Alongside the superstars Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel and Isaac del Toro on the start line of the World Championships men's elite road race on Sunday will be a surprising entry: Vladimír Kováčik, a masseur for the Slovakian national team.
It's been a decade since Slovakian superstar Peter Sagan won the second of his three world titles in a row, and while still not one of the major cycling nations, the situation hasn't turned that bleak since the all-time great's retirement. Slovakia has more than enough talent to be able to field a strong team between the likes of Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets), Martin Svrček (Soudal Quick-Step) and Matthias Schwarzbacher (EF Education-EasyPost), but a series of events led them to this being the only solution.
Their ranking meant they were due to be fielding a four-man team, but between injuries and rider schedules taking priority, they found themselves in an emergency, and a potentially costly one, as not fielding a team could see their national championships drop into the B category for 2027, with a cut to the number of UCI points on offer.
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Late cancellations left them unable to nominate a replacement, with the window for registration closing on September 11, so they were forced to turn to a member of the support staff to protect the future prospects of Slovakian riders.
"The only nominated racer [for the women's race], Nora Jenčušová, had to end the season prematurely due to injuries and adverse health conditions. Likewise, the only relevant nominated men - Lukáš Kubiš, Matthias Schwarzbacher and Martin Svrček had to cancel their participation at the last moment," read a post from the Slovakian federation's Instagram.
"Due to the late cancellation of their participation, it was no longer possible to supplement the nomination adequately. Given the UCI rules and the fact that the World Championships are taking place in Canada, the situation was only possible to be resolved through a member of the Slovak team, who was already on site and met the conditions of the start. At the same time, it is not possible to further include U23 in the elite category of quality racers, because they could lose the opportunity to start in their age category."
A 28-year-old masseur for the national team, Kováčik has raced previously, but according to his ProCyclingStats profile, not since 2017. That season he was 32nd in the national time trial championships in Slovakia, and he had raced at Paris-Roubaix juniors the season before that – though he did not finish.
In the women's elite road race, they will similarly be fielding only one rider, but the situation hasn't been quite as desperate, with Tereza Kurnická taking the start as Jenčušová's replacement, a multiple-time Slovakian national champion in mountain biking.
National coach Jakub Vančo explained the consequences in greater detail, stating how essential the points could be for their goal of qualifying for the 2028 LA Olympics, but made sure to stress that the masseur's entry was nothing more than a "formal representation".
"For the national champion, the drop is half, for the second one almost two-thirds. We would count the losses in the hundreds. These points are equal to winning a World Tour stage race, which is beyond our capabilities," Vančo told Sportnet
"So we have to fulfil our obligation to the UCI to have someone compete in the elite races. Moreover, next year will be a qualifying year for the 2028 Olympics.
"Our participation will only be formal. We will have representation in the form of a person who is here and formally meets the conditions and licenses."
Slovakia has performed well throughout the ongoing championships in Montreal, Canada, with top young talent and Visma-Lease a Bike rider Viktória Chladoňová winning the women's under-23 road race and Richard Riška taking eighth in the equivalent men's race. It's the future of these riders and the rest of their developing talent that the decision has been made for.
"Minimum representation of Slovakia in the Elite category is important in terms of maintaining the ranking and point positions required for future nominations for the World Championships, European Championships and Olympic Games," read the post on the federation's Instagram.
"Although such a solution is not ideal and it is not a decision that we would accept easily, in the current situation it is necessary to preserve start possibilities for prospective Slovak cyclists and cyclists, such as Chladoňová, Kubiš, Schwarzbacher, Ungerová, Svrček, Riška, Novák, Andacká and other quality juniors. We therefore believe in understanding this extraordinary situation."
"I would like to thank Terka Kurnická and Vlad Kováčik for starting in the elite category. With their participation, we will not lose important points that will be useful to us in the future," said Chladoňová.
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