Cycling. Road – World Championships – Men’s Elite Time Trial Course and Favourites

Sunday afternoon, just after the Elite Women’s time trial, will be the Elite Men’s time trial. 2024 Road World Championships ! On the 46.1-kilometre course traced around Zurich and which can be divided into three parts (two flat sections at the start and end, a hilly section with a succession of several small bumps between the 20th and 34th kilometres), one of the challenges of the day will be to know if Remco Evenepoel will become the sixth man to retain the rainbow jersey in the time trial after Australians Michael Rogers And Rohan Dennisthe Swiss Fabian Cancellarathe German Tony Martin and Italian Filippo Ganna.

Video – Remco Evenepoel to try to retain his world title

Remco Evenepoel number one favorite but…

The one who can certainly be considered the current best roller in the world will be the number one favourite to succeed him, his mastery of the solo exercise, his Olympic title won a few weeks ago in Paris and this Zurich course which does not displease him being three weighty arguments which play in his favour. However, there remains this uncertainty about the state of form of the Belgian, who admitted having had difficulty getting back on track after his incredible double at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and which did not make a very big impression on the recent Tour of Britain.

Ganna, Tarling, Küng and Roglic: a group of big outsiders

On paper, four riders seem capable of challenging the guy from Schepdaal in this time trial of 2024 World Championships. If Filippo Ganna And Joshua Tarlingdue to their exceptional qualities in time trial, are designated by many observers as the two main adversaries of Remco Evenepoelhowever, we can have doubts about the fitness of the Italian and the Briton. While the first, on August 29, had to leave the Renewi Tour On the morning of the 2nd stage, after appearing totally out of shape on the opening day, the second, four days earlier, abandoned the Tour of Spain on a fall during the 9th stage.

One who has recently proven that he is in great condition is Stefan Küng ! Winner of the final time trial of the Tour of Spain and second in the time trial European Championships Three days later, the Swiss roller of the Groupama-FDJ – double world medalist in the time trial (3rd in 2020 and 2nd in 2022) – has legs of fire at the end of the season, and he will therefore be a very serious candidate for the rainbow jersey, especially at home. Finally, the last member of this square of outsiders is Primoz Roglic. Olympic champion in 2021 and vice-world champion in 2017, the Slovenian has proven in the past that he is capable of shining in time trials in major championships, and as there is no reason why his very good legs of Tour of Spain have disappeared, we cannot fail to consider him as a possible medalist, even a winner.

Can Bruno Armirail do better than in 2022?

Behind these five riders, we find some riders who will try to invite themselves into the top 5, and notably the European champion Edoardo Affini (Italy), but also Brandon McNulty, Magnus Sheffield (UNITED STATES), Joao Almeida (Portugal), Victor Campenaerts (Belgium), Tobias Foss (Norway), Stefan Bissegger (Swiss), Maximilian Schachmann (Germany) and why not Bruno Armirail (France). Tenth in Wollongong in 2022, the Pyrenees native will aim for a better ranking than in Australia. The other Frenchman involved, the Breton Thibault Guernalecwill have more measured ambitions for what will be his first time trial of the World Championships.