Cycling World Championship: Remco Evenepoel Wins Men’s Elite Time Trial to Complete Olympic and World Double

Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) made history on Sunday as the first elite man to add a World Time Trial Championship victory to his Olympic gold medal in the time trial. He dominated the 46.1-kilometer race against the clock in Zurich, finishing in 53:01.

Just a few hours earlier, Australian Grace Brown achieved the same rare double victory in the women’s elite time trial on a 29.9-kilometer course.

Twice world time trial champion Filippo Ganna (Italy) broke Eduardo Affini’s time of 53:56 to take his fellow Italian off the hot seat, stopping the clock at 53:08. However, current Olympic champion Evenepoel was seven seconds faster, securing the win, even though Ganna regained some time in the final stage of the race.

Ganna and Affini took the silver and bronze medals for Italy. Affini’s medal was his best result in the World Road Championships, coming less than two weeks after he won the European title in this discipline.

In his post-race interview, Evenepoel said, “It took some time to feel good again and regain my fitness, but it came back just in time.”

“It was a really tough day for me. My chain dropped just one minute before the start. Then I set off with no power meter at all, so it was a pure time trial based on feeling.

“I pushed hard on that small second kick and gave it my all on the descent too. Without a power meter, it was crazy to maintain the pace over the last five kilometers.

“It was hard because I had to push, but I couldn’t go over the limit since I didn’t know exactly what I was doing. So, it must have been the hardest time trial of my life.”

At the start line, the defending champion had to dismount his bike to allow mechanics to fix his chain, which had fallen off just a minute before he was due to set off downhill. A backup bike was brought to the platform, but he managed to get back on his main bike with the chain fixed and started on time, undoubtedly with adrenaline running high.

Evenepoel never fell behind at any of the three checkpoints on the course. He was six seconds faster than Ganna after the first 12.5 kilometers, increased his margin by another three seconds at the midway checkpoint at the top of the day’s main climb, and created a gap of 19 seconds at the third checkpoint. While the Italian regained 13 seconds on the flat section heading into Zurich, it was still another runner-up finish in the battle against the swift Belgian.

After Ganna stopped the clock at 32:18, Evenepoel made a statement by overtaking Roglič just before the finish and beating the Italian by six seconds, leaving the Vuelta champion outside the top 10.

With a big smile, Evenepoel said, “In a relay race, especially at a championship, the time gap doesn’t really matter. I saw my time in green and felt like celebrating. A very good day once again.”

Josh Tarling (Great Britain) finished in fourth, one minute and 17 seconds behind, while Jay Vine (Australia), who had an accident in the final kilometers, took fifth, one minute and 24 seconds behind.

How Things Unfolded
The opening day of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships kicked off with the women’s time trial, which was won by Australia’s Grace Brown. This was followed by a full day of men’s elite time trials across the Swiss countryside.

The elite men’s starting ramp was located at the Oerlikon open-air velodrome, just north of downtown Zurich. A total of 59 riders embarked on the 46.1 km route back to Zurich. With 324 meters of climbing halfway through, the course offered a rhythm shift over the slopes of Pfannenstiel. The second time trial test was at the summit of the first climb in Oetwil am See, a 2.6 km ascent with a 4.5% average gradient.

After a few kilometers of a smaller second climb, riders faced a steep and technical 1 km descent, with a gradient of 10-12%, signaling a return to the flat roads along the eastern shore of Lake Zurich. The last 12 kilometers towards the finish included the third and final intermediate checkpoint in Sistras.

Among the early riders competing for the hot seat and some time in the spotlight, Uganda’s Charles Kagimu set the benchmark time at 59:28 as the first rider to complete the course. However, his lead didn’t last long, as a string of riders came in after him. When Canadian Pier-André Côté crossed the finish line with speed, the best new time dropped to 56:00.

The top 20 riders started leaving their mark as soon as Magnus Sheffield (USA) descended from the ramp. He was flying through the first time trial checkpoint at the 12.5 km mark, 9 seconds faster than Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen and 11 seconds quicker than Switzerland’s Stefan Bissegger. Then came Italy’s Edoardo Affini, who was 5 seconds faster than Sheffield, having started just behind him.

Cheers and applause echoed around the course when Stefan Küng hit the track, with only five riders remaining at the start. His fellow Swiss rider ahead of him acted as a magnet for loud cheers during the climb at Oetwil am See, while Côté held the best overall time at the finish line.

Back at the start, defending champion Remco Evenepoel had a minor mishap, dropping the chain from his bike just one minute before taking off behind Jan Tratnik. He managed to get back on his main bike and start on time, no doubt with adrenaline pumping.

As the race progressed, Norway’s Søren Wærenskjold dethroned Côté after his long stay in the hot seat, posting a time 1 minute and 10 seconds faster. Then Portugal’s Nelson Oliveira smashed that time by a full minute, clocking 55:37. The times continued to fall as riders showed their form, with Asgreen setting a new best time of 54:32.

Magnus Sheffield was next but couldn’t outpace the Dane, settling for second place.

Then, the European time trial champion took control of the field, setting a blistering pace that was 35 seconds faster than Asgreen, clocking a new record under 54 minutes at 53:56. Stefan Bissegger stopped the clock at 54:46, securing third place and forming a likely medal trio with Affini and Asgreen as more contenders pushed for victory.

Australia’s Jay Vine led the first half of the course with the fastest time, 19 seconds ahead of Affini’s 32:56. However, six riders remained behind him, including Evenepoel, who set the best time at the first intermediate checkpoint, 13:39, gaining momentum toward the climbing section.

Tratnik made his mark during the climb, 6 seconds faster than Vine. But this small victory was short-lived, as Evenepoel posted 32:09 at the same point, now leading by 9 seconds over the Italian champion. The Olympic champion then smoothly navigated the winding turns of the descent.

Up front, Küng and Josh Tarling began ramping up their speed on the flat roads along Lake Zurich. Both riders were accelerating again, but neither could match the best time there so far – Vine’s 44:16. Unfortunately, the Australian crossed the finish line with road rash after a crash and couldn’t surpass Affini, finishing in 54:26.

Then, Vine’s best time vanished as both Tratnik and Evenepoel crossed the line much faster, with the Belgian rider 19 seconds ahead of his main rival, Tratnik. The final 12.5 kilometers became a head-to-head battle between the favorites, with Evenepoel maintaining his momentum to retain the rainbow jersey for another year.