Rainbow jerseys: Gal and Wilson-Haffenden claim U23 World Championship titles in the time trial

In the U23 individual time trials at the Road World Championships in Montreal, the gold medals went to Ryan Gal of the Netherlands and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden of Australia. Both prevailed against strong competition on challenging courses and secured the coveted rainbow jersey.

How the U23 time trials went

In the men’s 31.3-kilometre race A close battle for victory ensued. Gal clocked the fastest time at an average speed of over 50 km/h, relegating the Italian Nicolas Milesi to second place by a margin of just 7.01 seconds – a real surprise. The bronze went to the Spaniard Héctor Álvarez, who finished 11.88 seconds behind the winner.

Wilson-Haffenden dominated the women’s competition particularly the second half of the 20.3-kilometre time trial. Having been almost level with Nienke Vinke at the first timing point, the Australian pulled away decisively as the race progressed and won by a margin of 28.47 seconds. Belgian rider Luca Vierstraete completed the podium in third place.

The German placings

​Although there was no top result in the time trial from a German perspective, the two riders in the men’s U23 race still put in a solid performance. Bruno Kessler finished 13th, missing out on the top ten by just under half a minute. Louis Leidert came 15th, rounding off a respectable result for the German team.

In the women’s race, Justyna Czapla – a German skier – was also among the wider group of favourites, but she failed to secure a place on the podium on the 20.3-kilometre course. Finishing tenth, 1 minute and 11 seconds behind, she was clearly beaten. Magdalena Leis finished the race in 23rd place.

Panels

U23 Women’s Time Trial

1. Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Australia)
2. Nienke Vinke (Netherlands) +28.47 sec.
3. Luca Vierstraete (Belgium) +45.07 sec.

U23 Men’s Time Trial

1. Ryan Gal (Netherlands)
2. Nicolas Milesi (Italy) +7.01 sec.
3. Héctor Álvarez Martínez (Spain) +11.88 sec.