UCI Road World Championships 2024 - Elite-U23 women's road race contenders

The 2024 UCI Road World Championships will host the combined elite-U23 women's road race on the event's penultimate day, September 29, from Uster to Zurich, Switzerland.

The 154.1km race route is expected to cater to the classics specialists given the hilly terrain, circuit-style final loop and fast run-in to Zurich. The race will begin in Uster where the peloton will complete a single lap of Greifensee before heading to the city circuit. 

There the two key climbing sections of the Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon await on each of the four 27km laps, with 2,384m of elevation gain along the way to a relatively flat final 5km to take riders to the Sechseläutenplatz finish line. 

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Many nations competing at these World Championships have not yet confirmed their complete rosters, but Cyclingnews highlights 10 elite women and five U23 riders to watch in the hunt for the rainbow jerseys in their respective categories.

Lotte Kopecky (Belgium)

Lotte Kopecky will lead the Belgian team in her world title defence on a course that could see her win a second consecutive rainbow jersey on a Classics-style route in Zurich. A two-time winner of the Tour of Flanders and Strade Bianche, and champion of Paris-Roubaix, Kopecky lines up as the outright favourite.

The route is a challenging one, especially with the circuit's ascents, Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon, but Kopecky has already proven that she can climb with the best across Flanders-style punchy ascents, steep climbs like Jabel Hafeet that won her the overall title at the UAE Tour, and high-mountain climbs Col du Tourmalet at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes and Blockhaus at this year's Giro d'Italia.

If her winning performance in Glasgow Worlds is anything to go by, where she obliterated the field and then rode away from the selection on the final circuit, watch for Kopecky to attack this race head-on in her pursuit of another rainbow jersey 

Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy)

Elisa Longo Borghini has had an outstanding season that came together with a victory at the Tour of Flanders and podiums at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Strade Bianche, and in all of the Ardennes Classics. She also secured overall podiums at La Vuelta Femenina, and Tour de Suisse and then won the overall title at the Giro d'Italia.

Although she finished top 10 in both the time trial and the road race at the Olympic Games, she had her eyes set on a medal and so left Paris disappointed with the results, but she quickly turned her attention to recovery and training for the World Championships.

Longo Borghini will arrive in top form and we can expect her to race with that same aggressive style that she does throughout the season, but her biggest asset is her team. The Italian national team, Squadra Azzurra, is well-known for their cohesion and winning team tactics, which will undoubtedly support Longo Borghini in her bid for the world title.

Demi Vollering (Netherlands)

Demi Vollering's season didn't start off as well as she'd hoped but that turned around during the stage racing season where she won consecutive overall titles at La Vuelta Femenina, Itzulia Women, Vuelta a Burgos and Tour de Suisse. 

She went on to finish fifth in the time trial and supported Marianne Vos to a silver medal at the Olympic Games, but her main focus was on defending her title at the Tour de France Femmes in August. That didn't happen, and while there were highlights; victories in the stage 3 time trial and stage 8 atop Alpe d'Huez, she lost the yellow jersey to rival and overall champion Kasia Niewiadoma by just four seconds.

Vollering has taken time to absorb that loss, regroup and aims to come back to the World Championships with a powerful Dutch team in pursuit of a world title. She will lead the team, which also includes former multi-discipline world champion Vos and reigning mountain bike world champion Puck Pieterse.

Vollering's all-around strengths lend well to this type of course. She is both a winning stage racer and a one-day Classics rider with a powerful sprint, so watch for Vollering to make the selection and play her role in the final run-in to Zurich.

Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland)

There appears to be no stopping Kasia Niewiadoma lately. The Polish all-rounder has always been a contender for one-day Classics and mountain stage races, always finishing on the podium but rarely taking the win. It has been the cause of much frustration and disappointment in recent years, but with hard work, team and family support and patience, she has turned all of that around.

Niewiadoma's winning spell began at the UCI Gravel World Championships last fall where she secured the victory, an achievement that she said gave her the confidence to believe in her ability to beat the best. She capped off a strong Classics season with a victory at La Flèche Wallonne, her first road race win in five years since winning the 2019 Amstel Gold Race. She then took the ultimate win during the stage racing where she secured the overall title at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

She hasn't raced since the Tour and will arrive at the World Championships fresh off of specific preparations and training for the Zurich road race.  She might not have a team as powerful as the Dutch team, but on a selective course this this one, she will be among the contenders in the final.

Grace Brown (Australia)

Grace Brown will lead a powerful Australian team in her final World Championships before she retires at the end of the season.

She is set to hang up her wheels having had one of her most successful seasons in her seven-year career with wins at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and gold medals in the individual time trials at the Australian Championships and the Paris Olympic Games.

Brown has said that the final goal of her racing career is to win the world title in the individual time trial but she also has a shot at the medals in the road race, too. The route will favour those riders who can handle the distance and the challenging terrain, of which Brown is one. 

She also has a strong team that includes contender Neve Bradbury, along with Brodie Chapman, Sara Gigante, Amanda Spratt and Ruby-Roseman Gannon. Brown indicated, while at the Tour de France Femmes, that the road race route might favour one of her teammates, too, and that she could see herself in a support role, especially given that she is retiring at the end of the year. 

Of her teammates, any one of them has the potential to medal in the road race, so team tactics could play a big role in the outcome of the race for the Australian team.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France)

The French team lineup with multiple favourites in Juliette Labous, Évita Muzic and Cédrine Kerbaol, but they also have a dark horse contender in Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

Ferrand-Prévot recently retired from cross-country mountain biking after winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games. Her plan now is to return to road racing and that begins at the World Championships.

