Cat Ferguson (GBR) won the World Championships Time Trial for Junior women, posting a time of 23:49” for the 18.8km, thirty-five seconds faster than Viktória Chladoňová (SVK),who took silver, and Imogen Wolff (GBR), who took bronze.
The 18-year-old Ferguson, who is under contract to Movistar from 2024-2027, was visibly faster from the start, posting the fastest Intermediate time by 9 seconds over her closest challenger.
“It’s incredible,” said Ferguson afterwards. “The disappointment I’ve had before makes this jersey even more special. To put the ride in, the process that went into this… it’s incredible. I’ve got so many people to thank. I don’t have the words right now but I’m incredibly grateful to them all. It was helpful to have my coach in my ear guiding me through. I had my ride, stuck to my plan. It was windier than I thought it would be, so I just kept my head down.”
An exhausted Cat Ferguson emptied herself in the time trial (photo: UCI Cycling)
Chladoňová, who is 17, put in a great ride for the silver medal, confessing afterwards that she is not really a time trial specialist. “I don’t do very often TT training, so it’s a big surprise for me. It was my maximum and I gave everything. It was very hard. I tried to go full gas the whole time.”
While more of a climber, it’s apparent Chladoňová shows great promise in other specialties like the time trial, and it’s no surprise she has been signed to Visma|Lease a Bike for 2025-27.
Bronze medalist Wolff is 18 and has also signed to Visma|Lease a Bike for 2024-27. She had the third fastest Intermediate time, but felt like she didn’t empty herself enough. Afterwards, she was not happy with her ride. “My power meter didn’t connect. Super disappointed. So I was completely blind. I was quite conscious not to overcook it, but because of that I ended up super under-cooking it. But, that’s what it is.”
Fee Knaven (NED) had the second fastest Intermediate time and looked like she was on her way to a medal, but she faded in the second half and finished in 4th place, 11 seconds down on bronze medalist, Wolff. “It was a really bad time trial. I couldn’t reach my usual power, I was 40 watts below. I’m a bit disappointed, but it was just a bad day. I don’t know what was going on.”
Interestingly, all the podium finishers are already signed to multi-year deals with WorldTour teams, as is Paula Ostiz (SPA) who finished in seventh place, and Célia Gery (FRA), who finished 18th. Oddly, Kamilla Aasebø (NOR), who finished in 5th place, is not rumored to be signed to any WorldTour team as of yet.
The Belgian Junior women did not fare very well, with Luca Vierstraete the highest-placed rider in 21st, 1:53” off the winning time, and Ilken Seynave in 25th place
How it happened
Viktória Chladoňová (SVK) posted the fastest Intermediate time early on, 11:53″, which would only be beaten by 3 riders, and set the leader board time of 24:24”.
Imogen Wolff (GBR) was the first rider to challenge Chladoňová, posting a slightly faster Intermediate time, and looked like she might move into the lead. But at the finish she fell short, two seconds slower than Chladoňová.
Paula Ostiz (SPA), who is signed to Movistar for the 2025-28 seasons, was the next rider to post a fast Intermediate time, only six seconds slower than Chladoňová and Wolff. But at the finish, she was slower than Kamilla Aasebø (NOR) who finished 9 seconds ahead of her (24:44”) and moved into third on the leader board.
With the leader board showing Chladoňová, Wolff, and Aasebø, everyone waited for the favorites to hit the 9.4km Intermediate checkpoint.
Fee Knaven (NED) was the first to break Wolff’s Intermediate time, five seconds faster, followed by Cat Ferguson (GBR), who was nine seconds faster than Knaven.
Knaven looked to be on track for a medal, but faded in the second half, posting the third fastest time of the leaders, with Ferguson still yet to arrive. It was now Ferguson’s time trial and she did not disappoint, posting a winning time of 23:49”, thirty-five seconds ahead of Chladoňová.
RESULTS: World Championships Time Trial, Junior Women (18.8km)