Norwegian is the new time trial champion
Foss became a cycling sensation from the start
09/18/2022 12:54 pm
Who is Tobias? Little-known Norwegian Tobias Foss stole the show from cycling’s big stars and surprisingly won the world title in each trial. The 25-year-old had previously won nothing but the Norwegian championship.
Not far from the beautiful beach of Wollongong City, Tobias Foss sat in the goal area and did not know what happened to him. It does not matter whether it is the talent of the century Remco Evenepoel, the former dominant in the tour Tadej Pogacar or the world champion Filippo Ganna – all the stars of the scene were duped by the relatively unknown Norwegian in the individual time trial in the Road World Championships. Down below. With his tour force in the spring of Australia, the 25-year-old caused what might be the biggest sensation since Bert Grabsch’s trial in 2008.
“It feels like a dream. I can’t believe it, it’s unreal. I have to realize that first. I’m happy with the tenth finish,” said Foss, who was responsible for the 34.2-kilometer route that required 40:02 minutes. He was 2.95 seconds faster than Stefan Küng of Switzerland, who was always second. Third place belongs to the Belgian Vuelta champion Evenepoel, 9 seconds.
The German driver is still running
Former Tour champion Pocaga (Slovenia) and champion Filippo Cana (Italy) finished sixth and seventh. Two German players, Nikias Arndt and Miguel Heidemann, were also absent, finishing 16th and 20th. “The track was faster than expected. I found my pace good, but unfortunately I was two or three percent behind where I wanted to be,” said Arndt. Heidemann said: “I’m very pleased. It’s my first World Cup with seniors.”
However, the German team, which comes with less ambition, can enjoy a successful start. Ricarda Bauernfeind won the bronze medal in the U23 from Italian winner Vittoria Guazzini and the Dutch Shirin van Anrooij. “It’s completely new for me to be on the podium of the World Championships. I didn’t expect to get a medal. 5th place is good,” said Bauernfeind, who was the first to start on the course and thus. The World Cup has opened virtually.
Foss was completely unknown until now
At the World Championships in Australia, won the gold medal in the U23 series for the first time. The riders started as part of the women’s time trial, which Ellen van Dijk from the Netherlands won in 44:28 minutes. For the 35-year-old, it is the third time champion after 2013 and 2021. The second and third place are Australian Grace Brown and European champion Marlen Reusser from Switzerland.
But the highlight of the day was provided by Foss, who no expert did not count. The 25-year-old from the Jumbo Visma team of Tour Champion Jonas Vingegaard has yet to win an international tournament apart from three championships in the Norwegian championships. At the Tour de France he was not in the team and at the Giro d’Italia he finished 54th.
“My legs are really good. The course is challenging. It was the perfect race for me,” said Foss, dethroning Ganna. The Italian won the championship in 2020 and 2021 and actually wants to go further to the records of Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara (all four titles).