UCI Road World Championships 2021: Elite women's time trial - Live Coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage from the elite women's time trial at the World Championships.

We're about 35 minutes from the start of the time trial. Here's a start list to take a look at

The course is 30.3km and has elevation gain of 54 metres but it's a relatively flat route with few technical aspects. 

The last two winners of this event, Anna van der Breggen and Chloe Dygert are not here, and it's a more open field. 

Annemiek Van Vleuten is one of the biggest favourites for today. The 38-year-old won this event in 2017 and 2018 and then took the road race in 2019 with an incredible solo break from around 100km out but today, with no van der Breggen here she’s a massive favourite for a third TT win. She’s been strong against the clock most of the year too with a TT win in La Vuelta last month and of course the Olympic TT win earlier in the summer. She was only fourth in the Dutch nationals back in June and they’re the only time trials she’s raced this season but she has the calibre to win this and the road race at the weekend, of that there’s no doubt. She was ‘only’ ninth in the Euros last week but if Annemiek Van Vleuten is good at anything  - and she’s good at a lot – it’s turning up on the biggest occasions with her very best form.

Another big favourite for today is Marlen Reusser, who comes into the race as the European TT champion. Only one rider finished within a minute of her in Italy and she basically demolished the field with one of the best TT rides of the entire season. She was second to  Annemiek Van Vleuten in a time trial at La Vuelta, and she was second too in the Olympics but if she’s brought her A-game then she’s going to push Annemiek Van Vleuten all the way today. She’s the Swiss road and TT champion, and she won the TT at the Simac Ladies Tour too, and this is one of her last outings before moving to SD Worx next year. The 30-year-old has enjoyed a major breakout season, it’s fair to say.

Lisa Brennauer will be the third last rider to leave the start house. The German 33-year-old was third in the recent Euros and like Reusser she’s the road and TT champion in her nation. She’s s so experienced at this race too. This is her 9th Worlds and she won back in 2014 in Spain and has a bronze from 2015 in Richmond. She narrowly missed out on the medals last year and finished fourth but she should be in the hunt again today. She’s a class rider and one to watch on her day.

Amber Neben, at 46, is one of the most experienced elite TT riders in the world. She’s also a winner of this event back in 2008 and 2016. She’s raced sparingly this year, as she usually does, with just a couple of outings at the US nationals and a creditable fifth in the Olympics in Tokyo. This is her 15th out in the Worlds TT, her first time coming in 2002! She’s super consistent though and from her 14 starts she’s had 12 top 10s. She’s been fourth three times in her career but has a good shot of a medal today. Neben's form heading into the event is unknown, however, as she is recovering from a fractured hip sustained in an incident on August 25, when a driver turned their vehicle into her path, causing a collision.

Emma Norsgaard’s career has gone from strength to strength since she signed with Movistar at the start of the year. She has had a phenomenal season so far and is a more than capable time trialist. She’s the Danish national champion, has a stack of wins this year but hasn’t been in medal contention in the Euros or the Olympics when it comes to racing against the clock, still the 22-year-old can’t be ruled out.

We're about 15 minutes from the start of the time trial, so now is a good chance to brush up on Kirsten Frattini's top-five riders to watch. Here's the link.

Leah Kirchmann is an outsider for a medal today. She was 12th in Tokyo in the time trial but has the skillset for a course like this. A batch of riders who finished ahead of her at the Games are not here too, and she was 4th in 2018. If she can pull it all together on the day she could be a genuine contender for a top-five or even a medal.

Joscelin Lowden is representing Great Britain at her first senior individual Worlds in the time trial. She has competed in the mixed relay before. The 33-year-old is off to Uno-X next year from drops and she will certainly put in a solid ride today. Her confidence will be high after she won the Tour de Feminin earlier in the summer, and she took a bronze in the relay at the Worlds in Yorkshire back in 2019.

Ellen Van Dijk starts as a massive favourite having won the Euros road race and finished second in the time trial. She won the event back in 2013 and has three more podiums to her name. In fact she’s been no lower than seventh since 2009, which is frankly incredible.

Fernanda Yapura is the first rider off today. The rider from Argentina trains at the UCI centre in Aigle Switzlerand. She was 40th in the TT last year in Imola and has been at the Worlds every year since 2017. Still only 23, this is another important stepping stone for the climber.

Clear skies as we begin the time trial but we do have some crosswinds out there. This a pure power course. 

Plenty of riders are warming up right now and we're already onto Riejanne Markus. She is off second and she’s a real medal contender for the today. The 27-year-old was fifth in the Euros and is respected time trialist at this level. She won a stage at the Tour of Norway back in August, was fifth in the Dutch nationals, and won the gold in the mixed relay back in 2019. She should set the benchmark time for the later starters.

