Mathieu van der Poel has played down his chances of a second road race world title in Canada next Sunday, stating that the Montreal course is a "little too difficult for him".
Tadej Pogačar's absence has cast the Road World Championships road race in a new, more open light, and Van der Poel is not only a former world champion from 2023 but also made the podium two years ago on a Zurich course that featured more elevation gain than the upcoming one in Montreal.
However, Van der Poel, despite making a winning return to road racing on the opening stage of the Tour of Luxembourg, sees little chance of success.
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"I think the course is just slightly different. Zurich involved a lot of climbing, but not with one long climb like the one in Montreal now. The fact that Pogacar isn't participating doesn't change much for me either," Van der Poel said after his Luxembourg win, according to NOS and HLN.
"I think it will still be a little too difficult for me. If you saw which riders were at the front on Sunday..." he added.
He was referring to the GP de Montréal, which took place on much of the same circuit, and which saw a selective race where Isaac del Toro triumphed in a two-man sprint over Paul Seixas – the pair finishing third and fourth respectively at this year's Tour de France. The other main Worlds favourite is Remco Evenepoel, who was the runner-up at the Tour.
Van der Poel, a three-a-piece winner of the major cobbled Classics Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, is more heavily built than those more natural climbers.
"Just like before the World Championships in Zurich, I tried to lose some weight again," Van der Poel said of his recent training efforts, which came after his failed attempt to land a Mountain Bike World Championships title.
"I do notice that it makes a big difference when I am two kilograms lighter than in the spring. That is the case now."
Van der Poel, however, pointed out that the World Championships are not like other Classics, making the point that they're raced without race radios and earpieces.
"You never know at a Championship; they can be atypical races," Van der Poel said hopefully. "It's in national teams, without communication, so it's not like other races.
"I think my chances are slim, but I am looking forward to it."
While Evenepoel, Seixas, and Del Toro will surely look to light up and explode the race next Sunday, it's likely Van der Poel will take more of a back seat and hope things come back together in some sort of group for a sprint finish.
"It is always easier to have that, but I think we simply have the riders who can be there if the final breaks open early. And in that way, we can take the pressure off a bit," he said in relation to his strong Dutch squad.
"But I actually try not to concern myself with that too much. I just leave it to [national coach Koos Moerenhout] to make the right decisions."
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