The course of the Cyclo-Cross World Championships will of course remain the same and is not an immediate surprise for many riders, as the course in Tábor has been part of the World Cup circuit for many years and has also served as a World Cup course several times in recent history (2015, 2010 and 2001). ). More recently, the track was tested for a final time at the Czech cross-country championship. In the Leader’s Jersey visited a number of potential protagonists and asked them what makes that tour in Tábor so special!
Let’s start with: the tour in Tábor is characterized by many short, steep climbs, a beam sector, lots of twists and turns and a bridge (there were at least three of them), while everything is reasonably well organized.
Van der Haar and Ronhaar enjoy a round in Tábor, Iserbyt speaks of a love-hate relationship
We start with an outsider among the elite men, Lars van der Haar. The 32-year-old Terrier from Woudenberg has of course been competing among the absolute world top for years. Therefore, the Dutchman from Baloise Trek Lions also knows the ins and outs when it comes to the course in Tábor. ‘Tabór is a round I really enjoy going to. It is a round with many beautiful, natural obstacles. Moreover, it is a fair round. I like that,” he confided to us following the X2O Trophy in Hamme. His teammate and compatriot Pim Ronhaar also agrees, who can certainly be labeled as a medal candidate. ‘It’s a circuit that should normally suit me. The loop is somewhat comparable to Hoogerheide. It’s difficult, since it’s not flat anywhere. It will be especially important to make good tactical decisions.’
Eli Iserbyt, in turn, spoke of a personal love-hate relationship with Tábor, where he has never actually finished outside the top two. ‘I once lost the Junior World Championship once morest Simon Andreassen. But for example, I also became European champion once morest Tom Pidcock. I have also won the World Cup round there once, sometimes coming just second. It’s always ”just right, just not” for me. All in all, the memories are good. It is an interval round, although that has also changed a bit. Some strips have been adjusted, so we have to take a look at that. But normally it is something that suits me very well,” says the West Flemish.
Pieterse and Brand are like-minded, Del Grosso and Bäckstedt take the weather into account
Puck Pieterse – who saw her World Cup preparations fall somewhat short due to physical problems – is also full of praise for Tábor. ‘That’s a really cool round. It is fast, technical and involves some climbing. I love that.’ We find similar words from Lucinda Brand, member of Sven Nys’ cyclo-cross formation. ‘The course in Tabór is comparable to that in Hoogerheide: high speed when it is dry, quite a few ascending parts, that kind of thing.’
The weather is also of above-average importance in Tábor, as shown by conversations with, for example, Tibor del Grosso (favorite among promising men) and Zoe Bäckstedt (favorite among promising women). ‘I can’t say too much regarding the course yet. Things were pretty quick at the Czech championship. It will mainly be a matter of waiting for the weather conditions,” said the Dutchman from Alpecin-Deceuninck following his victory in Hoogerheide. ‘It might go either way. There is a good chance that we will have to adapt to the weather conditions even during the match. Check which places are drying up, check where there is still ice, keep an eye on the position of the sun. Things like that play an extra important role there. For me it would of course be great if it fell from the sky with dumps, haha!’, was the hope of the British glutton.
Youri van den Berg (Twitter: @YourivndnBerg)
