Tom Pidcock enters this Sunday's UCI Cyclocross World Championships as one of the favorites to win his first elite rainbow jersey, in addition to his win in Fayetteville and his junior and U23 titles.

He will face a typically strong Belgian team led by Eli Iserbitt and Michael Vanthourenhout and a two-man Dutch team led by Lars van der Haar.

The three are likely to be among the strongest contenders for the championship, along with Pidcock, but the absence of Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van Der Pol, who have won the last seven world titles, casts a shadow over the race.

Pidcock, speaking at a press conference ahead of the world championships, said that after recovering from a knee injury, he enjoyed a strong 'cross campaign this year with two World Cup wins, but that the absence of cyclocross' two biggest names was both good and bad.

"I think it comes down to this: there's no question that they are the two best cross riders in the world. They've won seven world titles in the last seven years."

"So I think they have more of a chance this year. Of course, that's a chance. But again, if they like not being there, that cloud is always there

"But I think if I can win this year, I can focus on being world champion and beating them another year. So it's a blessing and a curse at the same time."

After Quinten Hermans was ruled out of the start due to a positive test for COVID-19, Belgium will still start with seven, including Lawrence Sułek and Jens Adams.

They will likely be the biggest obstacle Pidcock will have to overcome to become champion on Sunday.

Pidcock said that the overall strength of the Belgians is an issue, but noted that the lack of a number one rider could spell trouble and make the race a battle not only for the competitors, but for themselves as well.

"That could be a pretty difficult problem to overcome," he said. But I honestly have no idea how well they can cooperate with each other."

"I don't know how well they'll be able to work with each other. Especially since there is no clear leader. They may all have to compete with each other. Yeah, I don't know yet, but I think I'll just try to stay out of trouble, especially in the first few laps. Especially the first few laps.

Pidcock said he is just overcoming a little jet lag after arriving in the U.S. and is ready for this weekend. He is not yet familiar with the course where Hermans won the second World Cup race ahead of Iserbitt and Vanthourenhout, but in any case he has a chance to reconnect ahead of time.

"I'm not very familiar with it. I've only seen a couple of videos. I know it's changed a bit since the World Cup, but the general idea is the same. There's a bigger, bigger climb than it looks. I've seen pictures and it's a little bit wetter in places."

"I think there's only one set of stairs, about 30 steps, and they're pretty long. It's definitely going to be pretty hard, but I don't think technically it's going to be that difficult."