How the race finished
Grace Brown (Australia) won the World Championship Time Trial, completing the perfect end to her career after taking the Olympic Gold earlier in the season. Demi Vollering (Netherlands) took second, with Chloé Dygert (USA) third on the day. Antonia Niedermaier (Germany) came in fourth position, successfully defending her U23 World Champion title.
Full results are available below.
How it happened
The 2024 World Championship Time Trial took place over a 29.9km course from Gossau to Zurich. Two intermediate splits on the way gave an indication of the shape of the battle, with the first located at the highest point of the course, and the second after the descent before the riders followed the straight roads along the lake to the finish line in Zurich.Â
With the race favourites the last to start, the early starters had a chance to show their potential and hunt a seat in the hot seat, albeit temporarily. Eyeru Gebru (Refugee) put in a great ride to take an early lead, before Eugenia Bujak (Slovenia) took the lead. Paula Cairol Blasi (Spain) was the strongest early U23 rider at the finish line, but her position was quickly usurped by Laura Lizette Sander (Estonia).
As the world tour riders began to start, Brodie Chapman (Australia) looked in fine form on her Trek bike, leaving no one shocked when she set the fastest time at the first intermediate, with four seconds on Yuliia Biriukova (Ukraine). Taniel Campbell (Trinidad and Tobago) held the fastest time at the finish, before relatively unknown track rider Emily Ehrlich (USA) took the lead. Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg) put in a strong ride to move into the lead in the U23 competition. Mie Ottestad Bjorndal (Norway) put paid to the leaders, taking first position by more than half a minute. Chapman, still out on the course, was still fastest at the second intermediate split – but the gap between herself and Ottestad waa closing.
After a disappointing showing in the Olympic Games, Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) looked to be back on form – taking 24 seconds on Chapman at the first intermediate split, at the top of the climb, which wouldn’t usually favour the larger Dutch rider. By the second intermediate split, van Dijk had extended her lead to over forty seconds. Amber Neben (USA), at 49 years of age, showed she is still competitive too, coming through the first intermediate split in provisional second place.
Antonia Niedermaier (Germany), the defending U23 champion, put in a very strong ride to come through the first intermediate split 10 seconds ahead of van Dijk. Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Anna Henderson (Great Britain) both slotted in at 27 seconds down on Niedermaier, in fourth and fifth positions respectively.Â
Demi Vollering (Netherlands) flew through the first intermediate 23 seconds ahead of Niedermaier, setting the bar for the race favourites Grace Brown (Australia) and Chloé Dygert (USA) who were out on the course. At the first intermediate Brown (Australia), on her golden Olympic Champion’s bike, was 6 seconds ahead of Vollering, while Dygert was off the pace at 35 seconds back.Â
By the second intermediate split the gaps had rapidly extended, with Vollering now leading Niedermeier by 45 seconds, and, with her descending skills on swiss roads, jumping into the lead, some 9 seconds ahead of Brown. Niedermaier held on to third position, with Dygert slipping into fourth, 6 seconds behind her.Â
Vollering caught and passed Juliette Labous (France), pushing all the way to the finish line and setting a leading time 48 seconds ahead of Niedermaier. Grace Brown put the power down on the final third of the course along the lakeside, finding those 9 seconds back on Vollering and continuing to push on, eventually crossing the finish line 16 seconds faster than Vollering to claim her first ever World Championship, after taking the Olympic title earlier in the season. Dygert showed her prowess on the flats to pip Niedermaier for the final podium spot.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
