'I've got a bit of an outside chance but I'm feeling good' says Tour-Vuelta champion
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Chris Froome (Team Sky) dominates against the clock(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb)(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Chris Froome with his first Vuelta a Espana overall trophy(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Dumoulin on the podium after the World Championship team time trial(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome finishes third during stage 20 of the Vuelta(Image credit: Michael Aisner)
Chris Froome (Great Britain) has declared Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) as the outright favourite for the men's individual time trial at the World Championships in Bergen, Norway.
The 31-kilometre time trial will be the first time both riders have faced each other individually all season, and the first time they have raced an individual time trial against each other since the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The opening section is raced over rolling terrain - where both men can excel - while the last few kilometres are all uphill and could see a number of favourites switch from time trial machines to their road bikes. While it may be too close to call in terms of victory, few are in any doubt as to significance of the final climb.
Although Froome and Dumoulin are not the only medal contenders to arrive in Bergen they are certainly the two pre-race favourites. Dumoulin won the Giro d'Italia in May and has geared up towards these championships, while Froome scooped up the Tour and Vuelta this summer. This is the last big hit-out for both men before closing their seasons and, with both riders expected to clash at the Tour next year, the Bergen course offers a glimpse into what may play out in 2018.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
