Final course details for the 2022 UCI Road World Championships were released Thursday, and after examining the number of climbs set for the Wollongong course, it looks like many sprinters will have to seal their rainbow band dreams for another year. Mark Renshaw, however, does not admit that hope is lost for the fast finishers in the peloton.

The recently retired sprinter, who spent much of his time in the peloton leading the way for Mark Cavendish, is now the safety manager at Wollongong Road Worlds.

"I have run almost every meter of this course and I can say with all my heart that it is possible for a sprinter to win," Renshaw said at the media conference announcing the course. As an Australian, I would love to see Caleb Yuan win, but he will have to bring his absolute "A" game."

Fortunately, the Australian sprinter has made no secret of his ambitions for the rare home competition, the Road World Championships.

The 266.9km elite men's course includes 3,945m of climbing, while the combined 164.3km elite women's and U23 women's course has 2,433m of climbing. The biggest climb in both events comes after the course descends along the coast and enters the Mount Kila Circuit. The climb, named after the loop, crests at approximately 42km from the start of the race and has an average gradient of 5% over the 8.7km. [12 laps for the elite men and 6 laps for the women, including Mt. Pleasant. A 1.1km climb with an average gradient of 7.7% will crest just over 7km from the finish line.

"It's hard to reel in the Mount Keira climb from the city center," said Renshaw.

"This climb will give the big riders and climbers a chance to spread out the race. But the climb up Mount Pleasant on the city circuit is super difficult for sprinters. It's not impossible."

Besides the 7.7 percent gradient, the climb up Mount Pleasant has a 14 percent section just 300 meters away, making it an ideal early starting point for those who prefer climbing.

"There is time to come back from that climb. After Mount Pleasant they turn right. It's a bit of a U-shape that allows them to come back just before the plunge down to the beach. I really want to see the sprinters come down to Marin Parade, 12 laps for the men and 6 laps for the women."

UCI President David Lapartient, however, seemed to be focused on the possibility of a repeat winner.

"For me, Mount Pleasant is a very short 1.1km, punchy climb, and I would definitely go for the punchiest in the men's peloton. So it's no surprise that Julien Alaphilippe is going to win it for the third year in a row."

Lapartien also listed Wout van Aert (Belgium) and Mathieu van der Pol (Netherlands), as well as the Frenchman, as potential contenders to win on the course of the Wollongong World Championships.

Race director Scott Sunderland also believes that a repeat win is not impossible in the women's elite and U23 races. However, he noted that it would be difficult for Elisa Balsamo (ITA) to defend her title, as the course is difficult, with more than twice the elevation gain of Flanders.

"Players like Marianne Vos and Annemiek van Fruten will not make it easy for Balsamo. 'They will attack us early on. They will take every advantage they can and put pressure on the sprinters. "

The Australian race director couldn't resist adding Michael Matthews to the men's race, along with Amanda Spratt, who also attended the media conference, and Ewan.

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