The road races of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships on Thursday, put the spotlight on Junior talent. Italy’s Lorenzo Finn took the rainbow jersey in the Men Junior road race after Great Britain’s Cat Ferguson had shown her class in the Women Junior event.
Italy is used to success in the Men Junior road race - Finn’s victory is his country’s 12th, by far the highest nation tally - but Italy hadn’t claimed the rainbow jersey since Diego Ulissi’s win in 2007. Team GB lead the way in the women’s event, Ferguson granting them a 7th Women Junior victory, just two years after Zoe Bäckstedt’s title in Wollongong (Australia).
Defending Men Junior UCI World Champion Albert Philipsen and his Danish teammates set a strong pace ahead of the three laps of the final city circuit (26.9km). Relentless attacks ensued on the hills around Zurich, with many riders dropping off the back and Finn going at the front with 60km remaining.
Philipsen bridged the gap 35km from the finish, with Spain’s Héctor Álvarez Martínez and Great Britain’s Sebastian Grindley on his wheel. After more attacks and changes of position, Finn went on to solo his way to the finish, claiming gold after 127.2km ahead of Grindley (+2’05’’) and the Netherlands’ Senna Remijn (+3’06’’).
The Women Junior road race (73.6km) opened up early as well, with moves ahead of the final 26.9km lap around Zurich. Cat Ferguson (GBR), Viktória Chladoňová (SVK) and Paula Ostiz Taco (ESP) dropped their rivals on Witikon climb to battle for the title into the last 20 kilometres.
Chladoňová - who already claimed three UCI Worlds medals this year, including gold last month in mountain bike cross-country Olympic - tried to get away, but Ferguson eventually sprinted to her second victory this week. Ostiz came 2nd and Chladoňová rounded out the podium.
The young British rider is the 6th Woman Junior rider to win the ITT and the road race, a month after she won two gold medals at the UCI Junior Track World Championships. The multidisciplinary talent, was silver medallist last year in the road race, and also has three UCI World Championships medals in cyclo-cross!