Okay, I begrudgingly agree that Wednesday’s mixed relay was more exciting than usual, but I still think it’s time to ditch it and bring back the team time trial.
Olympic and world champion Grace Brown led Australia to a narrow victory over Germany in the mixed relay time trial, clinching the title by less than a second on a challenging 53.7km course. Despite dominating time trials this year, Brown is retiring at season’s end. The Australian team included Brodie Chapman and Ruby Roseman-Gannon, alongside men Ben O’Connor, Michael Matthews, and Jay Vine. They started strong, finishing the 26-km circuit ahead, with a total time of 1hr 12min 52.85. Germany, featuring Antonia Niedermaier and Maximilian Schachmann, finished just 0.85 seconds behind, while Italy took third, 8.25 seconds off the pace. Yet, despite the close finish, I still believe we’d be better off with the team time trials back.
It was a great win, for sure, but neither the Netherlands, Belgium nor Great Britain opted to enter a team. Although there were some big names racing, many riders declined to participate. I mean, a rainbow jersey is certainly cool to win, but no one who wins this event will ever wear it outside of their local club run.
Team Canada had a great ride, and even sat in the hot seat briefly. How cool was it to see Olivia Baril, Ava Holmgren, Mara Roldan, Derek Gee, Pier-André Côté and Jonas Walton all rip it!
The history of the team time trial
TTTs were a fixture of the world championships and Olympics until 1994, when countries sent teams of four to race for 100km. Back then, it was only men, however. You also regularly saw TTTs at Grand Tours.
Much like the team pursuit, it’s a beautiful sight: riders in matching kits and bikes riding seamlessly at top speed. The concept that you’re only as strong as your weakest rider rings true—you must finish with more than half your team, making cohesion essential.
They brought back team time trials in 2012. At the worlds or Olympics, it was always a quartet; at Grand Tours, it was the full team—eight or nine riders. Some might argue that TTTs skew the general classification, creating gaps between powerhouse teams, but as a standalone event, they embody everything cycling stands for: riders working together using fitness, skill, and technology to win.
Trade team TTT
The difference in 2012 was that teams were no longer national federations but trade teams. While national pride can be a factor in road races, riders might feel more motivated when competing with the teammates they train with all year, knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
2014 Giro d’Italia Throwback: Birthday boy Svein Tuft in pink after opening team time trial
But the trade team TTTs were put aside for the mixed relay in 2019. They had been a success in MTB and ‘cross. Riders would do a lap each of the course–and federations could pick where they placed their riders. A last lap battle between a junior and an elite made for some really exciting racing. Would the teenager hold off the pro? (Sometimes they did!)
But it’s not quite as exciting with the current mixed relay format. It was created to give parity–women never had the opportunity–much like team pursuit until 2007–to compete in the event. So…why not just have men’s and women’s TTT?
Having TTT world champions in the men’s and women’s WorldTour would allow us to see those rainbow jerseys more often. If the same riders who won the world champs also competed in a TTT at a major race, it would be thrilling to see a bunch of pros in rainbows. The question remains: if one rider didn’t compete in the previous world champs, would they wear their regular skinsuit? Still, the idea is exciting.
The UCI wisely cut the 100km TTTs in half for the latest iteration. A spicy, quick, full-gas TTT at 40-50 km would be thrilling to watch. While I applaud the Australians for their win, they could also excel in their own respective TTTs. With Vuelta a España runner-up Ben O’Connor leading the men and Olympic champion Grace Brown leading the women, their men’s and women’s teams packed serious firepower.
The post It’s time to ditch the mixed relay and bring back the TTT appeared first on Canadian Cycling Magazine.
