Time trials open the World Championships
The Australian city of Wollongong hosts the UCI Road World Championships 2022, and the opening events will be the elite time trial races. First it will be the women, and as soon as they finish, it will be the men's turn, in two races that, due to the time change, will be held at night and dawn for European spectators.
Route
Both races share the same route of 36.03 km, which takes place in two laps of 18 km to the local circuit in the streets of Wollongong. The circuit has a fairly straight part perfect for powerful riders and a twisty second sector for more technical cyclists. A ramp of 0.7 km at 5.3% is the only climb in the circuit.
Women race’s favorites
Annemiek Van Vleuten (1200), Marlen Reusser (800) and Ellen Van Dijk (800) are the three main favorites for the women's time trial. Other good specialists are Riejanne Markus (600), Juliette Labous (800), Audrey Cordon Ragot (200), Emma Norsgaard (1000), Kristen Faulkner (1000), Leah Kirchmann (400), Grace Brown (800) and Anna Kiesenhofer (200), among others.
Men race’s favorites
Among the men, Filippo Ganna (1000), Remco Evenepoel (1200) and Stefan Küng (800) are a priori the main contenders for the time trial rainbow jersey. The startlist includes other candidates such as Tadej Pogačar (1200), Stefan Bisseger (600), João Almeida (1200), Matteo Sobrero (400), Edoardo Affini (400), Ethan Hayter (1000), Yves Lampaert (600) and Remi Cavagna (400).