D-Day for Time Trialists
Time trials, a discipline in which cyclists face a course alone and the one who completes it in the shortest time wins, is almost always part of stage races. In a one-week race, there is usually one or none, and in the grand tours, one, two, or at most three. Therefore, top specialists do not have many opportunities to shine throughout the year. National or continental championships are some of the few occasions where time trialists are the center of attention, but if there is one day that stands out above all, it is undoubtedly the World Championships. This time, next Sunday September 22, will be the marked date for both women and men, a day to enjoy the great engines of our sport.
Courses:
The women's race covers 30 kilometers from the village of Gossau to Zurich and includes 4 climbs in the first half of the route, the toughest being the second (2.4 km at 4.9% with ramps up to 8.5%). The second half of the course runs along Lake Zurich and is completely flat without sharp turns.
The men's race shares the climbs and the entire final stretch with the women's event, but adds 16 flat kilometers at the beginning, starting from Zurich itself, for a total of 46 kilometers.
Men's race favorites:
While it's not impossible for heavy specialists like Stefan Küng (800) or Joshua Tarling (400) to win, the climbs favor lighter riders like Remco Evenepoel (1200), Primož Roglič (1200), Brandon McNulty (1000), or João Almeida (1200). Edoardo Affini (200), Mikkel Bjerg (400), Tobias Foss (400), Bruno Armirail (400), Stefan Bisseger (400), Kasper Asgreen (400), Jay Vine (600), Magnus Sheffield (600), Ben O'Connor (1000), Soren Waerenskjold (600), Derek Gee (800), Mathis Vacek (400), or Daniel Felipe Martínez (800) are also good specialists.
Women's race favorites:
Demi Vollering (1200), Lotte Kopecky (1200), Grace Brown (600), Anna Henderson (600), Juliette Labous (1000), Chloe Dygert (800), Ellen Van Dijk (200), Christina Schweinberger (600), and Vittoria Guazzini (200) are the main favorites for the women's race.
Photo: © UCI / Pauline Ballet