Wollongong 2022 road world championships results recap

The week of Wollongong 2022, the UCI Road World Championships in New South Wales, Australia, was a wild and wooly one. There was rain and sun, magpie and van der Poel attacks, and, most importantly, two-wheel brilliance and glory. Belgium earned six medals, and Great Britian and Germany both took five, the Brits with three golds. Here’s a rundown of the races.

Elite Women Time Trial
Gold) Ellen van Dijk (The Netherlands) 44:29
Silver) Grace Brown (Australia) +0:12
Bronze) Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) +0:41
17) Leah Kirchmann (Canada) +3:04
27) Alison Jackson (Canada) +5:01

A fine swan song for Kirchmann. Her 17th was Canada’s second best result at Wollongong.

U23 Women Time Trial
Gold) Vitorria Guazzini (Italy) 45:20
Silver) Shirin van Anrooij (The Netherlands) +1:49
Bronze) Ricarda Bauernfeind (Germany) +2:19

Elite Men Time Trial
Gold) Tobias Foss (Norway) 40:02
Silver) Stefan Küng (Switzerland) +0:03
Bronze) Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) +0:09
19) Derek Gee (Canada) +1:59
26) Matteo Dal-Cin (Canada) +2:22

This was the biggest surprise of the Worlds. Everyone knew that Foss is quality, but his gold shocked everyone.

U23 Men Time Trial
Gold) Søren Wærenskjold (Norway) 34:14
Silver) Alec Segaert (Belgium) +0:17
Bronze) Leo Hayter (Great Britain) +0:25
19) Tristan Jussaume (Canada) +2:10
29) Carson Miles (Canada) +3:06

Junior women time trial
Gold) Zoe Bäckstedt (Great Britain) 18:26
Silver) Justyna Czapla (Germany) +1:36
Bronze) Febe Jooris (Belgium) +1:48
22) Pénélope Primeau (Canada) +2:50
28) Eloise Camire (Canada) +3:24

Junior men time trial
Gold) Joshua Tarling (Great Britain) 34:59
Silver) Hamish Mackenzie (Australia) +0:19
Bronze) Emil Herzog (Germany) +0:33
28) Felix Hamel (Canada) +3:00
30) Campbell Parrish (Canada) +3:05

Mixed relay
Gold) Switzerland 33:47
Silver) Italy +0:03
Bronze) Australia +0:38
Junior Men Road Race
Gold) Emil Herzog (Germany) 3:11:07
Silver) António Morgado (Portugal) s.t.
Bronze) Vlad Van Mechelen (Belgium) +0:55
30) Jerome Gauthier (Canada) +11:50
51) Michael Leonard (Canada) s.t.
53) Felix Hamel (Canada) s.t.

U23 Men Road Race
Gold) Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kazakhstan) 3:11:07
Silver) Mathias Vacek (Czech Republic) +0:01
Bronze) Søren Wærenskjold (Norway) +0:03
50) Nicolas Rivard (Canada) +5:43
63) Carson Miles (Canada) +9:39

Junior Women Road Race
Gold) Zoe Bäckstedt (Great Britain) 1:47:05
Silver) Eglantine Rayer (France) +2:07
Bronze) Nienke Vinke (The Netherlands) s.t.
41) Eloise Camire (Canada) +6:22
45) Anabelle Thomas (Canada) s.t.

Two of Great Britain’s three golds were Bäckstedt’s. She dominated both the Junior time trial and road race. Having just turned 18, she’s cycling’s future.

Elite Women Road Race
Gold) Annemiek van Vleuten (The Netherlands) 4:24:25
Silver) Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) +0:01
Bronze) Silvia Persico (Italy) s.t.
18) Alison Jackson (Canada) +0:13
37) Olivia Baril (Canada) +4:57
46) Leah Kirchmann (Canada) +7:37

How van Vleuten cut through the field to win her second rainbow jersey was sheer class. The best road cyclist of 2022.

U23 Women Road Race
Gold) Niamh Fisher-Black (New Zealand) 4:24:26
Silver) Pfeiffer Georgi (Great Britain) +0:12
Bronze) Ricarda Bauernfeind (Germany) s.t.
4) Simone Boilard (Canada) s.t.

Boilard’s fourth was Canada’s high mark.

Elite Men Road Race
Gold) Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) 6:16:08
Silver) Christophe Laporte (France) +2:21
Bronze) Michael Matthews (Australia) s.t.
36) Nickolas Zukowsky (Canada) +3:01

What a year: Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour since the late 1970s and sublime mastery in the final 60 km of Sunday’s race.