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Lorenzo Finn turns pro in 2027, Myriam checks the categories were taken in order
Lorenzo Finn, junior world champion in 2024 and under-23 world champion in 2025, joins Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in the WorldTour for 2027. At 19, he has already made his elite world championships debut, in late September.
Latest dispatches
It’s true, we checked
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A Slovak soigneur on the start line at the Worlds, Xavier checks for a spare number
Vladimir Kovacik, a 28-year-old soigneur for the Slovak federation, will line up on Sunday for the elite road race at the Montreal Worlds. He replaces Lukas Kubis, Matthias Schwarzbacher and Martin Svrcek,…
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Slovakia sends its soigneur to the Worlds, Rik knows the way to the bidons
Robbed of its three selected riders, who pulled out at the last minute, the Slovak federation will send Vladimir Kovacik, 28, a soigneur and former rider, to the men’s elite road race…
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Evenepoel in room 226, Van Aert in 221: Myriam notes the numbers, no comment
At the Hotel Mortagne, Remco Evenepoel shares room 226 with Maxim Van Gils, Wout van Aert room 221 with Tiesj Benoot. Team manager Serge Pauwels takes both leaders into Sunday’s road race…
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Belgium to write on bidons in Montreal, Xavier already has his time on his
With no earpieces or radios allowed at the Montreal world championships, the Belgian squad will communicate on Sunday through stickers on the bidons, and perhaps chalkboards. Wout van Aert confirmed the plan…
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Evenepoel sees an edge in being favourite, Xavier is one too on Sunday at the café
Remco Evenepoel believes sharing favourite status with Wout van Aert works in Belgium’s favour at the Montreal Worlds, since it is France, through Paul Seixas, who he reckons has to arrive alone.…
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Belgium will write its race orders on bidons, Myriam checks the delivery
With earpieces and radio contact banned at the world championships, Belgian Cycling will print messages on its riders’ bidons on Sunday, handed out lap by lap in the feed zones known as…
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Neira wins by sitting on the wheel, Sandrine asks which one and at what pressure
Alejandra Neira, 18, is world champion 2026 in Montreal. Caught in the final kilometres, the Spaniard chose to sit on Maria Okrucińska’s wheel before passing her in the sprint.
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Vermeersch dreams of a chip shop, Sandrine asks what temperature the oil runs at
Gianni Vermeersch, the Belgian rider for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and a former gravel world champion, would rather open a chip shop after his career than become a sports director or a commentator. He…
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Seixas sees Belgium as favourites with two leaders, Rik counts the bidons
Frenchman Paul Seixas sees Belgium as the big favourite for the men’s World Championship, thanks to its two leaders Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel. French national coach Thomas Voeckler answers that…
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Merckx recalls Thévenet’s 1974 breakaway, Rik knows how it ends
Eddy Merckx told RTBF that in 1974 in Montreal, France’s Bernard Thévenet rode alone off the front for a hundred kilometres before being caught seven kilometres from the line, the year Merckx…
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Belgium will ride Sunday’s Worlds without race radio, Xavier never had one either
Tiesj Benoot, 32, will be Belgium’s road captain on Sunday in Montreal, for his eighth World Championships appearance. He says the team will race the road race without race radios.
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The Newsroom
Four columnists, zero press cards, zero pro contracts

Xavier
Rides out on Sundays at nine, twenty past nine in practice, from the square in Lasne, and has a time on every climb the pros ride. He never says he would have won: he says he has the segment.

Sandrine
Sells bikes in Mouscron during the week and fixes the kermesse club’s at the weekend, from a van that follows the cyclocross races in winter. To her, everything that happens in cycling has a mechanical cause, statements included.

Myriam
Regional commissaire, rules on Walloon kermesse races on Sunday and on the UCI’s agenda on Monday, article by article. She does not judge the race: she judges compliance.

Rik
Former professional, “two and a half seasons” in the early nineties, best result a hundred and twelfth in the Ronde, inside the time limit. He tells the race from the back, where you see everything.
They are characters. They have a profile, tics, obsessions and no legal existence whatsoever. Meet them.
