Just as it did in 2015, the Men’s Junior Road Race got underway in Richmond. This one was in Yorkshire though, not Virginia. A slightly different climate! The Americans took the race by the scruff of the neck from the beginning and chaperoned Quinn Simmons for much of the race. The Colorado rider then opened by a gap with 2km and never looked back. Fellow American Magus Sheffield finished third to make it a very successful day for the Americans.
After a couple of wet days, it dried up a little for the men’s time trial and it was the Australian Rohan Dennis who conquered all back if back-to-back world title wins. Home favourite and TT specialist Alex Dowsett rode well to finish 5th in a tough field to give the Yorkshire crowd something to cheer.
Another busy day on day three saw some big performances from the men’s U23 riders and a minor shock in the Elite Women’s TT. Dane Mikkel Berg powered to victory in the U23 TT, 26 seconds faster than his nearest rival – a sign of things to come from the Danish? The surprise came from American 22-year old Chloe Dygert who finished almost two minutes up on favourite Annemiek van Vleuten. The best would be yet to come for the Dutch rider…
Day Two was Time Trial day for the juniors where 114 riders from 66 nations took part. There was a good showing for the home riders where Elynor Backstedt finished third in the women’s race and Leo Hayter and Oscar Nillson-Julien bagged top 10 results for the UK. It was however the Russian rider Aigul Gareeva who finished on top for the women and Italian rider Antonio Tiberi for the men.
Going way back to the start however on Saturday 21st September, where in stunning Yorkshire sun, the world’s para-cycling stars got us off to an incredible le start. With too many highlights to describe in detail, Dame Sarah Storey stormed to victory in the C5 class and even described the experience as “the biggest para crowd I’ve raced in front of since London 2012 and I heard so many cheers and people shouting my name – it was amazing.”
A remarkable week in Yorkshire for so many reasons and a World Championships that will long live in the memory.