‘When I hit the cobbles, I got stuck and couldn’t find the gear again’ – Australia’s Felicity Wilson-Haffenden blows up using 1x gear during U23 women’s time trial

Australia’s Felicity Wilson-Haffenden admitted she made one ‘big pacing error’ that probably cost her a medal in the under-23 women’s time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda, with the 20-year-old admitting she blew up on the final Côte de Kimihurura cobbled climb.

The 2023 Junior world champion was second fastest at both intermediate time checks but slipped to fourth at the finish line. She was 2:21 down on new world champion Zoe Bäckstedt (Great Britain) but only 11 seconds slower than third-placed Federica Venturelli (Italy) and 31 seconds slower than Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia).