Favorites at the 3RIDES Aachen

YOU AND THE WORLD CHAMPION: START THE 3RIDES GRAVEL RACE WITH MARIANNE VOS

A LOOK AT THE START LIST OF 3RIDES AACHEN

3RIDES has established itself in the scene - as shown by the entries from the world's elite for our races. For example, three-time world champion and last year's winner Lucinda Brand will be returning to the Eifel in the 3RIDES Gravel Race. The 35-year-old won the women's Tour de Suisse in 2022 and is one of the most dominant cross-country athletes of her generation. In 2021, she became world and European cross champion and has also collected numerous successes in gravel racing. For 3RIDES, she wants to make it difficult for the competition, led by a fellow countrywoman of all people.

Marianne Vos, 2012 Olympic champion and Olympic silver medalist in Paris in the road race and 14-time world champion in total, who will ride her first and probably only race in the rainbow jersey of the reigning gravel world champion on May 31, is considered one of the most successful female cyclists of all time with over 250 victories on the road alone. She has already won stages at the Tour de France, Giro and Vuelta - she has yet to win in Aachen.

With Tessa Neefjes, the 2023 winner will also be back in Aachen. The 28-year-old has already won several races in the UCI Gravel World Series. The German riders will be led by Romy Kasper. The 37-year-old's greatest successes include a stage win at the Tour of Thuringia.

FAVORITES AMONG THE MEN

Among the favorites for the decision in the men's race of the 3RIDES Gravel Race are Sebastian Breuer, Jonas Koch, Jan Bakelants and Jan Stöckli.

Breuer, 35, is an expert in ultra-long gravel races and has won the Badlands in Spain and the Unbound XL, among others. Koch, a WorldTour pro, will also be competing at 3RIDES. The 31-year-old is under contract with Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, has already ridden all the Grand Tours and was at the start of Rund um Köln on Sunday. The stage winner of the Tour de l'Avenir was silver medalist at the 2021 German Road Championships. Bakelants is also a Tour de France stage winner at 3RIDES. He won in Ajaccio in 2013 ahead of Peter Sagan and also took the yellow jersey. The 39-year-old switched to gravel racing after the end of his professional career. The performance of Swiss rider Jan Stöckli is also eagerly awaited. The 26-year-old has already finished second at The Traka 360 this year and, like Breuer, is a long-distance specialist.

With Udo Bölts and Johan Museeuw, two more legends want to get involved, at least in their age groups. Bölts, 58, is a stage winner at the Giro, while Museeuw, 59, has won the Tour of Flanders three times and Paris-Roubaix three times in his professional career and was road world champion in 1996.