After Sunday\u2019s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr\u00e9al, which used much of the same terrain that will feature at the worlds, the Belgian got a pretty good look at what Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will be up against. It\u2019s a debate that\u2019s been going on social media for some time.<\/p>\n
Is Camilien-Houde simply too long for the two Classics stars, who definitely excel on the Flandrian steep bergs? The Double Olympic champ thinks so.<\/p>\n
Evenepoel on his rivals<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the way they ride on the longer climb, it\u2019s really difficult for the heavier guys,\u201d Evenepoel told WielerFlits<\/a>.<\/p>\n The numbers back up his point. Isaac Del Toro won the Montreal race ahead of Paul Seixas, with Evenepoel<\/a> finishing among the strongest riders behind them.<\/p>\n Camilien-Houde is just under two kilometres long and an average grade of 7.4\u20138 per cent.<\/p>\n For a comparison, Camilien-Houde is longer than the Koppenberg and Paterberg combined, and considerably steeper than the famously long Oude Kwaremont. Although the latter is 2.2 km, its average gradient is around four per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the average weight of the top-10, we might be at 63 or 65 kilograms,\u201d Evenepoel said<\/a>. \u201cThey are not heavy men, but riders like Wout and Mathieu can survive this on super days,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Van der Poel and van Aert are estimated to be about 10 kg more than that.<\/p>\n The worlds versus the GP<\/p>\n The other big factor is length. Sure, on Sunday they went up the climb 16 times, but the race was also just a bit over 200 km. Also, an early break went and the pack was really on cruise control for the first 80 km.<\/p>\n The worlds will be 273 km, and they head up the climb 12 times.<\/p>\n But this comes after a significantly longer section where attrition will really, really set in.<\/p>\n Van aert\u2019s history in Montreal<\/p>\n Now, to counter Evenepoel\u2019s thesis, it should be noted that van Aert did finish second at the 2022 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr\u00e9al, in a five-man group.<\/p>\n That race was won by none other than Tadej Poga\u010dar, who, as we all know, won\u2019t be racing this year. The current (but not for long) world champion crashed out of the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, and was forced to end his season.<\/p>\n Not only did he have to give up his chance of winning the Spanish Grand Tour, but also the worlds defence and Euro champs defence. The bummer about the latter is it was being held in his home country of Slovenia.<\/p>\n He still planned on coming to Canada to root for his fianc\u00e9e Ur\u0161ka \u017digart<\/a> and pals like Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d. \u017digart, unfortunately, crashed on the weekend and reinjured her jaw<\/a>, which means she too will have to skip Montreal. She might not have been an outright favourite for the win, but would definitely be in the mix and could have been a wildcard.<\/p>\n The Belgian is in good form<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Paris-Roubaix winner showed some fine form at the Vuelta, however, winning two stages, taking the green jersey, and also getting second in the mountains. The polka dot jersey placement might not be an exact measure of his climbing \u2014 he was in multiple long breaks where he snagged points. Still, it shows he can go pretty good up some climbs, in a way, just not the big mountains. (Although he also won Ventoux at the Tour de France in 2021. That year, he also won the final time trial, as well as Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es. He was legit a triple threat that year.)<\/p>\n The road worlds begin on Sept. 20 and finish with the men\u2019s race on Sept. 27. Canadian Cycling Magazine will be there on the scene, with plenty of content on the site and our social media.<\/a><\/p>\n