European Championships Road Race 2023 - Betting Favourites
Date: Sunday, September 23rd 2023 - Men's
Date: Saturday, September 22nd 2023 - Women's
Men
Totalling just shy of 200km, this ain't your Glasgow course. Six laps of the 14km circuit once they enter, but not that technical. The hill is essentially a blip, and whoever wants to make their mark on one of the final lap will need a large amount of seated power. That lends itself well to Remco or Wout van Aert. But given Remco isn't showing - Wout van Aert is definitely the favourite. But in our eyes Pedersen after his recent surge in the later half of the year, and to be honest, consistently consistent, should be a lot shorter than he is.
Given the simple nature of the circuit - it's much more likely this will end in a bunch sprint, and could definitely be a sprinter's day to shine - say Kooij, De Lie or Pedersen. Otherwise we think the attack will need to go early to sustain enough of a lead, aided potentially by some "group two" syndrome to be able to pull out the win.
Skuijns has done solo early attacks before. As has Kron. So this isn't out of the question.
The finishing semi-circuit is a little technical, especially with the small climb close the finish. If De Lie couldn't climb we might say it could be an impediment to being a bunch sprint finish, but he's shown he can climb decently, especially something as small as the VAM.
Women
The women's edition is the same circuit, but instead of totalling 299km it cuts out a few of the starting kilometers and loops and manages to cut the total to 131km instead. That's about 25km shorter than the Glasgow course, and definitely not as technical.
Given that, we expect that Demi Vollering might have a better shot. But Kopecky's form is still just incredibly strong. Given the hill is such a blip, it'll require a individual with a incredibly large seated power to ride away from the group. Kopecky can do that, we're unsure Vollering can.
Given the course nature, it's much more likely to end in a bunch sprint and we could see Lorena Wiebes having their time in the sun this time around. Well. It's probably not going to be sunny given it's Belgium. But you get the drift.
