The 90th Men's World Championships road race takes place in Scotland on Sunday, and renowned Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel is fighting for his title along with fellow Belgian cyclists Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen.
The selection was announced two weeks ago, with coach Sven Vanthourenhout describing the trio as a "great luxury". With spearheads of this calibre, the Belgian team will attract a lot of attention in the Scottish city. Tiesj Benoot, Victor Campenaerts, Frederik Frison, Yves Lampaert, Jasper Stuyven and Nathan Van Hooydonck will be riding for them.
The 271 km route should suit the three Belgians, who will set off from Edinburgh towards Glasgow to complete ten laps of a local circuit. No fewer than 3,570 m of ascent await the riders.
The 14.3km circuit features several short climbs, including the Montrose Street climb (0.2 km at 6%) which could prove decisive. The summit of this climb lies 1.5 km from the finish, which is judged in George Square after a slight descent.
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Belgium is one of the favourites, but the competition is strong. The Netherlands, France and Denmark are all strong contenders.
The Dutch have two leaders, Mathieu van der Poel and Dylan van Baarle. France has two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe, Christophe Laporte and Benoît Cosnefroy.
Even without Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark has a formidable team in the shape of Mads Pedersen, 2019 world champion, Kasper Asgreen, Mattias Skjelmose and Sören Kragh Andersen.
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar will also be there, while Australia's Michael Matthews and Eritrea's Biniam Girmay, among others, will be serious outsiders.
