Jan Christen misses out on the medal he had hoped for in the U23 road race at the World Cycling Championships in Zurich. After a solo ride, he is caught 10 km before the finish and finishes in 4th place.
27.09.2024, 17:05
27.09.2024, 17:32
SDA
On the day when the cycling world mourned the death of Muriel Furrer, Jan Christen was unable to live up to his high expectations. In nasty conditions, the top favorite broke away surprisingly early around 50 km before the finish, but overtook himself in the process. 10 km before the finish on Sechseläutenplatz, the rider from Aargau was first caught by a duo, then by another trio.
The 20-year-old Christen, who has already made a good impression on the World Tour in the team of three-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar and is regarded as the greatest young Swiss talent, then lost out to the Belgian Alex Segaert by eleven seconds in the battle for 3rd place. The roles were still reversed in the time trial, with Christen taking bronze and the Belgian fourth.
Marc Hirschi, who triumphed in 2018, remains the only Swiss U23 world champion on the road. The title went to the German Niklas Behrens in a two-man sprint ahead of the Slovakian Martin Svrcek. The race had already started when Furrer's death was announced.