Team time trial mixed relay: Switzerland retains rainbow jersey on Glasgow’s roads

Glasgow hosted the spectacular team time trial mixed relay this afternoon. In the first road time trial event of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, Switzerland got the better of France and Germany to retain the title.

Before heading to Stirling to compete for the rainbow jerseys in the individual time trials, the best riders had a rendezvous on the roads of Glasgow for the team time trial mixed relay. After their victory last year, the Swiss team once again imposed their collective power. France secured a first podium in the specialty, and Germany surprised everyone by taking the bronze medal. Among the favourites, Italy, the Netherlands and Australia were unlucky.

Eighteen nations participated in this 4th edition of the team time trial mixed relay, with three men and three women taking turns to complete a distance of 20.15km. The men opened the race with a first lap to cover before handing over to their female teammates after crossing the finish line. The times were taken on the second rider at the first intermediate time (once the men had completed the first lap) and on the second woman at the finish.

Afghan refugees in the light of Glasgow

Afghanistan had the honour of opening the battle in this mixed event. On the course, the Uzbek selection overtook the guest nation to be the first team to occupy the hot seat - with a time of 59:42.10 – where they stayed until dislodged by Kazakhstan, the first team to start in the second wave.

The more traditionally recognised nations then began their efforts. Spain put a significant dent in the reference time set by the Kazakhs - more than a minute (58:16.13). It was still not enough to resist Poland (57:03.13) and then the USA sextet of Neilson Powless, William Barta, Lawson Craddock, Megan Jastrab, Coryn Labecki and Skylar Schneider (56:02.05).

France closes in

At the handover, the Frenchmen (Rémi Cavagna, Bruno Armirail and Bryan Coquard) showed their strength with a 20” lead over the American time. Juliette Labous, Cédrine Kerbaol and Audrey Cordon-Ragot finished the job to take the lead with a 1'38” gap (54:43.28).

At home, the British squad, with the very recent UCI World Champion in the track elimination race, Ethan Vernon, could not compete with the French. Team GB (Vernon, Josh Charlton, Dan Bigham, Elynor Backstedt, Pfeiffer Georgi, Anna Schackley) finished with a time of 55:19.62, outside of the podium.

Spokes in the wheels of the favourites

The Dutch (Jos van Emden, Tim van Dijke, Daan Hoole, Loes Adegeest, Shirin van Anroij, and Riejanne Markus) couldn’t vie for the podium either after Hoole crashed. The Oranje set a time of 55:59.57, which was beaten by the Germans (Miguel Heidemann, Jannik Steimle, Maximilian Richard Walscheid, Ricarda Bauernfeind, Lisa Klein, and Franziska Koch) who finished in 55:07.51.

There were only three teams left who could dream of the title besides France: Australia, Italy and Switzerland. It didn’t work out for the Australians started, who saw their rainbow ambitions fall away as their National Champion Luke Plapp fell. Their final time was 55:59.57.

After an impressive first split, setting a new best time ahead of the French in the wake of a very strong Alberto Bettiol, the Squadra Azzura also suffered from bad luck. In the women’s relay, Letizia Paternoster was dropped early and Silvia Persico had to swap bikes following a mechanical incident that prevented the Italians from getting on to the podium. The Italian team, which also featured Mattia Cattaneo, Manlio Moro et Alessia Vigilia, finished in 55:33.21.

A tumble and a title for Switzerland

Only Switzerland could now deprive France of a first title in the event. Stefan Küng, Stefan Bissegger and Mauro Schmid started the relay perfectly, crossing the intermediate point with a 23-second lead. The female trio composed of Marlen Reusser, Nicole Koller and Elise Chabbey almost lost everything when Reusser crashed. But the two-time European Champion in the individual time trial quickly got back up to help Switzerland claim victory with a time of 54:16.20.

“We all trusted each other,” said Stefan Küng. “We were ahead and that allowed us to be less nervous. We really wanted this victory”.

The next battle against the clock will follow on Wednesday with the Men Under 23 individual time trial.