Observation. The individual time trial at the road World Championships takes place in Montreal, over more than 39 kilometres, for elite men and elite women alike. After the recon, the Belgian participants judged the state of the surface very poor. Klaas Lodewyck told Sporza that the roads were in an appalling state and that it was “a bit of a disgrace” for a World Championships.
The same man explained that the course had been noted very thoroughly, so the riders will not be surprised, and he compares the work to pace notes taken for a rally. With a limit: “We have prepared for the course as well as we could, but we also do not want to write down too much information. You want to keep a certain calm in the riders’ heads. Everything crucial has been noted.” Demi Vollering told the NOS that there were a lot of corners you have to take well, and then suddenly a hole in the road.
I read it again. First. The course is the same for everyone, the same distance for the women and for the men, the same corners, the same hole. Second. My folder has a column for the start time, one for the race number, one for the finish. It does not have a column for the state of the road. So the word “disgrace” does not go anywhere in it. That is not a judgement, it is a question of format.
On the principle of the notes, she has nothing to report: a course that has been ridden and written down is a course that is known, and the rulebook prefers things written down. She notes only that the method consists of writing less in order to leave room. It is not hers. At the kermesse, a village circuit race, she writes everything down, including what will never be used, and she brings two pens.
Verdict: compliant. What she does not note: that the hole in the corner does not ask anyone for their race number.
It’s true, we checked: WielerFlits.
