Australian favourite Wilson-Haffenden wins the U23 time trial at the World Championships

Dutchwoman Vinke was certainly one of the favorites heading into the World Championships time trial, as she is one of the women already competing on the WorldTour. The climber from SD Worx-Protime faced stiff competition from Sydney Swierenga (Canada), Julia Kopecky (Czech Republic), MacKenzie Coupland (Australia), her compatriot Megan Arens, and Wilson-Haffenden.

We also kept an eye on Viktoria Chladonova (Slovakia), Ava Holmgren from Canada, Paula Ostiz from Spain, Tabea Huys (Austria), Justyna Czapla (Germany), Oda Aune Gissinge from Norway, and the Belgians Luca Vierstraete and Febe Jooris on a course that was nearly half the distance covered by the elite women and men on Saturday.

As expected, Swierenga posted the first top time from Canada, but Jooris beat that time fairly early in the time trial. The Belgian, however, saw Vinke dip well below her time—by a whopping 39 seconds. Coupland got off to a somewhat slow start and was already 12 seconds behind at the first checkpoint. That gap had grown to 18 seconds by the finish.

Her compatriot Wilson-Haffenden put more pressure on Vinke. She was just as fast at the first checkpoint, with Chladonova trailing by only 4 seconds. This made for a very exciting finish. After Vierstraete had moved into third place, 14 seconds behind Vinke and Coupland in the standings, all eyes were on the last few women still to finish.

In the second half of the time trial, Wilson-Haffenden proved she had an incredible burst of speed, leaving everyone in the dust. At the second intermediate checkpoint, she was suddenly 25 seconds ahead of Vinke, with Chladonova already trailing by 44 seconds. That trend continued toward the finish line, allowing Wilson-Haffenden to claim the rainbow jersey.

The early signs proved to be accurate. Just a week ago, Wilson-Haffenden had made an impression by finishing second behind Marlen Reusser at the Chrono Féminin de Gatineau in Canada. The Swiss rider claimed the elite women’s time trial title on Saturday, while Wilson-Haffenden has now held the world championship title in the U23 category for a year. In 2023, the Australian also was crowned junior world time trial champion.

1. Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Australia)
2. Nienke Vinke (Netherlands) + 0.28
3. Luca Vierstraete (Belgium) + 0.45
4. Viktoria Chladonova (Slovakia) + 0.45
5. Mackenzie Coupland (Australia) + 0.46