Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy sweep mixed relay team time trial podium
A motivated German team featuring a retiring Tony Martin knocked back the Dutch and Italians to win the gold medal in the new discipline.
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BRUGES, Belgium (VN) — Germany beat back defending world champion the Netherlands to win gold in the mixed relay team time trial Wednesday.
Italy stopped the clock to finish on the podium with bronze.
Ellen van Dijk and Annemiek van Vleuten brought it home to the line, but they could not knock back the Germans anchored by Tony Martin, racing in his final worlds.
“It’s the best finish, isn’t it?” Tony Martin said. “Going from the cycling scene with a gold medal is a dream for me. We enjoyed the whole week for the team, and we were hoping for a gold, and the dream came true. Now it’s time to celebrate.”
The racing was intense, and the medals were decided by just a handful of seconds.
The mixed relay time trial is a new discipline to world championship competition, with its debut in 2019 with the Dutch team winning the rainbow stripes. The event replaced the pro trade team time trial event on the schedule, and last year, the COVID-19 pandemic put the event on ice.
Also read: Mixed relay team time trial explainer
The format sees six-rider mixed teams squaring off against each other. Three men race against the clock for 22.5km, and a women’s three-rider team racing the final 22km, with the official time taken at the second man and second woman to cross the line in each leg.
USA Cycling punched into the top 10 with eighth under ideal racing conditions, with sunny skies and light wind.
After four days of time trial racing, competition takes a break Thursday. Road racing will kick things back into gear Friday with the finish line Leuven for the road racing events.
World Championships - Mixed Relay TTT Results
| Time Trial | Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 00:50:49 | |
| 2 | Netherlands | 00:51:02 | |
| 3 | Italy | 00:51:27 | |
| 4 | Switzerland | 00:51:27 | |
| 5 | Great Britain | 00:51:44 | |
| 6 | Denmark | 00:52:05 | |
| 7 | Belgium | 00:52:10 | |
| 8 | United States | 00:52:59 | |
| 9 | France | 00:53:41 | |
| 10 | Poland | 00:54:12 | |
| 11 | Spain | 00:54:55 | |
| 12 | Austria | 00:55:22 | |
| 13 | Centre Mondial du Cyclisme | 00:57:18 |
Results provided by ProCyclingStats.