Bergen 2017 UCI Road World Championships preview

Sunday is the first day in a week of competition at the UCI Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway. In the cycling world there’s a lot of anticipation of these championships after the flat, featureless and poorly attended edition in Doha, Qatar last year.

Bergen is a hilly place and Salmon Hill features prominently in the road races. All the road races take in 19.1-km circuits with the 1.5-km, 6.4% Salmon Hill peaking just before the mid-point of each lap.

Sunday, September 17
Men’s and women’s team time trials 42.5-km
Reigning champions: Quick Step and Boels-Dolmans
Canadian Svein Tuft took a bronze medal with his Orica-Scott trade team squad last season in Doha and he’s back in Bergen for this real test of team chrono abilities. The course is rolling at first, then flattens out before a proper climb that starts with 12-km remaining. This 1.5-km clamber is 12% near the top. Karol-Ann Canuel won gold with Boels-Dolmans last season and Joelle Numainville earned bronze with Cervelo-Bigla.

Monday, September 18
Junior women TT 16.1-km
Reigning champion: Karlijn Swinkels (The Netherlands)
Canadians: Erin Attwell (Victoria, B.C) 27th last year, Laurie Jussaume (Contrecour, QC) 25th last year
All the individual time trails utilize the Bergen road race circuit.

U23 men TT 37-km
Reigning champion: Marco Mathis (Germany)
Canadians: Jack Burke (Squamish, B.C.), Alec Cowan (Calgary, AB) 12th last year

Tuesday, September 19
Junior men TT 21-km
Reigning champion: Brandon McNulty (USA)
Canadians: Charles-Etienne Chretien (Amos, QC), Graydon Staples (Orillia, ON)

Elite women TT 21-km
Reigning champion: Amber Neben (USA)
Canadians: Karol-Ann Canuel (Gatineau, QC) 19th last year, Leah Kirchmann (Winnipeg, MB)
Can Amber Neben repeat or will her compatriot Chloé Dygert, double rainbow jersey winner in Richmond in 2015, jump up a category to triumph? Dutch women Ellen van Dijk and WorldTour champion Anna van der Breggen shouldn’t be discounted.

Wednesday, September 20
Elite men TT 31-km
Reigning champion: Tony Martin (Germany)
Canadians: Rob Britton (Regina, SK), Hugo Houle (Sainte-Perpetue, QC)
This is going to be a very special chrono, as it ends on Mount Fløyen, a 3.4-km 9% climb. This instantly puts Chris Froome on the inside track. Other contenders with be Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and Australian Rohan Dennis.

The profile of the 2017 Worlds ITT in Bergen. Looks like there will be a 'pit stop' before the climb. pic.twitter.com/gx7hyt0kcs

— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) September 1, 2016

Friday, September 22
Junior women RR 76-km, 4-laps
Reigning champion: Elisa Basalmo (Italy)
Canadians: Erin Attwell, Simone Boilard (Quebec City, QC), Maggie Coles-Lyster (Maple Ridge, B.C.), Laurie Jussaume
A quartet of Canadians will be among those to first assail the road course. All the contenders will have to keep their eye on Maggie Coles-Lyster.

U23 men RR 191-km, 10-laps
Reigning champion: Kristoffer Halvorsen (Norway)
Canadians: Jack Burke, Pier-Andre Cote (St-Henri de Levis, QC), Alec Cowan, Marc-Antoine Soucy (Amos, QC). Nickolas Zukowsky (Ste Agathe, QC)

Saturday September 23
Junior men RR 136-km, 5-laps + 40-km.
Reigning champion: Jakob Egholm (Denmark)
Canadians: Charles-Etienne Chretien (Amos, QC), Michael Foley (Milton, ON), Kurt Penno (Brandon, MB), Graydon Staples (Orillia, ON)
This road race is the first of the week to include the 40-km journey from the a start line in Rong. The men’s elite race will also start in Rong.

Elite women RR 153-km, 8-laps
Reigning champion: Amelie Diderikson (Denmark)
Canadians: Lex Albrecht (Montreal, QC), Sara Bergen (Coquitlam, B.C.) 91st last year, Karol-Ann Canuel 71st last year, Alison Jackson (Vermilion, AB) 23rd last year, Leah Kirchmann 14th last year, Kirsti Lay (Montreal, QC)
The Dutch squad looks to prevent Diderikson from repeating as world champ, but they’ll be wary of pocket dynamo Coryn Rivera (USA). Italian Giorgia Bronzini and exciting Pole Katarzyna Niewiadoma will be in the mix.

Sunday September 24
Elite men RR 277-km, 12-laps + 40-km
Reigning champion: Peter Sagan (Slovakia)
Canadians: Hugo Houle, Antoine Duchesne (Saguenay, QC), Guillaume Boivin (Montreal, QC)
The course is a perfect one on which Sagan can get the hat trick. No one has ever won three Worlds titles in a row and the last rider to get a hat trick was Spaniard Oscar Friere from 1999-2004. Spring aces like Greg van Avermaet (The Netherlands), Philippe Gilbert (Belgium) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) will be a threat to Sagan’s ambitions. Home favouritea Alexander Kristoff and Edvald Boasson Hagen are hoping to get a famous win.