The World Tours are taking a time-out for the annual UCI World Road Race Championships, being held this year in and around Yorkshire, England with a full week of racing planned:
● 22 September: Mixed Team Time Trial (28 km)
● 23 September: Men’s Junior Time Trial (28 km), Women’s Junior Time Trial (14 km)
● 24 September: Men’s U-23 Time Trial (30 km), Women’s Time Trial (30 km)
● 25 September: Men’s Time Trial (54 km)
● 26 September: Men’s Junior Road Race (148 km)
● 27 September: Women’s Junior Road Race (92 km), Men’s U-23 Road Race (192 km)
● 28 September: Women’s Road Race (150 km)
● 29 September: Men’s Road Race (285 km)
The Time Trials on Tuesday and Wednesday follow loop courses and there are strong performers entered in both the men’s and women’s divisions:
Men (54 km):
● Tony Martin (GER) ~ Winner in 2011-12-13-16, second in 2015
● Rohan Dennis (AUS) ~ Winner in 2018
● Primoz Roglic (SLO) ~ Second in 2017
● Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP) ~ Third in 2016
● Victor Campanerts (BEL) ~ Third in 2018
Roglic was just dominant in the Time Trial stages, winning three of the four he has competed in this year, in the Tour de Suisse, at the Giro d’Italia and in La Vuelta a Espana.
The sentimental favorite for a medal is clearly Poland’s Maciej Bodnar, 34, for whom this will be his 13th World Champs Time Trial; he’s finished in the top 10 three times, with a best of fourth in 2016. In addition to the prior medalists, look for Kasper Asgreen (DEN) and Lawson Craddock (USA) as contenders.
Women (30 km):
● Amber Neben (USA) ~ Winner in 2008-16
● Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) ~ Winner in 2017-18
● Lisa Brennauer (GER) ~ Winner in 2014; third in 2015
● Anna van der Breggen (NED) ~ Second in 2015-17-18
Van Vleuten is the World Tour leader and the winner the last two years, Neben has been magical in this race (twice) and Brennauer just won the Individual Time Trial that keyed her victory in the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta last week. Is this is a “lucky 13th” for Neben? It’s the 13th time she will ride in this race.
With three second-place finishes, van der Breggen wants to win; she is more than capable, having finished fifth and second in the two Time Trial legs of the Giro d’Italia Internationale Femminile in July.
The U.S. two more capable entries in Chloe Dygert-Owen and Leah Thomas, who have finished as high as fourth and fifth in this race, respectively. Stars such as Lucinda Brand (NED) and Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) cannot be counted out as well.
Look for results here.
