On Tuesday American racer Chloé Dygert put in a dominant ride to take a win in the Women’s Individual Time Trial at the World Championships. Completing the 32 kilometre route from Ripon to Harrogate in 42:11, this was enough to finish a whole 1:32 ahead of Anna van der Breggen and 1:52 ahead of Annemiek van Vleuten.
Something of a surprise result, 22-year-old Dygert is predominantly known as a track rider having won five gold medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Yet she managed to somehow leave two of the most dominant riders of recent years trailing by an unbridgeable margin.
Following her victory, she uploaded her ride to Strava. Along with a racking up near-continuous QOMs, it shows she maintained a super-rapid 41.6km/h average across the course. However, what you won’t find included is any power data.
'It was very surprising,' Dygert said after her win. 'I think my biggest advantage was I didn’t ride with a power meter.
'Earlier this year I did a race and it was when I started to get my strength back [following an injury] and I remember looking down at the power meter and thinking "I’m going out way too hard I need to back it off".
'So not having a power meter, not looking at those numbers and telling myself to back it off, it was just kind of full gas from the beginning.'
Taking her win in grisly conditions that saw the race’s start held back, the Washington native was unconcerned by the conditions that caught out several other riders.
'I'm used to riding in the rain and I knew everyone else was going to be scared so I tried to make the most of it.'
It’s a ride that will have won her plenty of new fans. Despite her focus on the track and the upcoming Tokyo games, Dygert has also been raking up strong performances in US stage races.
With plenty of time to recover before the road race on Saturday, could she also provide an upset there? Able to get over the hills, and with a track pursuiter’s speed, she’ll at a minimum look to play a role as part of the powerful seven-women American squad.