After analyzing the big names at the start: 2023 World Championship: route analysis and big favorites (1st part) | Fantacycling (fanta-cycling.com) , we need to look at other good riders and possible outsiders. Let's start with those who actually have a good team, namely France. Christophe Laporte should be the captain, with alternatives Cosnefroy, Coquard and Madouas. Julian Alaphilippe will also be there but how far away are the good times of the two consecutive world victories (2020 and 2021).

Great Britain runs at home but will be without Thomas Pidcock: the hope is Fred Wright , reigning British champion. Other names to mark on the agenda are those of Michael Matthews and Kaden Groves for Australia, Neilson Powless for the United States, Ivan Garcia Cortina and Alex Aranburu for Spain, Gaviria for Colombia, Hirschi and Kung for Switzerland, Almeida for Portugal, Kristoff for Norway, Sam Bennett and Ben Healy for Ireland, Strong for New Zealand, and seasoned Kwiatkowski for Poland and Peter Sagan for Slovakia at his last World Cup.

ITALY WITHOUT GANNA AND MILAN

You may have heard of it, but it is clear that our thoughts on our national team immediately turn to the heavy absences of Filippo Ganna and Jonathan Milan , both busy on the track. If our two strongest talents are missing, at least for one-day races and sprints, we rely on the experience of Matteo Trentin and Alberto Bettiol with Andrea Bagioli and the Italian champion Simone Velasco as second strikers. Having few expectations, we hope for a good team result: for the world championship victory, which has been missing since 2008, it will be tough. But dreaming costs nothing.

Photo Sprint Cycling

ROUTE and FAVORITES UCI MEN ELITE World Championships Glasgow 2023 - YouTube