Less than two months since the Olympics, there are elite international time trial titles up for grabs as the world’s best congregate in Zurich for the World Championships. Both the women’s and men’s elite races take place on Sunday September 22, 2024, the second day of the Championships, the former completing a 29.9km course, and the latter 46.1km.
Defending champion Remco Evenepoel is the favourite for the men’s race, having added gold at the Olympics to his collection in July, while the women’s race looks a little more open with several outstanding candidates.
Read on to see who Rouleur has picked as favourites for the medals.
Chloe Dygert
By claiming the World time trial title in Stirling last year, Chloe Dygert at last put behind years of fitness and health problems to ascend back to the very top of the peloton’s time trial hierarchy. Since then, however, she hasn’t actually won a race on the road, a crash compromising her ride in the Paris Olympics time trial and forcing her to settle for bronze, and Demi Vollering pipping her the time trial stage win at the Tour de France Femmes. Nevertheless, as a specialist in this discipline who has made the Worlds time trial her major end of year target, she’s still the woman to beat.
Remco Evenepoel
Following his maiden time trial title at elite level at the Worlds last year with an Olympic gold and Tour de France stage win, Remco Evenepoel’s status as best in the world at this discipline is now difficult to dispute. What he has gained in climbing ability, he hasn’t lost against the clock, and, in the absence of his injured compatriot Wout van Aert, he is Belgium’s only chance for gold. While there are questions about his form following an underpar return to racing at the Tour of Britain, Evenepoel always seems to bring his A-game to the Worlds, and is racing with yet another gold medal as his aim.
Grace Brown
Whatever happens in Zurich, this has already been a fairytale end to Grace Brown’s career, with an Olympic gold in the Paris time trial following on from what had already been the biggest win of her career at Liège–Bastogne–Liège earlier in the year. While the bike handling skills and ability to stay upright that helped her triumph in Paris won’t be such an advantage on this less treacherous course in Zurich, the dominant manner in which she won by over 1:30 will have struck fear in her rivals. Having earned silver in both the last two…