The World Championships is scheduled to take place in Qatar and that the criticism gets harsher and harsher. "It’s absolute bullshit that the UCI granted Doha the Worlds in the first place. Either there’ll be multiple athletes in hospital (hopefully no deaths) or the riders will protest," warns The Secret Pro, an anonymous professional rider who writes blog posts for the CyclingTips website.

"If that race (the Abu Dhabi Tour, ed.) taught us anything it’s that next year’s Road World Championships in Doha could see riders end up in hospital due to the conditions we may have to race in," he writes in his latest blog entry.

"Stage 1 of the Abu Dhabi Tour was a joke. Some computers showed 52 degrees C in direct sunlight. That combined with heart rates of 180 bpm and an average speed of 34km/h showed that these were conditions no one should be on the bike in, let alone race in.

"This was on a stage that was just 170km. Now let’s chuck another 90km on top of that to make it a proper Worlds distance. What’s going to happen?

"One of two things if we see similar temperatures. Either there’ll be multiple athletes in hospital (hopefully no deaths) or the riders will protest. I for one hope it’s the latter.

"It’s absolute bullshit that the UCI granted Doha the Worlds in the first place. Again it’s all down to money, money, money.

"I’ve seen people comment on many matters regarding the course already, but one thing that I haven’t seen raised is the fact it’s not just us male professionals that have to race in these temperatures. How about the women, the juniors and the under 23 riders?"

"Everyone will be using the worlds as a platform to showcase their talents. It’s not hard to push yourself too far, overestimating how well your body copes with the heat and wind for a stab at glory, and then ending up in a serious condition.

"Still, at least no fans will be there (up close) to see these problems as I’m sure the crowds will be as sparse as they were in Abu Dhabi (not even one man and his dog on a few occasions). My prediction is it’s going to be a Worlds to forget."

The Secret Pro also reflects on some of the major transfers. You can read the entire entry here.