And the Jumbo Visma rider rolls down the start ramp and navigates the first corner safely. 

Asma Jan, one of two riders on the start list from Pakistan, is the next athlete to begin her TT.

Markus already looks comfortable on the course as she heads out of town with 28km to go.

Olga Zabelinskaya (Uzbekistan) is next up.

Rotem Gafinovitz (Israel) rolls down the start list next.

Pfeiffer Georgi is among the early starters too. She won La Choralis Fourmies Feminine earlier this month, and at just 20, has a really bright future ahead of her. In 2018 she was fourth in the junior women’s TT at the Worlds.

Sara van de Vel (Belgium) is off next.

No time gaps yet but Riejanne Markus (Netherlands) certainly looks rapid as she completes the first 10km of the course.

Riejanne Markus (Netherlands) is a minute up at the first intermediate check.

Here’s comes Audrey Cordon Ragot. The 31-year-old is the French champion but was only 15th in the Euros a couple of weekends ago.  One of the most versatile riders in the world she has a claim for a top-five today. That said she’s never cracked the top ten at the TT in Worlds. Still, she will at least be among the best times at the start of the race.

Next up is Leah Thomas. The 32-year-old comes into the race in great form having won the GC in the International de l’Archeche earlier this month. She didn’t get a spot for the TT in Tokyo but she was third in nationals, and has had a really strong season at Movistar. She’s off the Trek Segafredo next year but with a seventh and fifth in this event over the last few years, she’s another medal contender.

Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) will start in just two minutes.

Pfeiffer Georgi (Great Britain) is second at the first split, 26 seconds down.

Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) has started her time trial.

Close! Nathalie Eklund (Sweden) goes second at the split but then overcooks a corner, clips her pedal and almost comes down. Good save in the end.

Riejanne Markus (Netherlands) comes over the line with a time of 38:04.

Cordon Ragot then goes second at the intermediate. 

Impressive ride from Thomas who goes seven seconds fastest at the first check.

Lisa Klien can only manage fifth at the first check.

Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) has just gone 52 seconds faster than Thomas at the first check. Wow. The Dutch rider leads on the road.

Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain) will start next.

Pfeiffer Georgi (Great Britain) comes to the line and will take provisional second. 

Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) simply looks untouchable out there right now. We still have some medal contenders to come but the Dutch rider is having a storming performance out there today.

Nathalie Eklund (Sweden) has just gone second at the finishline. 

Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) has caught and past Klein. 

Karol-ann Canuel (Canada) takes provisional second with 38:53.

Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) is absolutely flying right now. She only has 4km to go.

Cordon Ragot takes third on the line at 39:01. That's very decent but it won't be inside the top five today. 

The final flat sections now for Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands). She has 1km to go and she will take the lead at the line.

Leah Thomas is third but Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) finishes right after in 36:05. That's almost two minutes faster than the opposition. Then Klein finishes, takes second but is still almost two minutes down on the Dutch rider. 

Leah Kirchmann (Canada) starts her time trial.

Here are the latest top-ten results from the finish.

1 Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands)   36:05.3
2 Lisa Klein (Germany)   01:52.0
3 Riejanne Markus (Netherlands)   01:59.6
4 Karol-Ann Canuel (Canada)   02:48.1
5 Leah Thomas (United States Of America)   02:50.5
6 Audrey Cordon Ragot (France)   02:56.3
7 Nathalie Eklund (Sweden)   02:57.5
8 Karolina Karasiewicz (Poland)   03:04.0
9 Pfeiffer Georgi (Great Britain)   03:18.6
10 Ganna Solovei (Ukraine)   03:30.1

We're down to our last for starters as we see Amber Neben (United States Of America) adjust her helmet and roll down the ramp. 

Lisa Brennauer (Germany) is next out of the blocks.

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) has completed here warm up and is just waiting to head to the start house.

Alena Amialiusik (Belarus) is third at the intermediate check. 

And now Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) starts her efforts. Can she go one better than at the Olympics?

2013 World Champion Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) meanwhile is in the hot seat and she's totally relaxed as she waves to the crowd.

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands). 3, 2, 1, go!

All the remaining riders are now now on the course. Can anyone stop Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands)?

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Juliette Labous (France), we've not talked about her, but she's riding well on the course and heading to the first checkpoint. 

Right now Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain) looks good for a top 5-8 finish. 

38:04 for Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain) and that puts her into third at the finish.

Julie Van de Valde (Belgium) crosses the line and takes 10th.

Juliette Labous (France) is third at the first check. 

