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Top-13 performances for both Kirchmann and Canuel at World Championships time trial

Van Dijk continues Dutch domination of chrono

Canadians Leah Kirchmann and Karol-Ann Canuel finished within 14 seconds of one another in the Worlds elite women’s time trial on Monday, with both taking places in the top-13. Ellen van Dijk earned her second rainbow jersey in the discipline, her first since 2013. Dutch women have now won five of the last nine elite women’s chronos.

Van Dijk pounded the 33-km course in Flanders on Monday.

You can watch Flanders 2021 at FloBikes.

The second day of competition in Flanders began with the U23 men riding the same 30.3 km from Knokke-Heist to Bruges route as the elite women. Dane Johan Price-Pejtersen prevailed with a time of 34:29 and Ineos’ Australian Luke Plapp was closest at +0:10. Lotto-Soudal’s Florian Vermeersch rounded out the podium, giving Belgium its third medal. The top Canadian was Raphael Parisella in 32nd, while Francis Juneau came 46th.

Forty-eight elite women assailed the course, with two-time champion van Vleuten last to roll. Reigning champ Anna van der Breggen passed on the chrono, so that the road race would be her final competition before retirement. However, 2020 silver and bronze medalists Marlen Reusser and van Dijk, along with 2016 champ Amber Neben, were in the mix.

Karol-Ann Canuel was 14th to start and Leah Kirchmann was ninth from last.

Canuel in the start house.

Van Dijk, recent runner-up at the European Championships’ race against the clock, was going great guns on the course. She passed her minute target, Germany’s Lisa Klein, no slouch in the chrono herself. Van Dijk then bumped her compatriot Riejanne Markus off the hot seat with 36:05.

When Canuel finished, she was second at 38:53, but van Dijk and Klein shuffled her down to fourth.

Kirchmann gets underway in Knokke-Heist.

There were a lot of aces back loaded into the race, who would make it difficult for Canuel to hold her spot. Reusser cracked van Dijk’s best first intermediate time. Van Vleuten had the third fastest time at Check 1.

Kirchmann then clipped her compatriot’s time by 14 seconds. The Canadian duo kept slipping down the top-10 as first Neben and then Reusser came close to van Dijk. Van Vleuten snatched the bronze.

Flanders 2021 continues Tuesday with the Junior men’s and women’s time trials.

UCI Road World Championships, U23 Men Time Trial
1) Johan Price-Pejtersen (Denmark) 34:29
2) Luke Plapp (Australia) +0:10
3) Florian Vermeersch (Belgium) +0:11
32) Raphael Parisella (Canada) +2:00
46) Francis Juneau (Canada) +2:45

2021 UCI Road World Championships, Elite Women Time Trial
1) Ellen van Dijk (The Netherlands) 36:05
2) Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) +0:10
3) Annemiek van Vleuten (The Netherlands) +0:24
11) Leah Kirchmann (Canada) +2:34
13) Karol-Ann Canuel (Canada) +2:48