Another rainbow jersey is to be displayed reasonably than worn. For the fourth yr in succession, the boys’s under-23 time trial on the World Championships was received by a fully-fledged skilled rider, as Movistar’s Iván Romeo powered to victory on the shores of Lake Zurich. Maybe it is little surprise that the UCI is on the cusp of adjusting the class’s eligibility guidelines.
Romeo was preceded as champion by Søren Wærenskjold, Johan Price-Pejtersen and Lorenzo Milesi, who have been already racing at skilled degree on the time of their under-23 world titles. The Spaniard was joined on the rostrum in Zurich by Continental rider Jakob Söderqvist (Sweden, and bronze medallist Jan Christen (Switzerland), one in every of three UAE Team Emirates riders within the discipline along with Isaac del Toro (Mexico) and Antonio Morgado (Portugal).
The pre-race favorite, in the meantime, was Lotto-Dstny’s Alec Segaert (Belgium), who needed to accept fourth in Zurich after profitable the time trial on the Renewi Tour. Other top-level riders in motion on Monday included Darren Rafferty (Ireland), who raced the Vuelta a España with EF Education-EasyPost, and Ineos riders Michael Leonard and AJ August.
After opening the under-23 class to Pro Continental riders in 2005 after which to WorldTour riders in 2017, the UCI is now on the cusp of strolling again these earlier amendments. The DirectVélo web site reported final week that WorldTour and Pro Continental riders might be barred from UCI Road World Championship occasions within the age grouping beginning subsequent yr.
Romeo, inevitably, was requested concerning the rule change as he made his means by way of the combined zone within the rainbow jersey. The Valladolid native has spent two seasons racing at Movistar. Although he has participated in races just like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, he informed reporters that he’s nonetheless basically serving his apprenticeship as a professional rider.
“It’s in fact controversial as a result of it is the under-23 class, however I’m solely 21 myself,” Romeo mentioned. “Maybe it isn’t truthful for the Conti riders and likewise for the newbie riders who journey with us. But if we’re within the WorldTour, it is as a result of we’re the most effective and we’re additionally nonetheless underneath 23. I do not know. I’m good with it. It is what it’s.”
Romeo shrugged off the truth that he might by no means put on his newly earned rainbow bands in competitors, and maybe that time is moot. Most junior world champions transfer up a class earlier than they will put on their rainbow jerseys, in spite of everything, and even the newbie world champions of previous tended to maneuver straight into the paid ranks after claiming their titles.
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“That’s not essential for me now,” Romeo mentioned. “This jersey might be endlessly in my room, I achieved it.”
Romeo, Spain’s first world champion on this occasion since Iván Gutiérrez in 1999, joked concerning the rarity of his nation’s success towards the watch, a minimum of within the post-Induráin period. “In Spain, they all the time go for climbers, it isn’t straightforward for a giant man,” he smiled.
Although Romeo races at WorldTour, he had made the under-23 time trial an overarching goal this season. He arrived in Zurich some ten days earlier than the occasion, renting an residence along with his father and performing repeated coaching rides alongside the parcours.
“We took an residence in Zurich so we might recon the course and see all of the corners repeatedly,” he mentioned. “And in the long run, once I see what occurred, it is unbelievable.”
Amateurs
Silver medallist Jakob Söderqvist (Sweden), who rides for the Lidl-Trek growth squad, would have been a world champion on Monday within the absence of WorldTour riders, however he took a nuanced view of the thorny query of the eligibility guidelines. He was the most effective of the Continental and newbie riders within the discipline, however he additionally confessed to having fun with the possibility to measure himself towards established WorldTour professionals.
“There are many good opinions about it,” Söderqvist mentioned. “There’s the opinion that it needs to be the amateurs’ probability to shine and get a contract, so perhaps it needs to be about who’s the most effective Continental or newbie bike owner.
“But on the identical time, I feel it additionally validates the end result when the professional riders enroll and so they need to race it. For an newbie, it is a good comparability of the way you match up with them. I haven’t got too sturdy an opinion about it myself. I’m completely satisfied to see compete towards them and see how we match up.”
Söderqvist actually matched up strongly towards a rider who has caught the attention at a better degree in his first full season at UAE Team Emirates. Bronze medallist Jan Christen’s 2024 season has included victories on the Giro dell’Appennino, Prueba Villafranca and a stage of the Giro d’Abruzzo, whereas he additionally positioned ninth on the Clásica San Sebastián, the place he helped Marc Hirschi to victory.
“I feel I will be more than pleased with my first professional season. There should not many riders profitable three professional races on the age of 20, so I’m completely satisfied,” mentioned Christen. “I confirmed sufficient this season I’m top-of-the-line under-23 riders, so I haven’t got to show myself anymore.”
Christen will line up among the many favourites for the title in Friday’s under-23 highway race, an occasion that now appears set to mark the top of an period within the class. Romeo, in the meantime, gently rebuffed the concept that an under-23 world title held much less significance for a longtime WorldTour rider.
“I’ve been two years with Movistar, however I simply turned 21, so I’m nonetheless fairly younger, I feel,” he mentioned. “It’s loopy the extent we’ve got even right here within the under-23 World Championships. Today was one in every of my foremost targets of the season. I used to be tremendous completely satisfied to be right here in good condition and win the TT.”
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