World Road Championship time trial predictions and cycling betting tips: Local knowledge can aid Stefan Kung

Where to watch the 2024 World Road Championships

Women's time trial
Eurosport 1, 11am Sunday

Men's time trial
Eurosport 1, 3.45pm Sunday

Best bets

Stefan Kung to win men's time trial
1pt 22-1 BoyleSports

Stefan Kung top-three finish in men's time trial
2pts 5-2 bet365

Chloe Dygert to win women's time trial
3pts 11-4 BoyleSports

2024 World Road Championships predictions

The streets of Paris were paved in gold this summer for Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel, who claimed double Olympic glory in the men's time trial and road race.

Evenepoel is chasing rainbow bands in Zurich over the next two Sundays as he bids to become world champion in both disciplines.

The 24-year-old has already won both events – he is the  time-trial world champion after winning in Scotland last year and won the road race in Australia in 2022 – and is undoubtedly the man to beat.

Evenepoel's record in time trials this season is exemplary. He has won four of his six individual races against the clock, adding stages at the Tour de France and Criterium du Dauphine to his Olympic gold in the discipline.

The course, which begins flat, takes in a couple of climbs and then finishes on the shores of Lake Zurich, should pose few problems and perhaps the only doubt about Evenepoel is that this will be the third time this season he has had to peak.

Former world time-trial champion Filippo Ganna should be a strong challenger while Vuelta a Espana winner Primoz Roglic won the Olympic title in Tokyo three years ago, but a chance can be taken on Swiss rider Stefan Kung putting his local knowledge to good use.

With no each-way betting on offer, a small play on Kung to win at double-figure odds can be complemented by a bigger one on a top-three finish.

The Swiss national champion should cope with the climbs in the middle of the course better than some of his rivals and he is consistent, although he can find one too good on the biggest occasion.

The 30-year-old won the concluding time trial at the Vuelta a fortnight ago by 30 seconds from Roglic, so he arrives in good form, and longer routes that are customary at major championships usually suit him better than shorter tests of raw power.

The preceding women's race is shaping up to be a cracker with Olympic champion Grace Brown, reigning world title holder Chloe Dygert and Lotte Kopecky, who is the road-race world champion, all in with an excellent chance.

Two-time winner Dygert hasn't raced as much as Brown or Kopecky this season, but she has history of peaking on the biggest day and was part of the successful US squad in the team pursuit in the Paris velodrome, so there shouldn't be any concerns about her form.

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