Van der Poel moved from the last row of the grid, 13th, to 4th thanks to a change in the UCI regulations just over 24 hours after the race. Same goes for Tom Pidcock. Peter Sagan has also been brought forward on the grid and will start ahead of athletes who are currently much more popular in MTB.
And some riders complain about these changes made a few hours after the race just to favor the athletes: among the first Nino Schurter (READ ARTICLE).
ALL THE INFORMATION ON THE 2023 MTB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
STARTING LIST XCO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
1 | SCHURTER Nino | SWITZERLAND |
3 | SARROU Jordan | FRANCE |
2 | VALERO SERRANO David | SPAIN |
4 | FORSTER Lars | SWITZERLAND |
6 | HATHERLY Alan | SOUTH AFRICA |
5 | BRAIDOT Luke | ITALY |
7 | de FROIDMONT Pierre | BELGIUM |
10 | DUBAU Joshua | FRANCE |
8 | SCHUERMANS Jens | BELGIUM |
9 | VIDAURRE KOSSMANN Martin | CHILE |
12 | SCHWARZBAUER Luke | GERMANY |
11 | BLUMS Martins | LATVIA |
14 | DASCALU Vlad | ROMANIA |
15 | BRAIDOT Daniel | ITALY |
16 | FLUCKIGER Mathias | SWITZERLAND |
23 | CINK Ondřej | CZECH REPUBLIC |
19 | ULLOA AREVALO Jose Gerardo | MEXICO |
18 | CAMPOS MOTOS David Domingo | SPAIN |
17 | GRIOT Thomas | FRANCE |
22 | by SILVA AVANCINI Henrique | BRAZIL |
26 | ALBIN Vital | SWITZERLAND |
20 | WAWAK Bartlomiej | POLAND |
25 | LITSCHER Thomas | SWITZERLAND |
21 | FINI CARSTENSENSebastian | DENMARK |
13 | CAROD Titouan | FRANCE |
28 | ROHME Knut | NORWAY |
31 | COOPER Anton | NEW ZEALAND |
32 | ANDREASSEN Simon | DENMARK |
29 | GONEN Gil Ly | ISRAEL |
24 | MAROTTE Maxime | FRANCE |
33 | MARQUES de ALMEIDA Jose Gabriel | BRAZIL |
30 | FOIDL Maximilian | AUSTRIA |
55 | PIDCOCK Thomas | GREAT BRITAIN |
101 | van der POEL Mathieu | NETHERLANDS |
104 | SAGAN Peter | SLOVAKIA |
27 | GUERRINI Marcel | SWITZERLAND |
35 | BRANDL Maximilian | GERMANY |
34 | GAZE Samuel | NEW ZEALAND |
38 | HOLMGREN Gunnar | CANADA |
36 | COLLEDANI Nadir | ITALY |
41 | BASTOS GALINSKI Ulan | BRAZIL |
43 | EID Emil Hasund | NORWAY |
45 | LUKASIK Krzysztof | POLAND |
37 | ZANOTTI Yuri | ITALY |
47 | ORR Cameron | GREAT BRITAIN |
48 | CULLELL ESTAPE Jofre | SPAIN |
50 | KORETZKY Victor | FRANCE |
39 | RAGG Gregor | AUSTRIA |
44 | LIST David | GERMANY |
40 | FRISCHKNECHT Andri | SWITZERLAND |
42 | ROTH Joel | SWITZERLAND |
53 | FOX Sam | AUSTRALIA |
51 | BOUCHARD Leandre | CANADA |
56 | BLEVINS Christopher | UNITED STATES |
49 | PHILIPP Antoine | FRANCE |
57 | GLENDE Mats Tubaas | NORWAY |
54 | PALUMBY Zsombor | HUNGARY |
59 | EGGER Georg | GERMANY |
58 | RODRIGUEZ GUEDE Pablo | SPAIN |
61 | CONTRERAS Joel Fernando | ARGENTINA |
62 | JANSSENS Arne | BELGIUM |
60 | PEREZ ROMAN Georwill | PUERTO RICO |
64 | OLIVER Well | NEW ZEALAND |
66 | DURAN Agustin | ARGENTINA |
67 | FINCHAM Sean | CANADA |
69 | LOPEZ Louis | HONDURAS |
70 | KITABAYASHI Riki | JAPAN |
71 | NAGLIČ Rok | SLOVENIA |
63 | SCHELB Julian | GERMANY |
65 | KAISER Leon Reinhard | GERMANY |
73 | LEVI Eitan | ISRAEL |
72 | COCUZZI Luiz Henrique | BRAZIL |
89 | TITARENKO Dmytro | UKRAINE |
75 | SOTO Catriel | ARGENTINA |
77 | MASON Cameron | GREAT BRITAIN |
74 | ULIK Matej | SLOVAKIA |
78 | HORNY Clement | BELGIUM |
68 | BOTERO VILLEGAS Jonathan | COLOMBIA |
79 | KOBES Lukash | CZECH REPUBLIC |
76 | HELTA Filip | POLAND |
81 | ZALTSMAN Tomer | ISRAEL |
80 | MILLER Alex | NAMIBIA |
84 | DAWSON Christopher | IRELAND |
85 | IVORY Cameron | AUSTRALIA |
82 | DESERA Peter | CANADA |
83 | DELICH PARDO Nicolas | CHILE |
86 | ŠKARNITZL Jan | CZECH REPUBLIC |
105 | MAKAE Tumelo | LESOTHO |
88 | FANANI Zaenal | INDONESIA |
91 | DONIZETES VALERIAN Rubens | BRAZIL |
93 | RAUCHFUSS Marek | CZECH REPUBLIC |
94 | ARIAS CUERVO Diego Alfonso | COLOMBIA |
96 | MIRANDA JAIME Jaime | MEXICO |
98 | FARFAN PALOMINO Frank Kelvin | PERU |
99 | ENTEZARIOON Mohammadreza | REFUGEE CYCLING TEAM |
103 | JONSSON Kristinn | ICELAND |
102 | NDUNGU Edwin | KENYA |
100 | RANA MAGAR Suraj | NEPAL |
MATHIEU VAN DER POEL
The Dutchman, not having a single UCI point in MTB, was forced to start from the last row. But not now after an ad hoc modification of the regulation just for him, but which could also be valid in the future for other athletes. Thomas Pidcock and Peter Sagan have also exploited this possibility. The rule allows a good grid position for cyclists well classified in the UCI classifications of other modalities.
What was the regulation like up to now? The starting grid in the XCO World Championship was established by the UCI XCO ranking. Among the bikers without UCI points, a random selection was made.
DOUBTS IN THE RULE
The rule, not having a "scientific" basis, can give rise to controversy: not in the case of Mathieu Van der Poel, given his physical form, but for example in that of Peter Sagan, who will start in front of the Short Track World Champion Sam Gaze, and to Victor Koretzky, also an athlete who competes in a professional road team and who was 2nd in the Short Track yesterday.


