Marlen Reusser or Demi Vollering? Can anyone challenge the two favourites in the World Championships elite women's time trial?

For only the third time since the time trial was introduced to the Road World Championships in 1994, this weekend in Montreal the women will race the same distance as the men in the challenge against the clock.

The 39.2km race is also the longest time trial the women have ever raced in the Championships, finally adding more than just a token of equality.

When American rider Karen Brems-Kurreck won the first edition 32 years ago, she did so over 30km, 10km less than that year’s men’s winner, Chris Boardman, the Brit tackling a 40km course. But there have been some huge discrepancies since that first event, 2013 being the worst, the women racing a shocking 35km less than the men in Florence.

With its downhill start, uphill finish and 220m of vertical ascent, the course in Montreal this Sunday is a fascinating one, even if the gradients aren’t too steep, but this, combined with the tight turns and the flat, open middle section make it a race for the complete time trialists.

Switzerlands' Marlen Reusser is just that complete racer, but the race is far from a foregone conclusion, and here we examine the women we expect to be wearing rainbows on Sunday evening, and those who will challenge for the medals.

Marlen Reusser (Switzerland)

As the defending champion, Marlen Reusser would always be one of the contenders, but since she won the title in Kigali last year she’s shown little sign of slowing down when it comes to any discipline of racing.

An excellent climber, she bases much of her racing style around the huge engine that allows her to perform so well against the clock. Of her 41 victories to date, 20 have been time trials, with five Swiss and four European titles to go with last year’s inaugural world title.

Since winning in Rwanda last year, she’s only raced four time trials, winning last year’s European Championships TT before taking victories at the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France Femmes, setting up her stint in the yellow jersey at the latter. Second place in the Giro d’Italia Women mountain time trial is the only blot on her copybook, where she ceded more than a minute to a flying Anna van der Breggen.

She’s arrived in Canada with a repeat in mind, obliterating the opposition to take victory at the Chrono Féminin de Gatineau, and she will start Sunday’s championship race as favourite.

Demi Vollering (Netherlands)

The overwhelmingly dominant rider in the women’s peloton, Demi Vollering will doubtless start the race as second favourite, though of her 69 career victories, only three have come against the clock.

The most recent of those was well over two years ago in the short 6.3km Tour de France Femmes test in Rotterdam. Since then she has raced on her TT bike only four times, and while she has been a regular podium finisher in time trials, she’s often lost out to Reusser, coming closest to the Swiss rider at the Giro d’Italia Women this year, finishing only three seconds down on her way to overall victory.

Vollering, though, is brilliant at targeting races and, having never won a rainbow jersey of any kind, she won’t care in which discipline one comes her way, provided one does, so the 29-year-old will be hugely motivated and in possession of the skills and power to win this weekend.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy)

Another rider without a rainbow jersey of any description to her name. Elisa Longo Borghini’s greatest strength is possibly her huge engine, and she is already accomplished against the clock, taking seven national titles over her long career. She’s a great descender for the opening kilometres, and has the power to make light of the final climb to the line, making this a course perfectly suited to her abilities.

Though illness forced her out of the Italian nationals, she has raced three TTs this year, finishing in the top 10 in each of them, though she was 1:04 and 1:03 behind Reusser at the Tour de Suisse and Tour de France respectively.

She has, though, been building form since recovering from a springtime illness, and barring disaster, will arrive in Canada in a position to at least challenge for the podium.

Zoe Bäckstedt (Great Britain)

Only 21, this is Zoe Bäckstedt’s first elite Worlds after dominating the age group categories. The Welsh rider put almost two minutes into second place to win the under-23 race last year, also winning the European U23 title in 2023. She has a junior world title too, winning in 2022 after finishing second the year before. It’s fair to say Bäckstedt is able to rise to the big occasion against the clock.

This year, however, she is up against the sport’s biggest, most established names, but she just may be able to spring a surprise. Despite her age, she already has eight time trial wins to her name, and in June successfully defended her British title.

In the WorldTour she finished second at the Tour de Suisse in June and fourth at the Tour de France Femmes TT, both times behind Reusser, proving she is the real deal, despite her age. On the road she’s successfully proved she can go uphill, so the climb shouldn’t be too much of an obstacle, but the distance just might.

The longest TT of her career to date was 27km at last year’s National Championships, almost 13km shorter than this weekend’s race, where the competition will be far tougher.

