If the UCI decides to shorten the road race at the Worlds because of weather conditions, it will not be reduced to 100 kilometers, sporting manager John Lelangue from the organizing committee has told Algemeen Dagblad . On Tuesday the UCI reported that the Worlds will be significantly shortened if they encounter high temperatures but Lelangue clarified the reports.

The course for the battle for the rainbow jersey is 257 kilometers. It consists of a loop of 151 kilometers through the desert and seven laps of a 15.2km circuit in Doha. The loop through the desert will be shortened under the Extreme Weather Protocol in case of extreme heat, but according Lelangue it will not disappear completely. "We're not going to have a Worlds race of 100km," explains the Belgian. "If it is really too hot, we can shorten the big circuit through the desert. How much? We will make a decision based on the circumstances.”

The UCI will make a decision after consulting the chairman of the jury, four medical experts and Bobbie Traksel, chairman of the athletes commission of the UCI. "It's 34 degrees in Qatar and for this country it is not extreme," Traksel explains. "Only when it is really extreme, like last year in Abu Dhabi where it was 45 degrees, will we have to use the Extreme Weather Protocol."

For now it seems that it will not be the case. The forecasts indicate that it will be aound 31 degrees on October 16.