Belgium’s national coach and former pro Serge Pauwels is leaving as little as possible to chance ahead of the road world championships in Montreal this September. As reported by Sporza, Pauwels is in La Belle Province this week, not just to study the race routes, but to figure out where his riders should live and train during a packed block of racing.
A chunk of time in Quebec
The calendar makes things complicated. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal fall on Sept. 11 and 13, and a week later the world championships is in Montreal. That leaves a gap to manage, especially for riders targeting the road race on Sept. 27. Because it doesn’t make sense to fly back to Europe in that short span. Which means they will stay here and train.
“It’s really important that we find a good place in this region that can serve as a base between the Canadian races and the worlds,” Pauwels said. The idea is to avoid keeping riders stuck in a city hotel for two weeks.
“We want to create a kind of isolation bubble for the guys doing both the Canadian one-day races and the worlds,” he explained. “Even if that’s only three to five riders, I’m not a fan of putting them in a hotel for two weeks. After a while, they forget what they’re there for.”
Somewhere to get miles in
The solution? Somewhere quieter, with space to train and recover properly — not ideal in a busy place like Montreal. One of the few choices that is used by pros or amateurs is the F1 circuit–that’s fine for an easy ride, doing laps of the 6-km circuit, but not for a long stay. But there are plenty of great roads for training outside of the city.
Pauwels is travelling with a small Belgian Cycling delegation and under-23 rider Viktor Soenens as they scout options. A final decision hasn’t been made, but he hinted they are close.
On the courses
There’s also the racing itself. Pauwels has already ridden parts of the time trial and road race courses. The 39.9-kilometre time trial is largely flat, aside from a slight rise near the finish, with two laps of Montreal’s Formula 1 circuit before heading back along the waterfront.
“It’s basically pan-flat, which we expected,” he said. “But it’s good to see and feel it for yourself. The wind usually comes from the south.”
La fédération belge en repérage à Montréal 🇧🇪
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