Watch: The most dramatic 85 seconds of the 2021 men’s time trial world championship
Wout van Aert and Filippo Ganna finish off the race
Photo by:
Flobikes
The 100th edition of the road cycling world championships kicked off on Sep. 19 with the 43.3km elite men’s individual time trial.
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The time trial kept viewers on their toes into the final 85 seconds, as Wout van Aert (Belgium) waited for 2020 time trial champion Filippo Ganna (Italy) to cross the line.
Van Aert was second at the Olympic road race this summer and second in the 2020 worlds time trial. The home crowd was rooting for a win, but at the last minute Ganna snuck in with a five-second advantage over the Belgian rider.
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“I don’t feel very happy … I rode a good time trial,” Van Aert told VeloNews, “But this is too much silver. I have nothing to blame myself for. I was beaten by Ganna, who is a super good time trialist. He’s more of a specialist than I am. So rationally I should be happy with the silver, but it still feels different.”
Flanders 2021 continues on Monday with the U23 men and elite women competing on a 33.3-km course. Canadians Francis Juneau and Raphael Parisella will compete in the U23 men’s race and Karol-Ann Canuel and Leah Kirchmann will take on the Elite women’s event.
Flanders 2021 Elite Men’s Time Trial
Gold: Filippo Ganna (Italy) 47:48
Silver: Wout Van Aert (Belgium) +0:06
Bronze: Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) +0:44
20) Hugo Houle (Canada) +3:03
