Yesterday's Women's ITT Was One Of The First Events Held After The Opening Ceremonies, And It Was A Thoroughly

Believe it or not, the Olympic individual time trial race is this weekend! The course is a very urban course through Paris, a very different course than many ITT races. It will be scenic and beautiful, but also very technical. Early reports of teams that have reconned the course say it is very slick from road traffic, so it may favor riders with well-honed bike handling skills.

Here are a few of the top contenders:

Chloe Dygert, the defending Olympic champion in her trademark pink socks or shoes, will be competing, as well as American triathlete phenom Taylor Knibb. We haven't heard much from Dygert lately as she prepared on her own, but we know she's fast. We also know that Knibb is very powerful, though this technical course probably doesn't suit her.

Australian Grace Brown, in her final professional season, will be really targeting this race, and she has looked really good this season. She's a veteran and will be wanting to take home gold in her final year of racing, and she's another top pick.

Another rider looking very good right now, who actually beat Brown by one second in the opening ITT of the Giro d'Italia Women, is Italy's own Elisa Longo Borghini. She will hope to carry her peak form into this weekend.

We don't know what to expect from Anna Henderson, who has broken her collarbone twice this year (ouch!) but is a regular ITT contender for Great Britain and could top the podium on a good day.

Speaking of injury, we would probably rule out Ellen van Dijk after her broken ankle in the first stage of the Vuelta Feminina six weeks ago, if she wasn't Ellen van Dijk. She has been out of racing but still targeting the Olympics, and she has to be considered a top contender.

Another serious Dutch contender is Demi Vollering, who sat out the Giro in favor of the Olympics and the upcoming Tour de France Femmes. She looked in fine form during the spring stage races, and is a regular threat in the ITT.

Finally, some names that won't be competing: Swiss time-trial powerhouse Marlen Reusser will miss the Olympics this year due to lingering issues from a viral infection last month. And Slovenian road race and time trial champ Urška Žigart was curiously not selected for the Slovenian Olympic team, which certainly raised some eyebrows.

WAT.

Earth-shaking news in the women's peloton as Anna van der Breggen announces she is coming out of retirement to return to road racing with SD Worx-Protime.

We are shocked. Shocked!

Look, AvdB has never really been away from the sport or her team, she's been in in a directeur sportif role for SD Worx in the past three seasons. Some of the DS calls have been, shall we say, unusual, but she's been a fixture there. And certainly, she hasn't gotten out shape, AvdB has been dabbling in gravel racing, most notably in the Spanish gravel race Traka, where she finished second and beat some of her own teammates. But we're still pretty surprised, and we also wonder if this brewing development propelled Demi Vollering out (reportedly to FDJ-Suez).

We also wonder if AvdB hasn't been tempted by the development and maturity of the Women's World Tour calendar. She never got a chance to race the Tour de France Femmes or the Vuelta Feminina before she retired, but with four wins and three additional podium places in the Giro, she's probably an immediate contender for both next year. Assuming, of course, that she's still got it. But we don't see why not, and her compatriot, Annemiek van Vleuten showed how strong a mature rider can be.

In case anyone needs a reminder of what "it" she had, let's just look back to the 2020 World Championships in Imola, Italy, and one of the single coolest racing shots we can remember.

So smooth, so deadly—this is a rider that changed the peloton, and apparently will do so again.

A lot happening here

All glory to PFP, but Letizia Borghesi and the team of EF Education-Oatly deserve credit for Borghesi's second-place finish, they know how to ride this race and Borghesi and her teammate (former Paris-Roubaix champ Alison Jackson) played key roles in preventing SD Worx-Protime from riding away with the race. Borghesi was smart to strike out ahead of the chasers, ensuring her podium placing, ahead of the sprint from behind (won by Lorena Wiebes ahead of Mariana Vos).

And we love the reaction of Alison Jackson crossing the line in 5th Place as she celebrates Borghesi's second place on the radio.

Elisa Longo Borghini, fresh off her second-place finish in Strade Bianche, wins Trofeo Oro in Euro with a 13k solo attack. ELB is looking really good this year! (Image: Rafa Gomez)

GRACE BROWN! 🇦🇺

We feel you, Grace, that was amazing!

GIVE WOMEN THREE WEEK GRAND TOURS

La Vuelta Feminina 2025, Stage 5 - Lagunas de Neila

We were really impressed by the consistency of these riders, when Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) attacked, she got a gap, but Marlen Reusser held it to 24 seconds for a long time. Reusser is a huge addition to Movistar, it's been fun to see her race for her own results, and this was a really strong performance from her. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) lost a bit more, almost being overtaken by Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck), but not too much.

And we love the teamwork by Vollering's teammates Evita Muzic and Juliette Labous, both did big turns on the front during the final climbs. That hug at the the finish line was the product of a lot of work!