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 editions, she’s dreaming of going one better this time.
Filippo Ganna
Since losing out to Remco Evenepoel in last year’s Worlds showdown in Stirling, Filippo Ganna has grown frustratingly used to near misses, finishing second-place in no less than three stages at the Vuelta a España that followed last year’s early Worlds, and this season, placing runner-up in time trials at the Olympics, Giro d’Italia and Tirreno-Adriatico. He’d have preferred a flatter course than the one in Zurich, but is still a master at this discipline and, providing he’s feeling OK following his fatigue-induced DNF at the recent Renewi Tour, will be a top contender for gold.
Lotte Kopecky
First she was a sprinter, then in addition to that a Classics specialist, then in addition to that a climber capable of winning stage races. Now, it seems the latest phase in Lotte Kopecky’s evolution in becoming an all-round superstar is her developing into an elite time trialist. While she has always been competent in the discipline, recently she’s gone up another level, following sixth at the Olympics (which would have been higher had she not been among the riders to crash) with a major title at the European Championships last week. At this point, she’s among the favourites for pretty much every race she starts.
Josh Tarling
It is surely only a matter of time until Josh Tarling wins a Worlds time trial title, but will 2024 be the year? Since bursting onto the scene with a bronze medal at the Worlds last year, he has solidified his status as one of the world’s best, particularly at the Olympics, where only a very unfortunate puncture prevented him from winning a medal. The only doubt surrounding the 20-year-old is his form following his abandonment of the Vuelta a España, where he was also short of his best in the opening time trial, finishing down in sixth.
Other contenders
As a former three-time champion, most recently in 2021 and 2022, Ellen van Dijk must always be counted among the favourites for a time trial, and while most of her summer was defined by her struggles to return to full fitness, second-place behind Kopecky at the European Championships suggest she may be coming into form just in time.
Anna Henderson is another notable recent silver medalist following her runner-up finish at the Olympics, a result that built upon the fourth place she managed at the Worlds last year. Juliette Labous and Christina Schweinberger have become reliable practitioners of time trialling, the latter having earned bronzes at both the European Championships this year and the Worlds last year. And though Demi Vollering only rode the Worlds time trial for the first time last year (finishing sixth), she’ll be a contender is she brings the form that saw her beat Dygert to win the time trial stage of the Tour de France Femmes.
Another star rider making a rare Worlds time trial appearance (this case in the men’s race) will be Primož Roglič. While the Slovenian is a serial winner in stage race time trials, and did win silver at the Worlds way back in 2017, he hasn’t represented his country at an elite time trial since the Tokyo Olympics three years ago — and his gold medal that day shows that he is a wildcard candidate for victory.
Stefan Küng will be hoping that home support in Zurich can help him improve upon the bronze and silver he won in 2020 and 2022 respectively, and certainly goes into the race in great form, having won the time trial stage at the Vuelta a España and earned silver at the European Championships. The man who beat him that day, Edoardo Affini, must now be counted among the top favourites for a medal here; as must Brandon McNulty following his stage win at the Vuelta against top time trialling competition, and fifth at the Olympics Games.
