U23 Women’s Time Trial at the World Championships: A Challenging Course in Kigali
The women under 23 category didn’t feature in previous World Championships, but with the growing popularity of the sport among women, a separate category was established, ensuring a full peloton. In Kigali, we followed Victoria Cooled and sofia Unger in competition more suited to thier level than racing against the elite women. However,both Slovak competitors were among the youngest at the start. Victoria was the youngest, and Sofia the sixth youngest.
Despite their youth, Victoria was considered a medal contender, though the clear favorite was British rider Zoe Bäckstedt, one of the world’s best time trialists. Slovakia is consistently improving its performance, but Victoria faced a especially demanding schedule. Many described this time trial as the hardest in the history of the Women’s World Championships – a sentiment echoed by both the elite and U23 riders.
The course featured two climbs.