A Sunday in Holl: Steep final climb to decide men's Worlds – Preview

Each national team has been carefully selected; the riders have all arrived in Innsbruck; the last reconnaissance rides have been completed, and the granny gears have been chosen. Now the best climbers and Grand Tour contenders in the men's professional peloton have only to be strong enough to survive the 258.5km of hilly racing and then conquer the final, steep 2.9km Höttinger Höll. Whoever leads, alone, over the top of the last climb, or wins a small group sprint in central Innsbruck, will inherit Peter Sagan's rainbow jersey.

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.