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Zurich has hosted an event that should not be remembered for the winner of its races. Instead, all thoughts might concentrate on the sad loss of Swiss rider Muriel Furrer, 18, who died after the women’s junior race. One of the cruelties of sport is that the show always goes on, though perhaps the departed want it that way, too. After Saturday’s thriller, with Lotte Kopecky winning the women’s race, and Friday, and when Niklas Behrens won the under-23 men’s road race, the course is familiar, though the weather might be better than much of the week. The contenders? Tadej Pogacar leads the list, of course. Can Remco Evenepoel, the Olympic Gold, put the pressure down? There’s Matthieu van der Poel, the defending champion. Let’s see, even if who actually wins cannot compete with the loss already suffered.
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main events
225km left: Breakaway questions are asked during a tough climbing section accompanied by cowbells. Simon Geschke (Germany), Markus Pajur (Estonia)
Roberto Gonzalez (Panama) was also there, but Pajulu had a hard time getting on and failed. He and Gonzalez are far from the back and still have a long way to go to get back into the main group. Geschke rides a horse in his final world.
235km remaining: The circuit is complete. This race has had a lot of ups and downs, but it's still long. Anyone who sins at this point must feel that their life is out of shape or used up by a great weapon. Sylvain Dilliers (Switzerland), Tobias Voss (Norway), Rui Oliveira (Portugal), Piotr Pekala (Poland) and Luc Wirtgen (Luxembourg), 13 seconds for the pursuers and 1 minute 21 seconds for the peloton. I'm back.
245km remaining: Through open land, some farmland, and yes, Swiss cottages. Jonathan Caicedo is Norwegian and Ecuadorian. The field for the Vatican has been spat out from far behind and will need snooker and prayers to get to the finish line. But there are significant moves here, including Bardet and two Belgians. There were also three Americans. Corey Williams, the gentleman from Belize we saw off, is currently suffering terribly. That's a big group. There's also Jan Tratnik from Slovenia. Powerful teams Belgium and Slovenia are marking their territory.
255km left: Poland, Portugal, USA and Latvia will be the early breakers. The Qatari riders are far behind. Now with the big boys. The proton behind them is huge. Then, as it goes down, another trio leaves. We've already seen Roman Bardet and Mikel Landa come forward, but no one has been cleared to play yet. What about Estonia and Belize, who are part of the refugee team? Venezuela follows. This is the United color of early Benetton.
265km remaining: The Proton descends to Zurich via Schaffhausen. Nice morning son, and fresh air too. The freshest Swiss air. That is, in Europe. Sadly, 38-year-old Honduran rider Fred Matute has already fallen behind. We still have a long way to go, Fred. Leading the way, there is no real pattern, but American rider Larry Warbath was in the vanguard.
And we leave….
273km remaining: Poland will be the first to attack.
Just under 5km left until the official start. Plenty of chat between riders. There is a bit of blue in the sky, much better than it was earlier this week. The Rhine Falls will pass – not to be confused with the Reichenbach Falls? They're going at breakneck speed with this virtual start to warm up your legs.
Swiss team on the starting line As a place of remembrance, we will stand in the center of the stage and offer a moment of silence for Muriel Fuller. Her family said they want the race to go ahead.
The course will look like this.
#Zurich2024 myself
🚩Winterthur
🏁 Zurich
🚴🏻♂️ 274.5km
Weather: ☁12℃, scattered clouds
root: https://t.co/Jvodq5GRTX pic.twitter.com/CluC8RoBpE
— La Flammerouge (@laflammerouge16) September 29, 2024
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“You have to start from zero every time.” Remco Evenepoel would like to add this to his time trial rainbow jersey. And an Olympic gold medal. “Every type of rider can win.”
“It's going to be a tough and long race today.” said Pogačar, who participated in a recce of the course with Matt Stevens. “I'm glad to have him as my teammate,'' Pog says of fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglič. During that time they won all three Grand Tours. He looks set to attack the steepest section of the circuit after the finish line. How many laps will he complete?
preamble
Zurich hosted a memorable event for the race winners. Instead, all thoughts may be focused on the sad death of 18-year-old Swiss rider Muriel Ferrer, who passed away after the women's junior race. One of the cruelties of sports is that the show always goes on, but maybe that's what the dead want. After Saturday's thrilling race, won by Lotte Kopecky in the women's race, and Friday's victory in the under-23 men's road race by Niklas Behrens, the course looks familiar, but the weather has been poor for much of the week. It might have been better. Who are the candidates? Of course, Tadej Pogačar heads the list. Will Olympic gold medalist Remko Evenepoel be able to ease the pressure? We have defending champion Mathieu van der Poel. Let's see, even those who actually win can't match the losses they've already suffered.
