ZURICH: Tadej Pogacar heads into the cycling world championships starting this weekend in Zurich with a chance to emulate former greats Stephen Roche and Eddy Merckx as three-time champions in a single season. Meanwhile, Demi Vollering can bounce back from a near miss at the Tour de France Femmes. He can also claim a second title in the men’s and women’s race unique to cycling. All 11 rainbow jerseys are up for grabs, the five at the elite level include time trials and men’s and women’s mixed relay road races. The championship starts on Sunday with individual and men’s time trials. AFP highlights three things to look out for in Zurich. The main attraction at these worlds is Pogacar’s pursuit of the road race title, which will be contested over seven rounds in Zurich. The Slovenian missed out on the Olympics but is eyeing a rare triple crown on a 273km course that suits him with its short, punchy climbs with kicks at 12 per cent. “I’m ready. I feel in good shape again,” said the 25-year-old after winning the Montreal GP on Sunday. If he adds the world title to the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France titles he won earlier in the year, he will join enthusiastic company in Roche since 1987 and Merckx since 1974. Annemiek van Vlueten has achieved the women’s treble in 2022. To achieve this, he will have to overcome two-time Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, recent Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic and Danish climber Mattias Skjelmos. Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands showed tremendous strength at last year’s World Championships in Glasgow and can be counted on to field an aggressive defence. Other riders are Michael Matthews from Australia, Biniam Girmay from Eritrea or one of the English trio Tom Pidcock, Adam and Simon Yates.
