Boonen and Gilbert to recce Worlds course

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Belgium's two top cyclists, Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert, will be reconnoitering the course of the Worlds road race in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the week after the Ardennes Classics. National coach Carlo Bomans told La Dernière Heure that he will take both leaders to a scouting session together.

"It's a tradition of sorts, even if last year we weren't able to do it because the Wolrds were taking place too far away," said Bomans, who hasn't seen the course in Denmark in person yet. "But I already know it thanks to video. Gilbert and Boonen are both very motived for the Worlds. We will go there on the Tuesday after Liège-Bastogne-Liège."

To prepare for the Worlds, both Boonen and Gilbert will be racing the Vuelta, and Bomans hopes they will be racing the whole three weeks of it. "Contrary to last year, there will be two weeks between the Grand Tour and the Worlds, so there is plenty of time to recover. In my opinion, the Vuelta is necessary to be in shape for the event."

Bomans is certain that both Classics specialists could take the rainbow jersey in Denmark this year, even if the course is said to be rather flat.

"I think that stages of the Tour of Denmark finished in that location, and that they were sprints, but they were also races with a limited amount of kilometres. One shouldn't forget that a Worlds course in 260 kilometres. The finish line is located uphill and after that sort of a distance, this sort of bump could cause some damage. That's why it's important to go on location to see the difficulty of the circuit for yourself," Bomans said.