Elite road courses at Wollongong, Australia World Championships will be long
Men's route would be the longest since 276 kilometers in 1987
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Sirotti
According to a report in L’Equipe, the elite road courses at the Wollongong, Australia World Championships will be rather long.
The elite women’s and men’s races are slated for September 24 and 25 respectively in New South Wales, Australia, with a start up the coast in Helensburg; ascents of 8.7-km, 5-percent Mount Keira; and a city circuit in Wollongong. According to L’Equipe, the men’s race now sits at 275 km for the men and 174 km for the women.
This would be the longest men’s race since 276 km in Villach, Austria in 1987, when Stephen Roche completed his incredible Triple Crown of wins at the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Worlds. Last season, Julian Alaphilippe took his second consecutive rainbow jersey in Leuven, Belgium, on a route of 268 kilometers. The day before, Elisa Balsamo became the first Italian elite racer to earn the women’s title in eleven years on a 157-km course.
Australia last held the Worlds in 2010 in Geelong, Victoria, with Thor Hushovd and Giorgia Bronzini taking the elite road titles. The men’s race was 259.5 km and the women’s contest 127.2 km.
These Wollongong distances aren’t set in stone; in 2019 the Yorkshire organizers had to trim back an elite men’s course of 285 kilometers to 261 due to weather conditions.