Cédrine Kerbaol (France)

One of the brightest stars of French cycling, Cédrine Kerbaol is a former double French TT champion and while she has no significant results at an age-group level and has never won an international TT, she is a rider who is constantly improving.

Though not quite on the level of Vollering when going uphill, she is one of the best climbers in the women’s peloton, and is explosive enough to deal with the Montreal course’s corners. And as arguably the best descender in the bunch, the opening kilometres are certainly where she can make a difference.

This year she has top-10 finishes in both WorldTour TTs she’s raced, taking seventh place in Gevrey-Chambertin during the Tour de France Femmes.

Lotte Kopecky (Belgium)

Though there can be no question that Lotte Kopecky is one of the best cyclists in the world, it is also fair to say the Belgian superstar is not in the form of two years ago when she took her last world title.

Not only was Kopecky sixth in the Paris Olympics time trial, she has European titles on her lengthy palmarès in the discipline, which also includes two top 10 World Championships finishes from two starts – alongside, of course, her two road race world titles.

However, her recent TT form has not been great, managing only fourth place at the Belgian nationals and 88th at the Tour de France Femmes, her most recent outing, though there she had been working for the team’s GC riders. More relevant, perhaps, was her third place behind Bäckstedt at the Baloise Ladies Tour in July.

But this is Lotte Kopecky, and should she find that elusive form, she’s perfectly able to reach the podium in Montreal.

Juliette Berthet (France)

For so many years French women’s cycling had few figureheads, with just Audrey Cordon-Ragot ploughing a lone furrow, but Juliette Berthet was one of the first riders to emerge from the country’s malaise.

Turning pro aged just 19, she took her first French TT title in 2020 and has been there or thereabouts ever since. Excellent against the clock, last year she was seventh and sixth at the 2025 World and European championships respectively, and is a consistent top-10 finisher.

Freed from the domestique role she so often performs in support of Vollering, she proved her form with two stage wins and the GC victory at last week’s Faun Tour Femmes, and with that freedom in Sunday’s race she should be able to challenge in Montreal.

Kristen Faulkner (USA)

It’s not been the greatest year for Kristen Faulkner but the 33-year-old can never be written off, especially against the clock.

Currently the Pan-American TT champion, having won that title as the first race of her season in March, Faulkner has a huge engine, something she’s relied on for the vast majority of her 12 career victories, whether they have been on the road or in time trials.

Along with the Pan-Am title, her only win of 2026 to date, all her best results during 2026 have been in time trials, with sixth place in Gevrey-Chambertin in the Tour de France Femmes TT the only other top-10 placing this year.

Bad luck and injury means her record at Worlds isn’t great, with sixth place in 2023, her only participation, but she’s extremely strong and wouldn’t be on the start line if she didn’t feel she could be competitive.

Antonia Niedermaier (Germany)

Last year's German national champion, Antonia Niedermaier is one of the sport’s up and coming riders. Even at age-group level she was able to bag results against the clock, finishing third as a junior and second at under-23 Europeans. In her two World Championships outings she has finished fourth and sixth and is fast improving.

While her Tour de France Femmes TT this year was stymied by domestique duties, at the Giro d’Italia Women she finished fourth. She might not be able to unseat Reusser this year, but a podium finish is very possible.

The dark horses

Though she is yet to bag a top level TT win, Lieke Nooijen (Netherlands) has been flying against the clock in recent years, with consistent top five finishes. This year alone she finished third in the Dutch championships before taking a brilliant second place in the Tour de France Femmes TT behind Reusser. However, a broken collarbone at the Tour of Britain Women will have hindered her preparation.

Franziska Koch (Germany) has had a stunning season, bossing the Classics before winning Paris-Roubaix Femmes. As well as being the German road champion, this year she won the TT title too. She is a consistent time trialist but has never been a regular top-five finisher.

For British rider Anna Morris, her first road Worlds is a big step, though the 31-year-old Welshwoman shouldn’t be overwhelmed as she is a supremely accomplished track rider with world titles to her name. On the road she has two silver medals in the national TT championships and a number of other big results, and a top five in Montreal is not beyond her.

A triple Austrian time trial champion, Christina Schweinberger has two previous top 10s at Worlds, including third place in 2023, and a repeat could well be on the cards, however, she’s not raced since breaking her wrist during stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes at the beginning of August.

Finishing fifth last year in Rwanda, before heading to the Europeans and going one place better, it’s hard to ignore Norway’s Katrine Aalerud. However, other than her ride to win a fifth national title in June, she’s had an unremarkable season, though she may be able to pull something out of the hat.

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