World Championship silver in the mixed time trial
German team misses gold sensation by 0.85 seconds
September 25, 2024, 6:30 p.m
Outstanding conclusion to the time trial competitions: The German mixed team won the silver medal at the world championships. Not even a second is missing from the gold coup. The men lay the foundation for success with a really strong time trial.
Maximilian Schachmann couldn’t believe his eyes. “When I saw a zero at the front, I thought, that can’t be true,” said the new vice world champion in the mixed team time trial. But it was true. The German sextet missed out on the big gold coup at the World Cup in Zurich by just 0.85 seconds or not even two meters; instead, the favorite Australia celebrated.
“It’s actually crazy when you think about two teams racing against each other for 53 kilometers and in the end it’s just a wink,” said Schachmann. The Berliner, together with Miguel Heidemann and Marco Brenner, laid the foundation for the unexpected success, which even distanced European champions Italy to third place.
Led by an incredibly strong Antonia Niedermaier, the women’s trio with Liane Lippert and Franziska Koch completed the silver trip at Zurich’s Sechseläutenplatz. “In the end we got everything out of it, but of course the 0.8 seconds are annoying. But we don’t have to blame ourselves,” said Niedermaier. The 21-year-old drove from the front for almost the entire race. Koch had to pull away early, and Lippert also had problems with the rear wheel.
Second medal for Niedermaier
The men’s trio was just ahead at the first split, but the favored Italians and Australians passed on the flatter section. The women took to the track 21 seconds behind Australia and 14 seconds behind Italy.
Although Koch had to let it go, the gap to first place was almost made up at the first intermediate time. Niedermaier had missed out on a medal in the individual time trial by just nine seconds – that shouldn’t happen to her again. “I would have liked to have helped Antonia a lot more, but it just wasn’t possible,” said Lippert. So Niedermaier simply sorted it out herself – and after the U23 gold in the time trial, she has her second precious metal in the title fights.
Identical lap to the road race
The team time trial was already a foretaste of the road races starting on Thursday, as it took place on an identical lap. While juniors and U23 determine their world champions on Thursday and Friday, the women start their race over 154.1 kilometers on Saturday. In the end, the circuit around Zurich has to be completed four times.
The men’s race on Sunday, starting in Winterthur, ends seven times over the demanding course with two consecutive climbs. Over the 273.9 kilometers, 4,500 meters of altitude must be overcome. The favorites are Tour winner Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia, Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel from Belgium and the Dutch defending champion Mathieu van der Poel.