Although she hasn't raced a full road season since 2018, outside of competing at the French Road Championships in 2019 and 2021, Ferrand-Prévot will be a key rider to watch due to her all-around strength and experience at the World Championships.

The French rider made history in the 2014-2015 season at the age of 23 when she became the first cyclist to hold world titles in the three disciplines simultaneously. She won the elite women's road race world title in 2014 Ponferrada, the XCO cross-country world title in 2015 in Vallnord, and the cyclo-cross world title in 2015 in Tabor.

Since then, she has amassed a total of 15 elite world titles across road, mountain bike, cyclocross and gravel. As such, she cannot be discounted as a contender for the elite women's road race in Zurich and she has the potential to win her first road world title since Ponferrada.

Blanka Vas (Hungary)

Blanka Vas might be one of the most underrated riders in the peloton, but she is beginning to show her strengths more consistently on the world stage. 

The Hungarian Champion is a multi-discipline rider, also competing in cyclocross and cross-country mountain bike with achievements in the under-23 category that include silver and bronze medals at the cyclocross worlds in Dübendorf and Ostend, a silver medal in the mountain bike worlds in Leogang, and she won the world title in the under-23 road race worlds at the Glasgow.

Now 23, Vas will compete for the elite world title as part of the combined elite-U23 road race in Zurich. She arrives at the event after a successful road season where she was fourth in the road race at the Olympic Games and won a stage at the Tour de France Femmes.

Kristen Faulkner (United States of America)

Kristen Faulkner has had the best season of her career winning the road race title at the US Pro Road Championships before going on to win double gold medals at the Olympic Games in the elite women's road race and in the team pursuit.

She lines up with a strong team that will include two-time time trial world champion Chloé Dygert and Ruth Edwards. The course of attrition will suit a rider like Faulkner and she is one to watch for late-race breakaways.

She may not be regarded as one of the main contenders during the Classics season but she has had powerful performances in tough races like Strade Bianche, that, combined with her recent success at the Olympic Games, make her a favourite for the elite women's road race in Zurich.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Denmark)

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig hasn't had to most outstanding season and she has struggled with injuries, but there have been glimmers of success with a stage win at the Tour Down Under and a podium finish in a stage at the Giro d'Italia where she finished eighth overall.

But she had a similar season last year and then ended up putting forth a massive performance at Glasgow Worlds, creating the selection during the road race and then finishing with the bronze medal.

She is one of the contenders during the Classics season, and the hilly parcour suits her strengths, so watch for her to, once again, surprise at the World Championships.

Marianne Vos (Netherlands)

After nearly two decades of world-class competition, Marianne Vos is still performing at the highest level with wins this season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Amstel Gold Race, a stage at La Vuelta Femenina, an overall win at Catalunya, and she won the silver medal at the Paris Olympic Games and the points jersey at the Tour de France Femmes. 

Vos now has a career total of 255 elite road race victories and she has also amassed 13 world titles; eight in cyclocross, two in track racing, and three in road racing. She has also earned three Olympic medals; a gold medal in the points race in 2008 Beijing, a gold medal in the road race in 2012 London and a silver medal in the road race in Paris this year. 

Although Vollering was announced as the team leader, Vos will form part of a powerful Dutch team that also includes Mischa Bredewold, Riejanne Markus, Puck Pieterse, Pauliena Rooiakkers, while Shirin van Anrooij was forced to pull out of the event due to an injury.

The Classics-style course would suit any of the riders on this team, but the world will be watching a waiting to see if Vos will win her first rainbow jersey in the road race since Firenze.

Under-23 favourites

Puck Pieterse (Netherlands)

The Dutch team will be all-in for Vollering and Vos to win the elite title during the combined elite-U23 women's road race, but they also have two contenders for the under-23 category with Puck Pieterse and Shirin van Anrooij. Unfortunately, Van Anrooij was forced to pull out of the event due to a lingering injury and she had to end her season early.

Pieterse is the reigning cross-country mountain bike World Champion, who would like to add cyclocross, road race and gravel world titles to her palmares, too. She has already shown her strengths on the road, and this summer, she won the stage into Liége at the Tour de France Femmes.

Antonia Niedermaier (Germany)

Antonia Niedermaier had a breakout season last year with a stage win at the Giro d'Italia and continued her success into this season with strong overall classification performance at La Vuelta Femenina (11th), Tour de Suisse (6th), Giro d'Italia (6th). the hilly course could play in her favour, and while she might not be a contender for the elite rainbow jersey, she is strong enough to play a role in the final among the elite field and secure the under-23 title.

Neve Bradbury (Australia)

Neve Bradbury secured her first two WorldTour wins this season in stages at the Tour de Suisse and then atop Blockhaus at the Giro d'Italia. She has also been a podium finisher in the major stage races this year; Tour Down Under (3rd), UAE Tour (2nd), Tour de Suisse (2nd), and Giro d'Italia (3rd). She has clearly earned her place on Australia's elite women's team and she is also a contender for the under-23 world title.

Anniina Ahtosalo (Finland)

Anniina Ahtosalo is a six-time Finnish national champion; three in the road race and three in the time trial, but she is still only 21 years old. Her strengths are in one-day racing a sprinting, but an eighth place at Classic Brugge-De Panne and recent second place in the opening stage at the Tour de France Femmes, and numerous other top-10 performances this year, put her on the radar for the under-23 title at the World Championships.