Welcome to the Worlds

At this year’s cycling world championships, there’s one street that could make all the difference. What’s it called? Montrose Street – and it’s in the Wattbike Hub now.

What does it take to wear the coveted rainbow bands of cycling’s world champions?

Short of taking a trip to Glasgow, Scotland’s cultural capital and the home of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, there’s one sure way to know – and it’s in the Wattbike Hub.

With the men’s and women’s road races contested between Edinburgh and Glasgow, covering 271 and 154 kilometres respectively, including a climb over the Crow Road in the Campsie Fells, there’s a good chance that it’ll come down to a sprint for the line. But if a puncheur hopes to unseat the sprinters on the day, there’s every chance it’ll all come down to a short uphill drag in the heart of Glasgow’s city centre: Montrose Street.

With the proliferation of power and data sharing in the pro peloton, you won’t have to wait long to see the kind of numbers that the world’s best riders are putting out as they ride this climb. But you don’t have to wait to find out what you can do: the Montrose Street climb is available now in the Wattbike Hub for you to try today.

We recommend a good warm up followed by some opening intervals before you hit the climb full gas. Remember, if these don’t come down to a sprint – which is a strong possibility, given the course profile – then this could be the scene of a race-winning move. That means you’ll want to be ready to make an all-out effort when you go fo it – just like punchy riders and rivals Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van Der Poel, both hungry for their first set of road rainbows, or returning women’s world champ Annemiek Van Vleuten and Lotte Kopecky, the latter gunning for a first-time world championship win. What’s for sure is that one day specialists like these will want to leave out-and-out sprinters like Jasper Philipsen – hot off of a green jersey-winning Tour de France – and Belgian powerhouse Lorena Wiebes in the wheels behind before they strike out for the line.

Whatever happens on the day, you’re sure to see some incredible racing, and whether the move goes on Montrose St or not, you’ll still have an idea of the power that it takes to hang tough in the pro peloton.