With no sprinter, the Dutch team will be forced to attack the Worlds Road Race and while Niki Terpstra has had a long year, Lars Boom didn’t finish the Tour de France, which may make him fresher going into the race.

“I will try, with Niki, to do a really good race," Boom told Cyclingnews. "I think we are the two guys who should do a good ride for the team here, and the other guys will support us in this.

"I think it’s a good course for me and I’m feeling good and motivated. Maybe for a podium…"

The Dutch team is strong, also featuring big engines like Mollema, Gesink and Dumoulin, which should give the team plenty of options to attack in the final of the race, key after 250km.

"We have a team that can be there for the end of the race and for the way that we want to race, for supporting myself and Niki, and being strong in the final," Boom said.

"It is our goal to make the race hard enough so that there is no sprint in the end."

Boom says that after his disastrous Tour de France, he has been working his way up to the Worlds, via a stage win at the Tour of Denmark and good rides in the Eneco Tour.

"I have been working my way up towards Worlds," Boom said. "The Tour de France didn’t go perfectly for me, with all the cortisol shit, and then I was sick at the Tour, so in the end… I’m a little bit more fresh because I didn’t finish the Tour.”

"I was preparing for this part of the season at the Eneco Tour and working my way up to the World Championships. I’m looking forward to racing in Richmond and doing my best."