World Cycling Championships 2018 Innsbruck, Austria: Favourites TTT – women

Since 2012 the women’s team time trial at the World Cycling Championships is contested by trade teams. This edition will be the last with that setup. Sunweb is title defender. Last year, the German squad bested pre-race favourite Boels Dolmans by 12 seconds with Cervélo Bigla another 16 seconds further behind. Four-time World Champion Canyon SRAM (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) came in fourth. Boels Dolmans powered to glory in 2016.

Sunweb’s winning squad featured Ellen van Dijk, Lucinda Brand, Leah Kirchmann, Floortje Mackaij, Coryn Rivera and Sabrina Stultiens. With the exception of Stultiens, who moved to Waowdeals, and Mackaij, who broke her jaw, all these riders are line up in Innsbruck. The new names are Pernille Mathiesen and Liane Lippert.

The Boels Dolmans squad features Chantal Blaak, Karol-Ann Canuel, Amalie Dideriksen, Christine Majerus, Amy Pieters and Anna van der Breggen. The only new name is Dideriksen. The Danish rider replaces Megan Guarnier.

Sunweb and Boels Dolmans have the best 2018 credentials and are the major contenders to win the race. The most important team time trials for women took place in Vårgårda, Sweden, and in the Giro Rosa. At the Crescent-Vårgårda race Boels-Dolmans outgunned Sunweb by 16 seconds. The Giro Rosa’s team trial was won by Sunweb with a margin of 1 second over Mitchelton-Scott (featuring Van Vleuten, who skips the TTT at the Worlds) and 12 seconds over Boels-Dolmans (without Van der Breggen).

Favourites World Championships TTT

*** Boels Dolmans, Sunweb
** Wiggle High5, Canyon SRAM
* Ale Cipollini, Mitchelton Scott