It does feel like a bizarre own goal to make this course so tough. From a cynical point of view you’d think the organisers would want to capitalise on Girmay’s success and popularity as much as possible.
Pogačar is going to be the overwhelming favourite on any parcours, so why cater the course even more to a rider like him, at the expense of home-grown riders who will either struggle enormously or not turn up at all?
Think the initial focus is to show off Rwanda’s phenomenal landscape as the ‘country of a thousand hills’. But for Africa more widely, it is a missed opportunity.
The counter point is that generally East African riders are better on the climbs - Girmay is a surprising exception. Perhaps they tried to play to their advantages but didn’t think it all the way through
Hmm, I can understand that from a TV perspective, but I think playing to African riders’ strengths, esp Girmay as a proven winner, would make more sense - esp with how much they’re bigging this WC up as important for the continent as a whole, not just Rwanda. Interesting counterpoint tho, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of local riders getting in the early breaks and getting some exposure that way.
It’s really sad that what should be an exciting breakthrough for the sport is shaping up to be an example used by those who want to keep the sport Euro-centric
There’s definitely a danger there, yes. Beyond the riders, a lot of that hangs on how well the event is organised. If there are big issues, big events may not come back to Africa
It does feel like a bizarre own goal to make this course so tough. From a cynical point of view you’d think the organisers would want to capitalise on Girmay’s success and popularity as much as possible.
Pogačar is going to be the overwhelming favourite on any parcours, so why cater the course even more to a rider like him, at the expense of home-grown riders who will either struggle enormously or not turn up at all?
Think the initial focus is to show off Rwanda’s phenomenal landscape as the ‘country of a thousand hills’. But for Africa more widely, it is a missed opportunity.
The counter point is that generally East African riders are better on the climbs - Girmay is a surprising exception. Perhaps they tried to play to their advantages but didn’t think it all the way through
Hmm, I can understand that from a TV perspective, but I think playing to African riders’ strengths, esp Girmay as a proven winner, would make more sense - esp with how much they’re bigging this WC up as important for the continent as a whole, not just Rwanda. Interesting counterpoint tho, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of local riders getting in the early breaks and getting some exposure that way.
It’s really sad that what should be an exciting breakthrough for the sport is shaping up to be an example used by those who want to keep the sport Euro-centric
There’s definitely a danger there, yes. Beyond the riders, a lot of that hangs on how well the event is organised. If there are big issues, big events may not come back to Africa