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Belgium's Yannick Peeters will be a threat for a medal in the junior men's 'cross world championship (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar talks tire pressure with his mechanic at the Hoogerheide venue (Image credit: Photopress.be)
New Zealand's Alexander Revell looks on as Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic) rides the Hoogerheide parcours (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar previews the Hoogerheide course in advance of Sunday's elite men's world championship (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Two-time 'cross world champion Zdenek Stybar pre-rides the Hoogerheide course (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Two-time 'cross world champion Zdenek Stybar pre-rides the Hoogerheide course (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar has made the decision to contest Sunday's elite men's 'cross world championship in Hoogerheide, Netherlands (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar previews the cyclo-cross Worlds course in Hoogerheide, Netherlands (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar previews the cyclo-cross Worlds course in Hoogerheide, Netherlands (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Two-time cyclo-cross world champion Zdenek Stybar checks out the Worlds course in Hoogerheide (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar will seek his third elite men's 'cross world title on Sunday (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar interviewed regarding his decision to contest the 'cross world championship in Hoogerheide on Sunday (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar confers with a mechanic (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgian riders check out the 'cross Worlds course in Hoogerheide (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgium's Sanne Cant previews the Hoogerheide course prior to her world championship event on Saturday (Image credit: Photopress.be)
These businesses should be doing brisk business this weekend in Hoogerheide, Netherlands (Image credit: Photopress.be)
The perks of being a two-time cyclo-cross world champion (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgian riders check out the 'cross Worlds course in Hoogerheide (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Dutch riders check out the 'cross Worlds course in Hoogerheide (Image credit: Photopress.be)
UCI cyclo-cross coordinator Peter Van den Abeele at the Hoogerheide venue (Image credit: Photopress.be)
A mud-splattered Zdenek Stybar after riding the 'cross Worlds course in Hoogerheide (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar confirmed he will contest the elite men's 'cross world championship on Sunday (Image credit: Photopress.be)
Zdenek Stybar with Omega Pharma-QuickStep sports director Wilfried Peeters (Image credit: Photopress.be)
With the 2014 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships only days away, riders took advantage of the opportunity to pre-ride the parcours on Thursday.
Perhaps the most high-profile rider out on the course was the Czech Republic's Zdenek Stybar , who made the decision to start Sunday's elite men's world championship after his recon of the circuit in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.
The two-time 'cross world champion has only raced a handful of races this winter as his focus has shifted to the road for his Omega Pharma-QuickStep team, but the 28-year-old Czech found the course to his liking and will seek another rainbow jersey on Sunday.
Most feedback from the riders indicates a faster than normal course at the moment, with only some heavy mud in the lower meadow. Rain is predicted for Saturday's junior men and elite women's races before the skies clear for the men on Sunday so conditions will change rapidly.
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