Should the UCI Road World Championships course suit the sprinters, one-day specialists, or general classification riders?
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That's the conundrum UCI officials currently face as they finalise the course for the road race in Wollongong in September.
The route was unveiled last year, but the exact course won't be determined until UCI officials travel to Australia in late February.
The race features three key segments, competitors to start in Helensburgh and ride down to Wollongong, before they complete laps of a Mt Keira loop and a Wollongong City circuit.
Exactly when the riders climb Mt Keira will have a major bearing on the outcome of the race.
Place it near the start and the sprinters will be in the mix. If it's in the middle, the classics riders will fight out the finish.
But if officials opt to place the ascent near the end of a race that will likely be more than 250 kilometres long, only the fittest climbers will be left to challenge for victory.
"A lot's going to come down to the final decision of the UCI of where the Keira loop sits in the race," race director Scott Sunderland said. "If it's early in the race, in the middle of the race or towards the end of the race.
"That will lean itself towards the pure sprinters to the classics-type riders, the one-day specialists, or to the Tour de France-style of riders, the pure climbers.
"There's a bit of speculation going on, a lot of fun and games, a lot of people trying to work out what the possible outcome's going to be."
Sunderland has spent the week in Wollongong inspecting the course. It's an exercise the pandemic has delayed, however the Belgium-based official has been pleased with what he's seen.
No matter the final route, it's expected an Australian will be in the mix for victory in both the men's and women's road races.
The hosts boast a world-class sprinter in Caleb Ewan, an elite classics rider in Michael Matthews and general classification stars Ben O'Connor and Jack Haig.
Among the women are 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Chloe Hosking and Australian champion Nicole Frain.
"We've always been very competitive at World Championships," Sunderland said. "We've got a great talent base here, we've got riders competing at the top of the world.
"On all three possibilities (for the course), the Australians will do well. I think where it possibly will land, the decision of the UCI will be a plus for Australian cycling and Australian riders."
Among the Australians fighting for a place in the team is Wollongong talent Josie Talbot. Having overcome a horror run with injuries, the 25-year-old has returned to top form.
Second-place finishes in the criterium at the Australian Championships and Tour Down Under have Talbot full of confidence ahead of a trip to Europe.
It is there where she hopes to ride her way into the World Championships squad.
"The course is the roads I ride every day when I'm training," Talbot said. "It's really exciting the world's best racers get to come and experience that.
"The course is tough, Mt Keira's very tough, for me anyway, I'm more of a sprinter. I think other riders might enjoy the course. For the women, the Mt Pleasant climb is going to be really tough as well.
"It would be a dream to be selected. There's many selection races this season, I'll put my best foot forward and hopefully get some results."
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
