The first rainbow jerseys will be awarded at the combined elite and under-23 women’s time trial on September 18 at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia.
For the first time at Worlds, the women will cover the same distance as the men, sharing a 34.2km route that will run along two laps of a circuit starting at Market Street and ending on Marine Drive in Wollongong.
The technical circuit will start at Market Street and head past the Wollongong Botanical Gardens and into a climb as the course runs along a part of Mount Ousley Rd before shifting onto the adjacent Dumfries Ave. The ascent peaks at the 7.2km-mark, which is the first intermediate time check.
Riders then head back toward Towradgi before opening up into a less corner-heavy section along the coast and taking their first pass of what, at the end of the next lap, will be the finish line.
The route will demand a blend of technique and power, with the more skilful bike handlers enjoying the early technical aspects before the more powerful riders likely take advantage of the straighter coastal run-in to the finish along Wollongong Beach.
Here, Cyclingnews highlights the riders to watch for the elite/under-23 women’s time trial.
Ellen Van Dijk is the obvious favourite for the time trial title and lines up as the defending champion, having won the event in Bruges last year. She also won the time trial world title in Florence 2013, so it is a third rainbow jersey in the discipline that Van Dijk will be looking for.
The long straight along the coast, where wind could play a factor, will favour a rider like Van Dijk. She can really use her power to gain time on those who might be faster through the technical corners or on the circuit’s small climb.
There weren’t many time trials on the international calendar this year where Van Dijk could show her world champion’s jersey, but she made them all count. She won the opening time trial and the overall title at Bloeizone Fryslan Tour, the time trial at the National Championships, plus the prologue, the stage 3b time trial and the overall title at the Baloise Ladies Tour. She was also part of the Trek-Segafredo team that won the team time trial at Postnord Vårgårda WestSweden, and she finished second at the European Championships.
In all the time trials she started this year, she was only beaten once.
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