An impressive day by Great Britain saw Cat Ferguson winning her first world titles in the junior women’s time-trials at the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships.
An additional three silver and three bronze medals were won by Great Britain’s female and male road and para-road cyclists, to make a total of 12 so far at this year’s championships.
Junior women’s time-trial
The junior women’s time-trial saw both Brits on the podium after Cat Ferguson delivered a dominant ride to take her first world title, while teammate Imogen Wolff brought home the bronze.
As the first Brit off the ramp, Wolff set a good pace, leading at the first checkpoint in 11:53.08, just 0.06 seconds ahead of Viktoria Chladonova (Slovakia).
However, having set off without attaching her power metre, Wolff struggled to hit her expected pace and slowed up slightly heading into the finish, crossing the line second in a time of 24:26.30. This put her 2.30 seconds off Chladonova’s lead time with around 20 riders to go.
Setting off last, Ferguson started strongly, hitting the first checkpoint an incredible 8.65 seconds ahead of her closest rival. Powering through the course, unfazed by any technicalities or elevation, Ferguson was untouchable as she crossed the finish line 34.30 seconds ahead of Chladonova to take her first glorious world title.
Wolff awaited the final result and claimed a brilliant bronze medal – her first at world level and in her final year as a junior.
On winning her first world title, Ferguson said it felt: “Incredible – the disappointment I’ve had before makes this jersey even more special.”
“To put the ride in, the process that went into this… it’s incredible. I’ve got so many people to thank. I don’t have the words right now but I’m incredibly grateful to them all!”
Women’s C1 time-trial
It was a battle of the Brits as reigning world champion Fran Brown and multiple world-medallist Katie Toft took to the roads of Zurich to compete for the win as the only entrants in the women’s C1 time-trial.
On a challenging course, Brown showcased her credentials, taking on the fast course with confidence. She claimed the win by over four minutes as Toft came in behind her to take the silver.
Women’s C2 time-trial
The C2 women’s time-trial delivered a fantastic spectacle with double delight for the British duo of Daphne Schrager and Amelia Cass who took silver and bronze respectively.
A strong start from the ramp saw Cass hit the halfway mark in a time of 14:23.90, holding onto the lead until the final four riders. Having recently come back from illness, Schrager showed no signs of weakness, setting a new best time of 13:16.92 and taking over 50 seconds out of Cass. Swiss rider Fleurina Rigling knocked Schrager down into second and it was all on the line to see who could maintain their pace over the second half.
Cass delivered a negative split, putting down the pace in the final 9km to match her 2023 result with a bronze medal. Meanwhile, Schrager was unable to make up the 23.01 second gap that Rigling had on her, but still secured a sensational silver medal.
Speaking of her silver medal after coming back from illness, Schrager said: “To just get to the end was all we cared about, so to come away with a silver medal, I couldn’t be happier.”
“I’ve had more tears than happiness this week and he’s [coach, John Hewitt] got me to the start line, thanks to everyone that got me here, I couldn’t be more proud!”
Tomorrow will see the start of the road races, with Lizzi Jordan and Danni Khan, Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl and Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall all taking to the start line. All events are available to watch on the BBC live stream.
