general cyclocross race calendar, hinting that this could be his last appearance in cyclocross, and predicting his chances at the Spring Classic. Although he admitted that it did not add much to his ability, he admitted that it would be difficult to match that elation, and in 2015 he won his sixth victory and his first world title.
“The finish was very emotional. Equal [Tábor in 2015] It’s difficult now. The first is often the best,” Van der Poel said at his recent press conference.
Asked if Tabor would be his last dance with CX, he said: “I’ll have to think about it before making a decision,” adding that it might be a good idea to call it quits after winning his seventh title. he added. “I won my first elite world title in cyclocross in 2015, and I won it again, this time in Tabor. It could be a full circle, but we don’t know yet.”
There aren’t too many courses that don’t suit Van der Poel’s abilities, but Tabor in particular has won a number of races here throughout his career, starting at the age of 17, when his raw power and good technical skills combined to earn him many wins here. This is the course I took. From 2012 to recent wins in 2020.
Van der Poel has twice won the senior and junior World Cup rounds at Tabor, although the course in 2024 may be slightly different from the one where he won the title over Van Aert in 2015. , the flying Dutchman would definitely dream of a chance at high speed. and the Czech Pure Power course.
Since Van der Poel’s coronation in 2015, only two other players have won world titles. Van Aert three times from 2016-18, and Tom Pidcock in 2022. Neither the Dutchman nor the Belgian started in Fayetteville. However, both athletes prioritized their other goals, the Tour, Giro, and Olympics, and decided to miss out on competing at the worlds.
Their absence, combined with van der Poel’s 12 wins from 13 starts, suggests that 2024 will be somewhat of a formality, with the Dutchman hoping to win a sixth world title. It seemed almost impossible for him to rise to second place on the all-time list behind Eric De on his own. Vreminck (7 times).
However, van der Poel has not been as dominant as he was over the Christmas period, when he was regularly trailing by more than a minute, and doubts have been raised over the last three races.
In the X2O Trophy round at the Hamme and Hoogerheide World Cups, van der Poel was only separated until late in the day, when European champion Michael VanTourenhout (Pauwerz Sausen Bingoor) and current U23 World champion Tibau Nis (Baloise Trek Lions) almost survived the brutal acceleration. Challenging for victory – Van der Poel won both times, but by much closer margins than he had all season.
Nevertheless, Van der Poel’s biggest barrier to winning a sixth Elite world title appears to be himself after Benidorm highlighted how decisive a late crash was. He is therefore a heavy favorite and likely too strong for this field, but the crash could make him the only rider other than Van Aert to beat van der Poel in the Elite CX World Championship.
The following races will be intensely contested throughout the season, with several riders switching places in the hunt for the win and vying for a spot on the podium. And it will be the classic Dutch vs. Belgian battle in Tabor. The Dutch quartet of Pim Rongaard, Tibau Nis, Lars van der Haal and Joris Nieuwenhuis lock out the orange lockout of the podium as Eli Yserbeit and Vantuerenhout fly the Belgian flag. There will be a fight.
All six have won this season, and while there is no clear rise to the top, van der Haal, Iserbyte and VanTourenhout have all won in the past at Tabor, so even if fans -Even if Del Paul pulls away from the rest of the pack, we can expect a great race in 2nd and 3rd place. opening lap.
This is the fourth time Tabor has hosted the Cyclocross World Championships, following in 2001, 2010 and the aforementioned 2015, with local favorite Zdenek Stybar taking home the first of his three world titles in the 2010 race. won the title. After Sunday’s race, Stiver will end his illustrious career at the track he knows best.
Dutch national team competes in women’s race
Pham van Empel is a heavy favorite in the women’s race as well and will head into Tabor as arguably the best rider of the season, taking top honors for the rainbow jersey with 17 wins from 19 races despite being just 21 years old. ing.
The defending champion will be forced into a close battle with his Dutch ‘teammate’, who has been in close competition all season with the likes of Pac Peters, Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, as he looks to retain his title. Become.
Pieters was the winner in both matches Van Empel missed out on and has been her close rival throughout the pair, who have risen through juniors, under-23s and now into the elite ranks. Pieters is 21 years old, like Van Empel, but has different qualities to her compatriot that could help her in Saturday’s race.
“We can only make each other stronger,” Peters said. cycling news Regarding the rivalry with Van Empel. “Like, how was last year and the year before that? It’s been really good to keep seeing each other and keep competing with each other because it keeps each other sharp.”
As the pair took first and second place at last season’s Tabor World Cup, Pieters tried to make a race-winning move on Tabor’s uphill board section as the only rider able to hurdle them on his bike. However, Van Empel had too much power on the final lap and took the victory.
A similar situation occurred at the Benidorm World Cup two weeks ago, and despite Pieterse having a technical advantage on the board, Van Empel again beat her on a dive inside the penultimate corner. I was able to surpass it. Pieterse won’t leave the door open like he did in Spain, but his exact form heading into the weekend is unclear after falling ill in the final race at Hoogerheide.
“It’s disappointing. I’ve never had such poor quality training for such a long period of time,” Pieterse said. wheeler fritz At Hoogerheide, he finished in a disappointing 8th place. “I don’t necessarily go into the world championships feeling good, but I’m open to everything. It goes the way it goes.”
Hougeheide did the same for Van Empel as he did for Van der Poel, raising the question of whether Saturday’s race foreshadows a showdown, as it has all season. I threw it. Van Empel was pushed to the end and secured victory in the final sprint as a new name emerged as a challenger in Hungary’s Blanka Kata Vas. The 22-year-old is reworking her form after having her CX season marred by a broken collarbone at the perfect time ahead of Saturday’s race.
Former world champion brand and overall World Cup winner Alvarado has also won multiple races this season and is another big challenger for the title who often pushed Van Empel to the limit during the season. Brand, in particular, should be able to use his big endurance base to deliver solid results throughout his laps at Tabor, and is even more inspired by his victory over Pieterse last month to win the Dutch national title despite breaking his nose. will do.
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