The 2024 UCI Road World Championships end with the elite men's road race on Sunday, September 29, the day after the elite women's race, creating a thrilling final weekend of rainbow jersey racing.
The 273.9 km Zurich road race route is finely balanced. Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and others are convinced they can challenge Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and other Grand Tour riders and at least fight for a medal. Pogačar is expected to dominate but could fall into a tactical trap from bigger and stronger teams.
With riders competing in national colours rather than their professional teams, at least officially; the World Championships are always a different race, with different strengths and team sizes, and often a different dynamic and outcome.
The elite men's race route starts northwest of Zurich in Winterthur and covers a 56 km loop before heading to Zurich.
The men then cover the 27km Zurich circuit seven times, with the Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon climbs on each circuit to the east of Lake Zurich. Neither climb is long but together will gradually shake out the peloton and create a total of 4500 metres of altitude during the six hours of racing.
Each 56km lap includes 400 metres of climbing, with the short but late Zollikon climb just 4.8km from the finish on the shores of Lake Zurich.
These are the 10 riders Cyclingnews expects to fight for the rainbow jersey and podium places, plus our selection of outsiders and dark horses.
Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia)
Tadej Pogačar could join Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche as the only male riders to complete the Grand Slam of Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and world title in the same season.
While many other riders raced in the Olympics and Vuelta a Espana, Pogačar was able to rest up and prepare for his end-of-season campaign. His Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal victory indicated he is unbeatable but his tactical mistake at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec gives his rivals at least some hope.
Michael Matthews (Australia)
Matthews won the GP de Québec for a third time and is a contender for the rainbow jersey, 14 years after he won the under-23 title in Geelong.
The Zurich course is arguably harder than Québec but Matthews always rises to the big occasions and will have full support from the Australia team. He will have to stay with his close friend Pogačar on the final laps but is faster in a sprint.
Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)
The outgoing world champion has lost two kilograms to try to be competitive on the two climbs of the Zurich circuit. It could make a difference but doubts remain if he can survive an onslaught of attacks from Pogačar and Evenepoel.
Van der Poel showed his form at this week's Tour de Luxembourg and at the European Championship but he does not seem at the same level as in the spring when he dominated the Classics.
Mads Pedersen (Denmark)
Pedersen beat Van der Poel in a sprint in Luxembourg to secure at least a psychological advantage over his Classic rivals before they travel to Zurich. However, he faces the same dilemma - how can they defeat Pogačar or even stay on his wheel on the climbs?
For sure Pedersen will start the World Championships with ambition and belief but they might not be enough.
Marc Hirschi (Switzerland)
Hirschi is on a roll after winning five consecutive one-day races in the last few weeks. He seems ideal for the Zurich course and will fly the flag for Switzerland but perhaps also feel the pressure.
On a perfect day, Hirschi could, in theory, beat Pogačar but that would be a huge upset. They are still teammates at UAE Team Emirates but there will be little transversal team loyalty, with a combination of pro team bonuses further complicating their relationships and rivalry.
Hirschi will ride for Tudor in 2025 and so could take the rainbow jersey to Fabian Cancellara's team as they look to secure a wild card invitation.
Remco Evenepoel (Belgium)
In the absence of Wout Van Aert, Evenepoel is the team leader for Belgium.
At his very best he has the natural confidence and ability to take on Pogačar. However, he was mentally and physically tired after his double gold success at the Paris Olympic Games and may not have got back to his best.
Evenepoel could get a boost by winning the time trial world title, which could also soften the blow of defeat in the road race.
Biniam Girmay (Eritrea)
The 2025 World Championships will be held in Rwanda and an African world champion would be an ideal way to showcase the current strength of African cycling.
Girmay had a huge and historic Tour de France by winning three stages and the green points jersey. He appears to have recovered well and returned to form in the Canada races.
He will have no real team support but he is excellent at surviving hard races and waiting for the sprint. He also has the same agent as Pogačar in Alex Carera and so there could be a pact of non-belligerence.
Michael Woods (Canada)
Woods endured a difficult spring due to a nasty virus but recovered at home and then won the Canadian national title. He showed he has returned to his best at the Vuelta and could be an aggressive threat in Zurich.
37-year-old Woods went close to winning the world title in Innsbruck in 2019 and is keen to make amends as his career nears its end in 2025.
Julian Alaphilippe (France)
'Loulou' knows how to win the world title and knows what it means. He is at a crossroads in his career as he heads to Tudor in 2025 and has endured several lean seasons but can never be written off.
He was unable to respond to Pogačar in Canada but French national coach Thomas Voeckler always knows how to motivate him.
Tom Pidcock (Great Britain)
The Yorkshireman crashed at the Tour of Britain and missed the Canada races but that meant he could spend an extra week at home and train specifically for the end of season. He is one of several options in the Great Britain team, alongside Stevie Williams and the Yate twins.
Pidcock admitted in the summer that he was 'frazzled' after talk about his future at Ineos Grenadiers but he now seems ready to sacrifice his fat tyre career for a shot at the Tour de France in the years to come.
A good world championships and late season would create a stable base on which to build his future.
The outsiders
Maxim van Gils has been named as Belgium's 'shadow leader' behind Evenepoel. He showed his form with fourth at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, he is naturally aggressive and a perfect alternative if Evenepoel is marked out of contention. Watch for him to go in any dangerous attack before the real finale of the race.
Primož Roglič will have a similar role in the Slovenian team, where Pogačar is the clear leader. His chances depend on his form after his Vuelta victory but he should not be forgotten.
Toms Skujiņš is a similar dark horse and can ride for himself in Zurich, with the support of a few Latvian teammates. He was sixth in Montreal and often a better climber than most Classics contenders.
Ireland's Ben Healy will always race aggressively even if not at his very best. Watch him try to open up the race early.
Alberto Bettiol opted out of the Italian national team, citing a lack of form. Italian national coach Daniele Bennati was forced to select a mixed group of veterans and young riders, with Marco Frigo, Diego Ulissi, and Andrea Bagioli the likely protected riders.
The US national team is also stronger than its parts. Matteo Jorgenson, Neilson Powless, Quinn Simmons, Magnus Sheffield and Brandon McNulty could all perform well and perhaps even secure a place on the podium.
Pablo Castrillo stands out in the Spanish team of climbers, while Richard Carapaz (Ecuador) also stands out on the list of outsiders and dark horses.
