Refresh
Cory Williams (Belize), one half of the Williams brothers behind the L39ION of Los Angeles team, hits the road now.
Pier-Andre Cote of Canada has just taken another 30 seconds off the benchmark at that first checkpoint.
Hungary’s Janos Zsombor Pelikan is now the fastest through the first checkpoint, with 15:22.
Emil Stoynev (Bulgaria) is the first European on the course. He’s 40 seconds down on Kagimu at the first checkpoint.
Kagimu’s time at the first checkpoint is under no threat so far. Wais is 55 seconds slower in second place with Qatar’s Tamim Al-Kuwari and Afghanistan’s Ahmad Mirzaee both more than two minutes down.
We have three intermediate checkpoints on this course, the first coming after 12.5km, which Kagimu has just gone through in a time of 15:30.
I remember speaking to Symonds at the 2021 Worlds in Bruges, and have just dug out the piece, if his story is of interest…
Ghana’s Christopher Symonds is among the early starters and is a familiar figure from previous World Championships. He lives in London and works on the doors of the Houses of Parliament, and is racing here at the age of 50.
Ahmad Badreddin Wais of the Refugee Cycling Team is the second rider off. A few years ago at the Olympics he was one of the riders out in front of a German rider whose coach yelled at him to “catch the camel drivers”. A disgraceful episode, when the diverse start lists are an endearing factor of these international competitions and one to be celebrated.
We’re off!
For an in-depth run through the contenders, check out our preview.
Evenepoel headlines the show, as the 2023 champ and the recently-crowned Olympic champ. Another victory here would enhance the Belgian’s ever-expanding palmares.
Uganda’s Charles Kagimu will be the first rider down the ramp, at 14:52 local time (CET). Most of the gold medal favourites are starting late, last of all being the 2023 champion, Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) at 16:34.
You should be able to see the course map and profile at the top of your screens. It’s a solid distance of 46.1km with a total elevation gain of 413 metres, which means that climb past the half-way mark bites a little more than it may appear on paper. The climb links two lakes, with much of the course hugging shorelines, the final 12km heading back into town along Lake Zurich. There’s some cornering and descending to be done, which, along with the uphill sections and the longer periods on the flat, makes for a well-rounded time trialling test.
Hello and welcome along to Cyclingnews’ live coverage of the elite men’s time trial at the 2024 World Championships in Zurich!
