Day four of the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, saw 20 time trial gold medals awarded. The home crowd had much to celebrate with two golds on a memorable day.
Celine van Till rode a masterful race to win the Women’s T2 time trial and retain the title she claimed in Glasgow, Scotland (Great Britain) last year. In a competitive field, the 33-year-old from Geneva won the 11.3km event in 18’34”30. Denmark’s Emma Lund took silver with Germany’s Angelika Dreock-Käser claiming bronze.
“I’m very happy to defend my world title in front of the home fans,” Van Till said. “My family and friends were here, and I’m happy to share this with them. I didn’t feel the pressure. I just wanted to race as well as possible.”
On her race tactics: “I knew the rider who would push the most watts would win as the course isn’t too technical, so I concentrated on going as fast as possible. There was a head wind in the first half, so I knew I could make a difference there. I heard the radio with 5km to go and they said ‘it’s now or never. Suffer and push as hard as possible’. Winning a home Championships is very special.”
Van Till’s victory comes not long after winning silver medals in both the Paralympics T1-2 time trial and T1-2 road race. It’s another amazing chapter in her sporting story, following her previous experiences in dressage and, after a serious riding accident, para-athletics.
There was further glory for the host nation in the Women’s C2 individual time trial as Switzerland’s Flurina Rigling rode to the first UCI world time trial title of her glittering career. Rigling, who recently turned 28, stormed to gold over the 18.8km course in 26’45”60. Great Britain’s Daphne Schrager won silver, 23 seconds down, with her countrywoman Amelia Cass taking the bronze.
“I have a lot of emotions in winning my first world time trial title,” Rigling said at the finish line. “Winning at home made it really special after such a long season where I’ve raced all over the world. I’ve just come back from Paris where I missed the [time-trial] podium by just three-tenths of a second.”
Asked on the major challenge of racing so soon after Paris, where Rigling won silver in the Women’s C1-3 road race and bronze in the Women’s C1-3 individual pursuit, she said: “It was difficult to know where my limits were and I didn’t know my form after Paris. It was tough to know if I could push until the end.”
This is Rigling’s seventh medal at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships and second gold after she won the road race in Glasgow last year.
Elsewhere, Spain’s Ricardo Ten Argiles won the fourth time trial rainbow jersey of his career in the Men’s C1 category. The 49-year-old, who claimed gold in this specialty in Paris, finished in 25’25”48, just over 16 seconds ahead of Poland’s Zbigniew Maciejewski. The Netherlands’ Andre Wijnhoud won bronze.
“It’s awesome to win gold,” Ten Argiles said. “It’s been hard to focus after the Paralympic Games, but I did my best. It’s been great to share the UCI World Championships with able-bodied athletes. Hopefully we’re showing the world how strong we are.”
A special mention must go to the indefatigable Austrian Thomas Frühwirth, who won the Men’s H4 individual time trial, beating home athlete Fabian Recher by nearly a minute.
“For me the real pleasure is to be out there,” a delighted Frühwirth said. “I really love racing. It’s a great feeling. I think I have 10 UCI World Championship medals but this is my first gold.”
That concludes the time trial racing at the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships. Tomorrow sees the start of the para-cycling road races.
Para-cycling sport classes
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Tandem: for visually impaired athletes with sighted pilot
H – Handcycle
Groups C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) are divided into different sport classes, with the lower the number indicating a higher level of impairment.