🎥 Rwanda meets the cyclists and vice versa: Pogacar and Zigart take notice, Dutch riders train together

It must be said: Rwanda is a great place to be, where, outside the chaotic city center, you can train well. As Anna van der Breggen put it on Sunday: “We don't really notice that we're in Africa. Everything is very well organized: we have a great hotel and so on, so there aren't that many differences compared to other World Championships.”

Tadej Pogacar, for example, traveled there with part of the Slovenian team, including his partner Urska Zigart. This provided some lovely images for the Tour winner's Instagram, who enjoyed the conditions in Rwanda. Even the so-called ”fellow riders” (on regular bikes!), who sometimes drive him crazy in Europe, were captured on camera with a smile.

The Dutch delegation also grew considerably on Sunday with the arrival of most of the riders who will be in action this coming weekend. Bauke Mollema and Wout Poels, among others, joined the team and trained together, as shown in images shared on social media.

On behalf of the French, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot also ‘finally’ arrived in Rwanda. Her flight from Paris to Kigali was canceled, forcing her to spend an extra night in Paris. "First ride in Rwanda after a loooong travel," she wrote on her social media.

There was also news on Monday, in addition to the U23 races. Marianne Vos withdrew from the Dutch team due to family circumstances, while Tiesj Benoot had to withdraw from the Belgian squad due to illness.