Foss creates surprise on first day of UCI Road World Championships

First day of UCI Road World Championships

Ellen van Dijk (NED) and Tobias Foss (NOR) took Elite individual time trial (ITT) honours on the first day of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. Italy’s Vittoria Guazzini took the first ever rainbow jersey awarded on the road in the Women Under 23 category.

The 2022 UCI Road World Championships got underway under sunny skies but with side gust winds that would test the bike handling of the world’s finest cyclists. Both the women and men faced the same 34.2km time trial course that comprised two laps of around 17km around the streets of the city south of Sydney.

A first for Guazzini, third title for Van Dijk

The women set off in three groups to avoid riders on different laps lapping each other on the technical course. Home favourite Grace Brown was among the opening group of 10 to set off and she soon set the fastest time of the day in 44:41mins. The 30-year-old sat in the hot seat for nearly three hours as rider after rider failed to match Brown’s impressive time.

Another pre-race favourite, Annemiek van Vleuten, set off in the second group of riders but it soon became clear that the Dutch rider wouldn’t threaten the top spots, as she lay 26secs down on Brown after the first checkpoint. Ultimately, she would finish seventh.

Brown sat tight until the final band of riders set off. Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser and Van Dijk were the final two riders down the Wollongong ramp and both led Brown at the first checkpoint. By the second checkpoint, Reusser had started to lose time on Brown but Van Dijk remained strong, with 20 secs on Brown. It was a lead she never relinquished as she rode to another season in the rainbow jersey in 44:29mins. Reusser took bronze in 45:11mins. Italy’s Vittoria Guazzini finished fourth in 45:21mins, which also gave her the Under-23 title, the first time this is awarded at the UCI Road World Championships.

For Van Dijk, it was her second consecutive ITT gold and the third of her career.

“I never expected to win today,” Van Dijk told reporters after the race. “I didn’t think it was the perfect course for me but I had a good mental approach and good physical approach. My coach and I prepared everything very well. I just thought, I’ve had a great year in the rainbow jersey, I’ll give it my all today. If it’s a podium spot, it’s nice. If it’s not, I’ve still had a great year.

“When I passed the first lap, I heard the speaker saying something like it’s still possible for a medal. So I thought, okay that would be good. But I thought, focus on yourself and pace my efforts well. The second lap, I thought I started a bit slower, but I think it was difficult for everyone. But honestly, I was so surprised by the win.”

Foss suprises all

In the men’s race, all eyes were on Filippo Ganna. The 26-year-old Italian had won time trial gold in both 2020 and in 2021, and recently announced that he will target the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot in Grenchen, Switzerland, on 8 October and aim to break Ineos Grenadiers colleague Dan Bigham’s record of 55.548km, also set in Grenchen.

But if Ganna was to win here, he’d have to beat Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger, who averaged over 50km/hr to record a leading time of 40:49mins. The 24-year-old’s been in sublime form recently, winning time trial gold at the European Championships in Germany. He looked good for at least a medal after a magnificent ride.

Great Britain’s Ethan Hayter was in the mix early on, riding fastest through the first check, but suffered huge misfortune after his chain jumped. He tried in vain to release the chain but had to swap bikes, losing around 25 secs in the process. He would finish fourth.

But then came a surprise as Norway’s Tobias Foss stormed past Bissegger’s time in 40:02mins, becoming the only rider of the leading men to negative split his race. The 25-year-old won his time trial National Championships earlier in the year but his incredible effort stunned everyone. Could he hold on to gold?

He’d have to hold off Stefan Küng of Switzerland, who was fastest at the second check. But Küng faded over the final section to finish 3 secs down on Foss in 40:05. There were still big guns on the course – Remco Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna. Evenepoel, fresh (if that’s the right word!) off winning the Vuelta Ciclista a España, looked good at the first check but his recent exploits in Spain seemed to take their toll as he finished in third in 40:11mins.

As for Ganna, to the surprise of all, he struggled to the second check and was nearly 40 secs behind Kung. He finally finished in seventh in 40:57.

Foss, emotional at the finish, couldn’t quite believe what had happened. “This is a dream; it’s unreal,” the Norwegian said. “I got the signal early that my legs were really good and coming from [racing in] Canada, I felt good. The course suited me. It was technical and you had to push through the corners. I went harder on the steeper gradients and could breathe on the downhill, fastest parts. This is unbelievable. If I was in the top 10 today, I would have been satisfied. To wear that jersey will be special. I will try to honour the rainbow jersey.”