World Championship time-trials: 8 Global Riders to Watch
Riders from the elite, under-23 and junior categories at the most diverse championships in history
One year out from the landmark first UCI Road World Championships in Africa, the Zurich Championships in 2024 will be a festival of global cycling. The world’s elite will come up against hungry riders from around the world, desperate to prove themselves and make a step in their careers.
It’s the most diverse Championships ever, with nations represented as varied as India, Guinea, Qatar, Guam, Comoros and Tanzania among others. It’s a chance for the UCI to prove that their diversity strategy is working, as well as to inspire millions of potential new cyclists and fans in all corners of the globe.
Zurich 2024 will kick off with the time-trials. It’s a discipline which I think really demonstrates cycling’s elitism. It’s all about the aerodynamics, the kit and the tech. While Remco Evenepoel will be on a setup which costs six-figures, others will wear a baggy jersey while giving their all on a road bike.
There are several riders from around the world who will look to impress over the next few days. We will look at the road races next week, but first, here are eight global riders to watch at the Zurich World Championship time-trials.
Yulduz Hashimi
Afghanistan, Elite Women
Her younger sister, Fariba, may be taking all the headlines at the moment after becoming the first Afghan ever to win a UCI race, but Yulduz Hashimi also deserves credit for her performances this season.
Yulduz, who rides for the UCI’s World Cycling Centre team alongside Fariba, put in a surprising ride at the Olympic Games in the time-trial. She was 26th in Paris, ahead of WorldTour talent such as Tokyo Olympic road race gold medallist Anna Kiesenhofer and Finnish wonderkid Anniina Ahtosalo. She then went on to join sister Fariba on the attack in the road race, although Fariba was a true bright light in that one.
A top-30 is a realistic goal for Hashimi, who fled Afghanistan with her sister when the Taliban took power. This year must be something of a dream come true for both women. A strong performance in her second World Championships would put the cherry on top of the cake for Yulduz.
Kaden Hopkins
Bermuda, Elite Men
I first spoke to Bermudian Kaden Hopkins before the World Championships in 2022, shortly after he had scored his best result ever at the Commonwealth Games with 11th in the time-trial. Shortly after, he went on to place an impressive 13th in the under-23 time trial in Wollongong.
Read more: Kaden Hopkins: A Bermudian trying to make it in Europe
Since then, Hopkins has been racing for Vendée U, a top French elite team and feeder squad to Total Energies. It’s been an up-and-down couple of years, with illnesses and injuries stalling progress at times. He has had several highlights, including four stage wins over two editions of the Tour de la Guadeloupe, third place at the Pan-America TT and a couple of other wins on the national French circuit.
Hopkins is an excellent time-triallist - they pride themselves on it in Bermuda. The form is good, and Hopkins will be hoping that a big result will net him the big move he’s been working so hard for since moving to Europe. A top-30 would be a solid result, if he has diamond legs on the day, he could do more.
Rotem Gafinovitz
Israel, Elite Women
This 32-year-old is a rider who has plugged away over several seasons in the pro peloton without much recognition, but she has had several solid results this season.
Gafinovitz is a five-time national TT champion who has raced in UCI teams since 2017, including stints with Canyon//SRAM and Roland. She has ridden for the past two seasons for the British Hess Cycling Team.
18th at the recent European Continental Championship time-trial and 14th earlier in the season at the long-standing Omloop van Borsele ITT show that the TT form is there. If Gafinovitz has the shape she could be on for a top-20, which would be her best result at a World Championships to date.
Mohammad Al Mutaiwei
UAE, Under-23 Men
This 20-year-old is one of two of UAE Team Emirates’ big prospects from the UAE, the first real talents to come out of the Middle Eastern nation that backs the best team in the world.
Al Mutaiwei has lived slightly in the shadow of team-mate Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali this year. Al-Ali, who will compete in the under-23 road race, has had much more access to European racing and is quickly on the rise. Al Mutaiwei meanwhile has spent most of the season competing in Asia.
He gained valuable experience in the early season at the Muscat Classic and Tour of Oman, but his best results have come most recently. At the Tour of Salalah, also in Oman, Al Mutaiwei was 8th overall with two top-10 stage placings. He is also the under-23 national champion of the UAE and went well at the Asian continental championships with 4th in the TT and 2nd in the road race.
It’s a second Worlds for Al Mutaiwei, after 38th in the under-23 time-trial in 2022. I’d expect a vast improvement this time around, a top-15 if all goes perfectly.
Harshita Jakhar
India, Junior Women
Not much is known about Harshita Jakhar and the rest of the Indian contingent at this year’s World Championships, but their inclusion deserves a mention as it gives evidence to the recent momentum of cycling’s development in the world’s most populous nation.
A few years ago, the UCI set up one of their World Cycling Centre satellites in India and the fruits are beginning to show signs of bearing. Harshita Jakhar is a first year junior who impressed at this year’s Asian continental championships with third in the TT and fourth in the road race. Impressive results for a rider racing internationally for the first time. Who knows what she’ll be able to produce in Zurich, but it’s certainly an interesting story to keep an eye on.
Alongside Jakhar, India have Bhumika Bhumika, also a first year junior woman. She was sixth at the Asian continental championships road race.
Dillon Geary
South Africa, Under-23 Men
As reported previously on Global Peloton, all South Africans competing at major championships have to self-fund their way there. Very little investment comes from SA Cycling, who suffer from chronic underfunding. To get to Zurich, American-based Geary had to set up a Go Fund Me.
The 22-year-old studies in the USA and recently won multiple national collegiate championships on the road and track. This season, he also rode his highest-level event to date at the Tour du Rwanda, where he was regularly on the attack and placed third in the mountains classification.
He then went on to finish runner-up in both the road race and time-trial at the African Games, missing out on gold in the TT by fractions of a second. He spent the rest of the season mixing studies with racing, including an 8th place at the Redlands Classic, one of the biggest events on the US calendar.
Geary was 48th at last year’s Worlds in the under-23 category. I’d expect a significant improvement on that this time.
Read more: 'I'm worried, something needs to be done' - Ryan Gibbons on the state of South African road cycling
Teniel Campbell
Trinidad & Tobago, Elite Women
Teniel Campbell is a real pioneer in the sport of cycling. Currently, she’s the only black rider in the Women’s WorldTour and one of only a few from the Caribbean.
She’s in her fourth year with Liv-AlUla-Jayco and it’s been a solid one. Campbell plays mostly a team-mate role on the Australian squad. Her best individual result this year was ninth at the Argenta Classic - 2 Districtenpijl, alongside doubling up at the Trinidad & Tobago national championships.
There are a few lumps in the first half of the TT course which could hinder Campbell a bit, but the second half should suit her well. She was 21st at last year’s Worlds. A top-20 should be target this year.
En Teng Zhang
Taiwan, Junior Men
Taiwan is home to a couple of big cycling companies which has led to the (some might say premature) promotion of several Taiwanese riders over the last few years. In En Teng Zhang, they might just have a bonafide talent.
We will find out much more about him in the next week, but we do know that he dominated the junior men’s time-trial at this year’s Asian Continental Championships. He’s also an accomplished track racer having competed in the recent junior Worlds.
He’s one to keep an eye on this week.
Who are you following closely in the time-trials at the World Championships?
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Heard about this newsletter when Tilda Price mentioned it on Wheel Talk and it’s exactly the coverage I’ve been looking for! Thanks for this great roundup.
As a fellow Caribbean cyclist, seeing Teniel and Kaden being highlighted was super cool☺️