The cycling season continues to advance and after a frenetic Tour de France it is the turn of the World Cup. A World Cup that hopes to be the beginning of a new era, that of the Super World Cups. The UCI has decided to gather all its categories in Glasgow for a week where the precious rainbow jerseys will be distributed. A change of concept that opens this 2023 and hopes to last over time.
Undoubtedly, one of the most anticipated tests will continue to be the Road Championship, where those present will fight to write their name in the Olympus of road cycling. An event of these dimensions always brings together many stars, but these are the ten cyclists called to star in the 2023 World Cup.
The ‘pit bull’ is one of the great references of the cycling universe and surely he will not want to stop wearing that rainbow jersey in which he feels so comfortable. To do so, he will have to revalidate the title in Glasgow and he is once again a favorite this 2023. Perhaps the profile of the route does not adapt as well to his abilities as last year, but the power of the Belgian, who is getting used to sentencing with very distances makes him a dangerous cyclist at all times. He will have many waiting to control him, including one of his companions.
The Belgian team presents, without a doubt, the best team in this World Cup. The great cycling power once again opts for a bicephaly in which Wout Van Aert will accompany Remco Evenepoel as spearheads of a squad that is truly scary. Van Aert has had a season in which, despite not having spectacular results, he has been one of the most decisive cyclists in all the races he has contested. Perhaps all this work in the shadows could be rewarded with a victory in a World Cup made to measure for him.
Van der Poel started his season in the best possible way. His victories in Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix certify it. However, after this brilliant start, the Dutchman set himself the goal of being the ‘stage hunter’ of the Tour and finally left France without a single victory to his credit. He has plenty of Watts and I’m sure he’ll want to make up for his little disappointment at the Grande Boucle. He does not present a bad Netherlands team, with Dylan Van Baarle as the best domestique Van der Poel will have.
It was not clear if the World Cup would appear on their calendar, but it has finally been so. The Slovenian comes from a Tour in which his great rival Jonas Vingegaard beat him last week and, like many others, sees an opportunity for redemption in the World Cup. The little prince will lead a Slovenian team in which many weight names are missing but on the other hand he makes sure that they will all work for him. During the classic season he has already shown that he is capable of rubbing shoulders with the great specialists and despite the fact that routes with more unevenness benefit him, Pogacar is up for everything. And I’m sure he’s going to put on a show.
Among so many illustrious names, even a world champion like Mads Pedersen can go unnoticed, but the truth is that the route of this World Championship is perfectly adapted to the style of the Danish runner. In a very technical final circuit in which there are no notable mountainous difficulties, but enough to eliminate the most pure sprinters, Mads Pedersen could emerge. In addition, the Nordic country has brought a very serious lineup full of rollers to cover Pedersen. Be very careful with him.
French cycling is not going through its best moment and with Julian Alaphilippe missing this season in Laporte, the hopes of the French country will fall. ‘Lulu’ will be part of the national team, but his poor performances suggest that he will not be decisive in this World Cup. On the other hand, Laporte has been gregarious for a good part of the season at Jumbo, but on the few occasions that he has been given freedom, he has responded with fantastic performances. Of course he does not start as a favorite, but if they give him free rein he could surprise.
Even more hidden is Ion Izaguirre and the Spanish team in general. This year Spain chooses not to have a clear leader and for the race to put them in their place. Men like Iván García Cortina or Alex Aranburu are some of those selected who, together with Izaguirre, should lead the formation. Less expectations also offer more opportunities to surprise and with that factor the Spanish cyclists should play in Glasgow.
The Kazakh is not the most consistent rider in the international peloton, but to his credit it must be said that he is having a good season in 2023 and he is a rider who in his good days has nothing to envy anyone. He is an explosive rider like few others and in a final circuit where it will be very necessary to be reactive so as not to get stuck in the whips that may form, the Astana cyclist could be one of the surprises of the World Cup.
Trentin is a good classicist but if he appears on this list of protagonists it is because of the team that surrounds him. Italy does not have a great leader, but they field 9 high-level cyclists who could act as judges at some point in the race. Whether Italy pull or not pull the peloton can be decisive depending on which phases of this World Cup and if they do it well they could have an option with Matteo Trentin, a man who knows how to respond to attacks and is the type of rider who benefits from routes like the from Glasgow.
We start with Belgium and end with Belgium. As if Evenepoel and Van Aert weren’t enough, the Belgian team also fielded the best sprinter of the moment. It is not a course in which sprinters will have things easy, but it is not a tough enough profile to rule them out completely. Philipsen’s biggest problem is perhaps that there are too many roosters in his pen and with the gregarious, in principle, helping Evenepoel and Van Aert it will be difficult to get into the favorite group if his team does not set a rhythm that benefits him. Of course, if he is able to reach the final sprint, he will have many ballots to dress in the rainbow.
