Antonia Niedermaier has again shown her time trial talent, claiming her second consecutive U23 Individual Time Trial World Championship title. The young German rider delivered a commanding performance on the global stage, solidifying her reputation as one of cycling’s brightest rising stars. CANYON//SRAM Racing teammate Chloé Dygert had a spectacular ride on an undulating course to take third place and a bronze medal in the elite classification. Chloé edged out Antonia for the elite podium by nine seconds.

Antonia mastered the challenging course, leaving her competition behind. She won by more than 2:11 from her nearest U23 rival. Before the start, Antonia said she liked the course, especially the climbs, but was nervous about the descent and defending her rainbow title.

“I’m really happy with today. After I saw the course, I was excited but also quite nervous with the high-speed descents. I needed to stay calm until the first climb and then go all in. There was a short recovery on the descent before the next climb, followed by another chance of recovery and then the 12km-long flat section to the finish. I had extra motivation to try to catch the rider in front of me and a lot of encouragement in the radio from the follow car.”

“I aimed to defend my title and keep the rainbow jersey, as it’s an honour to wear. So to win the U23 race and finish fourth in the elite classification makes me very happy.”

Following the race, Chloé said, “I did everything I could today, but it wasn’t enough. The talent of the other riders is high. We all train to stand on the top step, so not being there is hard. But I’m on the podium with two of the best riders in the world. I’m very blessed to be here. It keeps me motivated to keep pushing next year.”

The Elite ITT was won by Grace Brown (AUS) followed by Demi Vollering (NED and Dygert (USA) in third. For the U23 podium, Niedermaier took the rainbow jersey, followed by Jasmin Leichti (CHE) and Julie De Wilde (BEL). Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Poland) finished in 31st place, and Diane Ingabire (Rwanda) was 60th.

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