At this point in the day old 2011 season, the consensus is still that September's World Championships in Denmark will result in a bunch dash for rainbow glory. Danish national road champion, Nicki Sorensen, however, is not so sure about the likelihood of a bunch sprint finish next fall in Copenhagen.
Speaking with feltet.dk, the 2009 Tour de France stage winner is reticent to concede the 2011 World Championships to the sprinter elite even if the course is likely not one to be defined by any major hills (and it isn't).
“Right away, everyone says the race will end in a sprint, but I have not even ridden the route yet. The hills are probably not the hardest, because this is Denmark, but you can still create a hard route by making it technically demanding with rights and lefts all the time.”
The 35 year old three-time Danish national champion is no stranger to aggressive racing, and the Saxo Bank stalwart is counting on a knife fight at the end of the season in Copenhagen. It is, after all, the World Championships.
“I cannot imagine a World Championship though that just comes down quietly to a sprint.”
Most of all, Sorensen doesn't see the mostly flat route as a negative. On the contrary, it opens the door for an army of riders to be contenders on September 25th, much more so than in a really difficult, arduous circuit.
“Some tactical things can come to pass to make it a more open race. If it were a mountainous route, the possible winners would be very few, as it would be more for the specialists, but in this case, since it isn't, it is initially a wide open race.”
Along with Sorensen's intriguing comments to remind everyone that the rainbow jersey will not automatically pass to a fast man finisher, the Dane recently modelled the Saxo Bank jersey for the 2011.
It's a move toward the brighter side compared to 2010, with a lighter blue, some tasteful flames flicking up the sides of the shorts, and the Riis Cycling eagle occupying a dominant spot on the lower right part of the front of the jersey with Saxo Bank and SunGard ruling at the center.