World Championships 2023: Men's Road Race (August 6)

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Well he was out of the race at that point anyway, so it didn't really matter. A top 10 would of course not have been a bad result for him.

True, but I was thinking the problems with the turns was maybe a result of him getting tired (not a joke!). I didn't see others stop to let air out. Anyway, it was quite remarkable how a single forced stop meant the end of the race for so many riders. Van der Poel was one of the few exceptions!
 
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Pedersen’s solo was a lap before Bettiol’s. If he had gotten 30’’, it would have been his golden ticket. I think he did well to seek his winning path.

There was no way Pedersen could have gone solo to the finish line with more than an hour to go of the race. Besides, a good sprinter should ride relatively defensively compared to others. It's entertaining, and he made his country proud, but the end result would have been better if he had constrained himself more (as in numerous other races).
 
MVDP remembering: "Oh no I've left my group behind, I knew I forgot something!"

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It's basically a lot like the Krylatskoye Ring, but more technical cos it's not purpose built like that was. There were no major climbs, it was just relentless, with corners all over the place and short ups and downs and never letting the settle into a rhythm for a sustained period of time at any point. It was always going to be selective and you couldn't truly figure out what type of rider it best suited until they either survived or didn't. I wasn't sure about it after the Commonwealths, but with the deeper field of a World Championships and the full distance that that entails, the strengths of the circuit really came to the fore.
 
It's basically a lot like the Krylatskoye Ring, but more technical cos it's not purpose built like that was. There were no major climbs, it was just relentless, with corners all over the place and short ups and downs and never letting the settle into a rhythm for a sustained period of time at any point. It was always going to be selective and you couldn't truly figure out what type of rider it best suited until they either survived or didn't. I wasn't sure about it after the Commonwealths, but with the deeper field of a World Championships and the full distance that that entails, the strengths of the circuit really came to the fore.
It's only really cos of the length and lack of organisation in the teams. Turn that into a 200-210k one day with 7/8 man trade teams I reckon you get a sprint from a 40 man peleton.