Gilbert, Van Avermaet, Evenpool, Wellens, Naessen, Thüns, Lampert, Declercq Rarely has a lineup at a world championship promised so much and brought so little.

On paper, Belgium was unquestionably the strongest nation, with a star-studded lineup and a solution for every situation. But as the cycling adage goes, world championships cannot be fought on paper.

The competition took place on the muddy asphalt of Yorkshire, and the reserves of the Classic's specialist group were drained away as rainwater ran into the roadside gutters.

"We weren't there when the favourites went.

"When you don't have the legs, there's nothing you can say.

Belgium's challenge was crushed before it began. Philippe Gilbert, who was seen as their biggest threat, crashed under Parliament Street on the approach to the first crossing of the finish line after nine laps of the 14 km Harrogate circuit.

The 2012 world champion buried his head in the handlebars for a while, grabbed a new bike, and grimaced as he rejoined the race. 19-year-old debutante Lemko Evenpoel helped him catch up, but the two never saw the front of the race again. 20 km or so After a few more kilometers, Gilbert called out over the race radio, "Gilbert, you've got to go! As his teammate paced the peloton, Gilbert rolled to the finish line and dismounted from his bike with tears streaming down his face.

"I don't understand my crash. Suddenly I was on the ground. I probably had a flat tire and lost my balance," Gilbert said.

"After the crash I got cold and had pain in my knee. I could still kick, but it started to hurt. It took too much of my strength. It was impossible to go back."

"Those tears are normal. I have worked so hard for this. I'm very sorry."

Gilbert's elimination narrowed the field to Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet, giving Dylan Theuns and Tim Wellens a free role while Yves Lampert and Oliver Naessen did the heavy lifting.

Nessen appeared to be in control of the chase when winner Mads Pedersen (Denmark) attacked Stefan Kung (Switzerland) and formed a group to fight for the finish. Shortly after, Nils Pollitt (GER) attacked with 36km to go, and Theuns quickly jumped on the attack, temporarily forming a four-man chase group.

A few kilometers later, however, Mathieu van der Pol (Netherlands) and Matteo Trentin (Italy) went clear and the first major attack by the pre-race favorites began. Tüns was caught and overtaken, and Wellens tried everything he could to overtake, but came up just short.

Asked if missing this boat was a crucial mistake, Lampaert told Cycling News: "Of course. Of course, someone had to be there. But the legs are talking and there is no one to do it. That's how it is."

At that point, the race was not yet over. There were still nearly 30 riders in the main group, and the odds of Pedersen, Trentin, Van der Pol, and others escaping were still relatively low. However, the team, which had stressed the need to race at the front, went into chase mode.

Even though they still had numbers, the gap between them and the lead group grew wider and wider, and just before the finish line the rubber seemed to have snapped. As a result, Van Avermaat was forced to sprint for eighth place.

"It was a super hard race. Like everyone else, I was completely empty at the finish. I did my best as I could, but I don't think I could have won the race today," Van Avermaert told Cycling News.

"All the conditions were super hard and I never felt good. 0]

Asked if he thought of following Van der Pol and Trentin, he replied: "No, I think if I go, I should go with Sagan on the last climb. But I couldn't cross the bridge anymore. It was too late."

"In the chase group, it was super hard to make a gap. There was a strong group in front of us and on a course like this it is really hard to catch up. There were still some guys left but it was really hard to catch up.

Outside the team bus in Harrogate, Verbrugghe led the riders to the team car to return to their hotel in York.

"We lost Gilbert and Evenpole right away on the first lap. After that we had to race a bit more conservatively and focus on the finale. [But when Van der Pol and Trentin went, we didn't have the legs to keep up. The stronger riders went in front. That's it."

Emphasizing the importance of being represented in each key move, Verbrugghe was disappointed that the team was "chasing behind the facts." Also, in his eyes, they seemed to be chasing after it alone.

"We had to do all the work. Sagan was isolated and I couldn't help him. But that's the World Championships."

Verbrugghe felt that the weather did not help, despite being a classical specialist familiar with the Nordic conditions.

"There wasn't a player on the team who could handle those conditions," he said. I think the best player to support the weather would have been Gilbert, but he was gone."

Asked if he was disappointed with the riders, he replied, "Not really": "We had some bad luck, but we simply didn't have the strength to keep up with the best riders.