2025 Women's World Championship Individual Time Trial: The favourites in the TOUR-Check
Leon Weidner
· 20.09.2025
The women's individual time trial will take place tomorrow, 21 September. The course is 31.2 kilometres long with 460 metres of climbing. The Road Cycling World Championships will be held on the African continent for the first time in 2025.
Women's World Championship individual time trial: The most important facts in brief
- Date: Sunday 21.9.
- Time: 10:10 - 12:55
- Length: 31.2 kilometres
- Altitude metres: 460
- TV broadcast: Eurosport 2
- Live stream: Discovery Plus
The TOUR favourites by stars
***** Marlen Reusser
**** Demi Vollering, Chloe Dygert
*** Antonia Niedermaier, Anna van der Breggen
** Juliette Labous, Cédrine Kerbaol
* Anna Henderson, Brodie Chapman, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Monica Trinca Colonel, Urška Žigart, Anna Kiesenhofer
* The more stars a driver receives, the higher her chances are rated
The favourites in the TOUR-Check
***** Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team)
Switzerland's Marlen Reusser is the top favourite in this year's women's individual time trial. Reusser has already finished second twice in the world championship individual time trial, but has never been able to take the rainbow jersey. This year it could finally work out, even though a challenging course with 460 metres of elevation gain awaits the riders. Reusser won both the individual time trial at the Tour of Burgos and the Giro d'Italia in dominant fashion, showing once again that she is the fastest in the battle against the clock. At the Tour of France, the Swiss rider had to abandon after the first stage due to illness and has since been able to prepare for the World Championships in peace. The length of the time trial should also suit the specialist, who is now also competing for the overall classification of tours. This length definitely makes the race one for the best in the discipline.
**** Demi Vollering (FDJ - Suez)
Demi Vollering has not yet completed a single individual time trial this year. The Dutchwoman only rode the team time trial at the Tour of Spain on a time trial bike. However, as an overall class rider, Vollering also masters the time trial like no other. Last season, she demonstrated her qualities on the third stage of the Tour de France and won the short time trial. However, Vollering has never been able to win the world title either, having to settle for second place behind Grace Brown last year. After the Tour of France, the Dutchwoman also had plenty of time to prepare meticulously for the World Championships. Only Marlen Reusser or Chloe Dygert are likely to keep her from triumphing.
**** Chloé Dygert (Canyon//Sram zondacrypto)
Unlike Reusser and Vollering, Chloé Dygert has already worn the rainbow jersey twice. In 2019 and 2023, the US American won the women's individual time trial world championship title. Like Vollering, however, Dygert has not yet competed in an individual time trial this season. Last year, she finished third in the individual time trial in Zurich, where she was only beaten by Brown and Vollering. The course is quite comparable, with only slight differences in length and altitude metres. Dygert is therefore a hot contender for the title again this year.
*** Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//Sram zondaycrypto)
At the age of 22, Antonia Niedermaier is already one of the favourites for the world championship title in the individual time trial. As the reigning German champion in this discipline, she is travelling to the World Championships with a lot of tailwind and could land a real coup there. Niedermaier finished a strong fourth place on the comparable course last year, although she is still classified in the U23 category at the same time. In the only time trial this season, however, the young rider from the German racing team fell short of expectations. In the opening stage of the Tour of Italy, she finished 14th in the individual time trial, which is not the ambitious rider's standard.
*** Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx - Protime)
Anna van der Breggen made a big comeback this year after ending her career in 2021. The three-year break doesn't seem to have done the Dutchwoman any harm, quite the opposite - she is already competing for the top places again. In her only individual time trial at the Giro d'Italia opener, van der Breggen finished fourth and showed flashes of her class from the past. After all, she already has one title to her name in this discipline from 2020 and a further three silver medals from the 2017-2019 World Championships. However, it would be a bit of a surprise if the 35-year-old were to win the title this year.
** Juliette Labous (FDJ - Suez)
Juliette Labous has already competed in several time trials this season. The Frenchwoman took a good second and third place in the individual time trials of the Tour of Burgos and the Tour of Romandie. Only in the time trial of the Tour of Italy was Labous unable to show what makes her so strong on the time trial bike. However, she should not be underestimated, as she should also benefit from the metres in altitude on the course in Rwanda.
** Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly)
The young Frenchwoman is the only one of the favourites for the World Championships time trial title to ride for a second-tier team. Like the top favourites, Kerbaol has not yet ridden an individual time trial this season, but like most riders has had plenty of time to prepare extensively for the World Championships. Kerbaol already showed that the discipline suits her last year with strong results in various individual time trials.
* The outsiders
In addition to the favourites already mentioned, there are other riders who have a small chance of winning the title, or at least achieving a good result. These include Anna Henderson (Lidl - Trek), who set the best time in the team time trial at the Vuelta with her team-mates, the current Australian champion Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ), the 2024 Tour winnerKatarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram zondacrypto), Urška Žigart (AG Insurance - Soudal Team), who finished second in the individual time trial at the Tour of Romandie, and Anna Kiesenhofer, the five-time Austrian individual time trial champion.
Leon Weidner
Working student