1 Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands)   36:05.3
2 Lisa Klein (Germany)   01:52.0
3 Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain)   01:59.5
4 Riejanne Markus (Netherlands)   01:59.6
5 Karol-Ann Canuel (Canada)   02:48.1
6 Leah Thomas (United States Of America)   02:50.5
7 Audrey Cordon Ragot (France)   02:56.3
8 Nathalie Eklund (Sweden)   02:57.5
9 Karolina Karasiewicz (Poland)   03:04.0
10 Julie van de Velde (Belgium)   03:06.9

Staggering time from the current race leader but there's plenty of quality still out on the road.

Lisa Brennauer (Germany) comes to the time check, she's second but 32 seconds down.

Neben was third, 36 seconds down. 

Marlen Reusser (Switzerland). What can she do? She's fastest by 3.6 seconds.

Can the European champion take her maiden rainbow jersey?

Just Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) to come through the intermediate and it looks like we have a three rider race for the gold medal.

All eyes on Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) as she approaches the first time check.

She's down! The Olympic champion is 16 seconds slower at the first check. That's a lot of time to bring back.

Valeriya Kononenko (Ukraine) just took seventh at the finish.

Intermediate:

1 Marlen Reusser (Switzerland)   16:24.8
2 Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands)   00:03.6
3 Lisa Brennauer (Germany)   00:36.1
4 Amber Leone Neben (United States Of America)   00:40.5
5 Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain)   00:45.0

Alena Amialiusik (Belarus) finishes in fifth.  

Amber Neben is pushing a big gear but she's pacing herself well at this point. She's not going to take the win today, she's almost a minute down, but a medal is still possible. 

Eugenia Bujak (Slovenia) takes 11th.

At this point it looks like the gold is between Reusser and Van Dijk. We can't discount Van Vleuten just yet though.

Reusser has just gone 2.9 seconds faster at the second check. This is going to be really close. She's lost about a second.

Van Vleuten has the gap down to 15 seconds but it's not going to be enough at this rate. She's still sitting in third with 9.3km to go.

Check 2

1 Marlen Reusser (Switzerland)   24:47.6
2 Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands)   00:02.9
3 Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands)   00:15.9
4 Amber Leone Neben (United States Of America)   00:54.3
5 Lisa Brennauer (Germany)   01:01.7

Juliette Labous (France) comes to the line with a time of 37:52 and she goes second. Lowden down to fourth.

Finish

1 Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands)   0:36:05
2 Juliette Labous (France)   0:37:52
3 Lisa Klein (Germany)   0:37:57
4 Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain)   0:38:05
5 Riejanne Markus (Netherlands)   0:38:05
6 Alena Amialiusik (Belarus)   0:38:24
7 Leah Kirchmann (Canada)   0:38:40
8 Karol-Ann Canuel (Canada)   0:38:53
9 Leah Thomas (United States Of America)   0:38:56
10 Valeriya Kononenko (Ukraine)   0:38:56

Neben has just 1.6km to go. She's heading for fourth at the end of the day.

Emma Cecilie Joergensen (Denmark) comes to the line with a time of 38:48 and goes eighth.

Neben is next. She's a minute down at this point.

37:29 and into second for the American but will that be enough for a medal?

The smiles have gone. Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) is nervous but who can blame her.

1.3km to go for Euro champ Reusser. Can she take a rainbow jersey?

The gap was just under 3 seconds at the last check.

Lisa Brennauer (Germany) takes third.

1 Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands)   0:36:05
2 Amber Leone Neben (United States Of America)   0:37:30
3 Lisa Brennauer (Germany)   0:37:35
4 Juliette Labous (France)   0:37:52
5 Lisa Klein (Germany)   0:37:57
6 Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain)   0:38:05
7 Riejanne Markus (Netherlands)   0:38:05
8 Alena Amialiusik (Belarus)   0:38:24
9 Leah Kirchmann (Canada)   0:38:40
10 Emma Cecilie Joergensen (Denmark)   0:38:49

Reusser has ten seconds. Can she do it?

NO!

Reusser is 10 seconds down at the line. What a turnaround and this could be Ellen van Dijk's day.

1 Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands)   0:36:05
2 Marlen Reusser (Switzerland)   0:36:16
3 Amber Leone Neben (United States Of America)   0:37:30
4 Lisa Brennauer (Germany)   0:37:35
5 Juliette Labous (France)   0:37:52
6 Lisa Klein (Germany)   0:37:57
7 Joscelin Lowden (Great Britain)   0:38:05
8 Riejanne Markus (Netherlands)   0:38:05
9 Alena Amialiusik (Belarus)   0:38:24
10 Leah Kirchmann (Canada)   0:38:40

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) is the only rider left on the road but she's off the pace. 

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) crosses the line and takes bronze with 36:29.

Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) is in tears. She has won the world time trial championships in 2021. A huge ride from her to take the rainbow jersey.

Ellen van Dijk wins elite women's time trial title at Flanders World Championships