Double Junior rainbows for Cat Ferguson at 2024 World Championships

The road race competitions started on Thursday at the 2024 UCI Road World Championships, and Junior woman Cat Ferguson of Great Britain snapped up her second gold on a wet course in Zürich, Switzerland. Movistar’s Ferguson sweeps the Junior women’s events after silver in last year’s road race. Alexandra Volstad was the top Canadian in 12th.

The Course

Each road race route of the 2024 Worlds included some combination of the circuit around Lake Greifen and the 26.8-km circuit that took in the east side of Lake Zurich and contained the 1.4-km, 7.2-percent Wilikon climb, with a connector between them. The Junior women’s race consisted of one circuit of each for 73.6 km. It was a rainy day in Zürich.

#zurich2024 WJ
Uster
Zurich
73.5 Km
Weather: 14°C, moderate rain
Route: https://t.co/8CpxJsz46w pic.twitter.com/lQKMsPrSbu

— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) September 26, 2024

The Canadian contingent was Sydney Swierenga, Alexandra Volstad, Addison Frank and Naomie Julien.

After an earlier breakaway on the Greifen circuit was brought back, another move, this one more dangerous because of the presence of Cat Ferguson, Slovakian chrono runner-up and future Visma-Lease a Bike rider Viktória Chladoňová, and France’s Célia Gery, bounced free. The octet split with 33 km to go and then, on the way to the Lake Zürich, there was a regrouping, 25 riders including Frank and Volstad hitting the steep Bergstrasse before the Wilikon climb.

A push from Dutch rider Megan Arens on the Bergstrasse created a new break of septet with Gery, Chladoňová, Cat and teammate Imogen Wolff, third in the time trial. On the steepest part of Wilikon, Cat Ferguson, Junior world mountain bike champion Chladoňová and Spaniard Paula Ostiz Taco dropped the others.

The fight on the Wilikon.

Ostiz Taco was sitting on as the trio negotiated the heights. They descended towards the lakeside. Gold, silver and gold splashed towards Zürich. The Cat and mouse (and Taco) games started inside 2 km. They crawled under the red kite. Suddenly, Arens was closing in.

Ostiz Taco opened up the sprint, but it was the Cat that pounced to victory. Ortiz Taco edged out the Slovakian for silver.

2024 UCI Road World Championships, Junior Women’s Road Race
Gold) Cat Ferguson (Great Britain) 1:54:48
Silver) Paula Ostiz Taco (Spain) s.t.
Bronze) Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia) s.t.
12) Alexandra Volstad (Canada) +2:25
17) Addison Frank (Canada) s.t.

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