The city of Zürich, Switzerland plays host to the 2024 UCI Road World Championships, and as tradition dictates, the time trial specialists will take to the roads ahead of the road races to prove who is the fastest against the clock, and who will have the honour of sporting the lauded rainbow bands for the following year.
A relatively short time trial course will test the participants with a number of ups and downs, and with a wide open field and a number of riders in form, it’s one of the most difficult races to predict, with reigning champion Chloe Dygert of the USA arguably lining up as favourite, but many more competitors snapping at her heels.
The 2024 World Championship Women’s elite Individual Time Trial takes place on Sunday 22 September, beginning at 12:00 CET, with the final rider rolling off the start ramp at 14:15 CET.
The Route
Taking in 29.9km from Gossau to Zürich, the individual time trial course for women includes 327 metres of altitude gain, and is the shortest distance over which the women have raced since the 2018 championships in Innsbruck.
Beginning in Gossau, just a few kilometres south of the Uster, where the road race will begin at the weekend, the route first takes the riders west, and then south-west, towards Lake Zürich.
The first five kilometres are relatively flat, before the road begins to rise, with the next six kilometres almost all uphill, concluding with a winding climb of 2.6km in length at 4.5% average pitch that will favour the climbers. From there, a fast descent of around two kilometres will bring the riders partway down into the valley, but they face one more ascent before the flat portion of the race, 1.4km in length at an average gradient of 5.1%, before a short plateau.
From there the route descends sharply down to the valley floor, where the riders will follow the Lake Zürich coastline all the way to the finish line. At just over 12 kilometres in length, this straight, pan flat section of the course will burn the legs and offer the bigger engines the opportunity to recoup time lost on the climbs, leading to a thrilling final time check in Zürich, where the 2024 champion will be crowned.
Riders to Watch
A wide range of nations send competitors to Zürich with hopes of a medal, and in a discipline that has seen a variety of riders sharing the spoils over the course of the season, it’s difficult to predict who will be victorious, promising an exciting and unpredictable day on the roads of Switzerland.
Reigning World Champion in the individual time trial, Chloe Dygert of the USA, is certainly one of the favourites, and will be going all out to retain the title she won in Glasgow in 2024. She claimed bronze at the Olympic ITT in Paris, fighting back after a crash to end the day on the podium, and she narrowly missed out on victory in the time trial at the Tour de France Femmes.
She faces competition from another former champion, the three-time wearer of the rainbow bands and former Hour Record holder Ellen van Dijk. The Dutch specialist returned to racing strongly following maternity leave, winning three times in her favoured discipline in the early part of the season, but her progress was halted by a training crash which left her with an ankle injury that she has been recovering from ever since. Her performances in Paris and at the Tour de France Femmes suggest she may not be in her best form, though you can never rule out the powerhouse from the Netherlands on a big occasion.
The Netherlands will also hope to see Demi Vollering in the kind of form that led her to best Dygert in the Tour de France Femmes time trial, and with such strong representation, including another specialist Riejanne Markus, who took bronze at the recent European Championships, the nation will definitely expect at least one medal.
Their local rivals Belgium will provide stiff competition however, in the shape of reigning road race world champion Lotte Kopecky. Proving her capabilities in the discipline, she laid down a marker at last week’s UEC European Championships, becoming the continental champion in the ITT, to add to her Belgian national champion title.
Reigning Australian ITT champion and Olympic champion Grace Brown will also be a hot favourite for the win in Zürich. Proving she always rise to the occasion in big competitions, her gold in Paris in difficult conditions underscored the fact that she is still at the top of her game, despite her plan to retire at the end of the season. She will certainly hope to go out on a high.
The final medallist in Paris, Great Britain’s Olympic silver-winning Anna Henderson will be hoping she can make an impact in Zürich, and favouring more tricky terrain, she will hope to use her climbing attributes to give the top time triallists pause.
Outside of the main favourites, there are a number of other nations who will be hoping to spring a surprise, including Austria, with European bronze medallist Christina Schweinberger, France, with Cédrine Kerbaol and Juliette Labous, Kim Cadzow for New Zealand, and Spanish national champion Mireia Benito. Sadly for the home fans, former world champion and top time trial specialist Marlen Reusser has sadly ruled herself out of contention following ongoing health complications.
Riders to watch (GC)
5-stars Chloe Dygert, Lotte Kopecky
4-stars Demi Vollering, Ellen van Dijk, Grace Brown
3-stars Anna Henderson, Riejanne Markus, Cédrine Kerbaol
2-stars Christina Schweinberger, Juliette Labous, Brodie Chapman
1-star Katrine Aalerud, Kim Cadzow
Summary
When – 22 September
Where – Zürich, Switzerland
What – Individual time trial
TV Coverage: Eurosport, Discovery+
Photo credit: FDJ – SUEZ
