Jan Bakelants said the Yorkshire course at the UCI Road World Championships was dangerous after racing a rain-soaked lap around Harrogate in the first round of the team time trial mixed relay on Sunday.

Bakelants was not selected for the men's road race from Belgium, but the experienced rider, who is returning from a career-threatening injury from a crash at the 2017 Tour of Lombardy, said Yorkshire's 14km finishing loop has some precarious sections told Cyclingnews.

"It's not a lap for a time trial, and to be honest, I don't think it's a lap for a road race," he said after Belgium finished ninth in the mixed team relay.

"I think it's quite dangerous. It's really technical. I think it's a great course for [Dutch road race favorite] Mathieu van der Pol.

"The two bridge crossings are very dangerous. It's off-camber and that's Van der Pol's strong point," Bakelants said.

Despite the words of caution, Bakelants praised the mixed team time trial. This event was changed to the Trade Team Time Trial this year.

Bakelantz said that while there were elements of this event that he liked, he wished the World Championships had kept the trade event and added the new mixed event as an incidental one.

"It was raining and it was slippery, but in the end it was a lot of fun. I liked it a lot. It's nice to have a relationship with the women's team. It's new, but it's a shame we had to cancel the Team TT because of it. The Team TT was important for constructors and teams that compete on innovation. But there are some very nice elements to this format.

"Either the Trade Team Time Trial, this event, or both. But I like this new format and I think more riders will want to participate in this event.