Mathieu van der Poel, part of a group that previewed the course of the elite men's road race at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, felt his chances of winning the rainbow jersey were "still small" even though he is the favorite to win.

The Dutchman, who has won Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo this season, is the leading contender to win Sunday's elite men's road race, but he cited the difficulty of maintaining position in the peloton and the attack as reasons why the race will be challenging in effort and tactics He predicts that there will be many opportunities to attack.

Interviewed by a Dutch journalist, van der Pol would not identify his rivals in the battle for the rainbow jersey. He said, "I can name names. But I dare not, because there are many who could win here. I myself am one of them, but even if I were a strong contender, my chances of actually winning are still small," he said, according to Wielerflits.

Van der Pol pointed out the many corners of the city circuit and the difficulty of controlling the race. The circuit brings back memories of the 2018 European Road Championship in Glasgow, where Matteo Trentin won the title after beating him and Wout van Aert from a shattered lead group.

"Some time ago, I recognized a lot from the 2018 European Championship. It seems that more corners have been added to this circuit. It's almost like you're racing from corner to corner," he said, adding that it's almost too technical. Especially since you're driving that loop all the way around. Maybe we should have lengthened the run-up a bit and reduced the number of laps on the circuit. It's atypical and something I'm not used to right now

"It's going to be a very tough, exhausting race, but at the same time I think it's a very fair course. It's going to be very difficult in the end because of all the hard work involved. Everyone knows that positioning is important. But usually it should suit you. It's all about being at the front and having the most focused race possible."

Van der Pol said that due to the technical nature of the course, any unfortunate incident would require a lot more extra effort than on other courses.

"It really takes a lot of effort to get back to the front." The "longest" straight isn't very long either. Once you get in front, you can sit there for quite a long time. There are very few opportunities for overtaking."

The many corners also make it easy for attackers to quickly get out of sight of the peloton, making the race less predictable.

"You can attack anywhere on this circuit. It's not just the uphill sections. There are still plenty of difficult intermediate sections that reward you if you attack. It is also a track that is out of our control because there is no communication and we are racing as a national team. These two factors always make the World Championships a strange race. But the hardest part is not missing a good breakaway."

There are two short but steep climbs near the end of the Scott Street and Montrose Street laps that, while not hard by Tour de France standards, will wear the riders down after 11 laps.

"If it's just once, fine, but if you have to sprint every lap (like the other five laps, by the way), it's going to weigh you down. There's a really tricky part. So it's all about positioning, and that's another thing that makes it hectic. But the fact is, if you're too far back, it's like you're still sprinting around turn three.

"If you're really the strongest, you can make a difference on those two steep hills. That much is clear. But again, the key is to stay on your guard. A decisive move could disappear anywhere here; even at the 2018 European Championships, I was able to escape in a very magical moment during the climb. Suddenly, it was good. It could happen anytime on Sunday. If we get 20 seconds away from them, we will never see the peloton again."

Van der Pol is not focusing on any one particular rider, such as the Belgian trio of defending champion Remco Evenpol, sprinter Yasper Philipsen, and Classics rival Wout Van Aert.

"I don't think it's good to focus too much on one person. That's the problem with these courses. There are a lot of riders who know they have to attack early. The final will be very long. It is difficult to decide who to target now. There are some countries that I think should always make sure they are on board. Belgium, but we are also thinking about Denmark. Mads Pedersen was really strong in the Tour de France and is always in the World Championships. The most important thing is that we don't race behind the facts."

The elite men's road race is scheduled to start in Edinburgh on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. UK time and finish around 4 p.m. Follow the race live on Cycling News for full reports, news, analysis, etc.