World Championships TTT Mixed Relay – live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the team time trial mixed relay at the 2019 UCI Road World Championships!

It's the first event of the Worlds and it's an altogether new one, replacing the team time trial which ran from 2012 to last year.

Teams of six will tackle the 28km course, with three men heading off for the first lap of Harrogate before handing over to three women for lap two.

It's not too different from a team time trial then, just with smaller teams and a changeover in the middle.

The UCI World Cycling Centre team will be the first up, while the European champions the Netherlands will be the last team to start.

There's wet weather in Harrogate at the moment – not ideal for a TTT.

One of the favourites for the elite men's road race next Sunday, Mathieu van der Poel has completed his preparations for Yorkshire. He raced the Primus Classic yesterday and is feeling good after his final race day before the Worlds.

Read the story here.

We're 40 minutes from the start of the first team, UCI World Cycling Centre, which has a mix of nationalities. There are riders from Canada, Argentina, Ireland, Czech Republic, Trinidad & Tobago and Belarus on the six-person squad.

The Dutch squad, who won the same event at the European Championships earlier this season, are the favourites.

Lucinda Brand

Riejanne Markus

Amy Pieters

Koen Bouwman

Bauke Mollema

Jos van Emden

Here's a shot of the damp finish in Harrogate.

20 minutes away from the start now.

Only 11 countries (well, 10 plus the UCI WCC) are taking part today. Last year, 12 women's teams and 22 men's teams took part in the Worlds TTT.

The UCI WCC team sets off in three minutes.

Teniel Campbell

Anastasiya Kolesava

Fernanda Yapura

Dillon Corkery

Ben Katerberg

Petr Kelemen

Spain are underway too.

Mavi Garcia 

Sheyla Gutierrez 

Lourdes Oyarbide 

Nicolas  Castroviejo

Lluis Mas 

Sebastian Mora 

Castroviejo, Mas and Mora first, and at the end of the lap they'll hand over to the women.

8:50.83 at the first split for UCI WCC as Belgium and Great Britain are underway too.

Here's Belgium's team.

Sofie De Vuyst

Valerie Demey

Julie Van de Velde

Jan Bakelants

Frederik Frison

Senne Leysen

And here's Great Britain.

Lauren Dolan

Anna Henderson

Joscelin Lowden

John Archibald

Daniel Brigham

Harry Tanfield

It's wet out on the course too, but damp rather than torrential.

Spain put ten seconds into the UCI WCC time at the first check.

Belgium are just seven-tenths down on Spain at the checkpoint, though they've lost a rider due to a possible mechanical problem.

Great Britain have gone fastest at the checkpoint now, with a time of 8:28.

The UCI World Cycling Centre team set a time of 19:43.76 at the changeover.

The men roll across the finish line and then the women roll down the start ramp.

Spain have set a time 26 seconds faster than the UCI WCC at the changover.

Great Britan have blizted the first lap. They're 33.81 seconds up on Belgium, who lie second. Spain's time is a further 19 seconds back.

Lauren Dolan is struggling to stay with her two Great Britain teammates.

Belgium are fastest at the third check, but Great Britain are still to pass through.

Great Britain's time at the third check is 28:08.53. That's 50 seconds up on Belgium, 1:17 on Spain and 1:56 up on UCI WCC.

They'll be the fastest of this first segment of teams. Slovenia, Switzerland, France and Denmark will set off soon after these teams finish.

Demey drops away from her Belgian teammates.

41:56.02 for the UCI WCC at the finish.

41:10.42 for Spain as they go fastest.

Belgium go ten seconds faster, and now we wait for Great Britain.

Great Britain cross the line with a time of 39:18.87. It's by far the fastest so far. They're 1:41 up on Belgium.

Slovenia kick it off for the second set of teams. They are:

Urska Bravec

Eugenia Bujak

Urska Pintar

Tadej Pogacar

Jaka Primozic

Jan Tratnik

Switzerland set off too.

Elise Chabbey

Marlen Reusser

Kathrin Stirnemann

Robin Froidevaux

Claudio Imhof

Joel Sutter

Slovenia are four seconds down on Great Britain's time at the first check.

France set off.

Aude Biannic

Coralie Demay

Severine Eraud

Bruno Armirail

Jerome Cousin

Romain Seigle

Slovenia have lost a man as Denmark leave the start house.

Julie Leth

Pernille Mathiesen

Louise Norman Hansen

Julius Johansen

Christoffer Lisson

Martin Toft Madsen

Switzerland have started fast, putting nine-tenths of a second into Great Britain at the first check.

France are fourth fastest, with the top four separated by seven seconds.

Denmark are 19 seconds down at the checkpoint.

Switzerland and Slovenia handover to the women. They're 12 and 23 seconds down on Great Britain, respectively.

France hand over 14 seconds down.

The Swiss women have set off well. They're just a couple of tenths of a second down on Great Britain.

France are 15.6 seconds down on Great Britain, while Slovenia's check time was 26.43 seconds down.

Denmark are 33 seconds down at the third checkpoint.

Slovenia finish their effort. They're second overall, 1:06 down on Great Britain.

Julie Leth has a wheel change. Not great for Denmark, though they're already some way down.

Elise Chabbey takes a new bike on the run to the finish. Switzerland were running Great Britain close at the last check but they've fallen apart in the closing kilometres.

They cross the line in second, 35.67 seconds down.

France edge them out at the finish! They beat Switzerland's time by just under four seconds to go second.

Just Denmark to come now, and then it'll be time for the final three teams to set off.

Here's the fastest team so far. The British men out on course and the women sitting in the hot seat.

Denmark finish fifth with a time 1:13 down on Great Britain.

So eight teams down and now just three remain: Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.

Italy are off first.

Elena Cecchini

Tatiana Guderzo

Elisa Longo Borghini

Edoardo Affini

Davide Martinelli

Elia Viviani

And now Germany set off.

Lisa Brennauer

Lisa Klein

Mieke Kröger

Tony Martin

Nils Politt

Jasha Sütterlin

And the final team sets off. It's the European champions, the Netherlands.

Lucinda Brand

Riejanne Markus

Amy Pieters

Koen Bouwman

Bauke Mollema

Jos van Emden

Italy are six seconds up on Great Britain at the first check, while Germany lie just a few tenths behind.

The Netherlands have passed through the first check and unsurprisingly they're the fastest team.  They go through ten seconds up on Italy.

Italy's men finish and hand it over to the women for their run.

The Dutch men's squad of Jos Van Emden, Koen Bouwman and Bauke Mollema.

They've just finished their run and have smashed everyone's time. They go top with a time of 18:03.55, 20 seconds up on Great Britain.

If things hold up, the podium will be the Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy. But first we'll see how the Italian, German and Dutch women do.

Italy go fastest at the third intermediate. They're 14 seconds up on Great Britain.

Longo Borghini stops with a mechanical issue and gets a new bike. Not great for Italy...

Germany head through the checkpoint four seconds down on Italy.

Longo Borghini is trying to chase back on for Italy.

It's Netherlands - Italy - Germany 1-2-3 right now as the Dutch women go through 28 seconds up on the Italians at the third check.

Longo Borghini reaches her teammates. What an effort!

Italy faded to third fastest at the finish, partially thanks to Longo Borghini's mechanical, no doubt.

Germany go fastest, 28 seconds up on Great Britain, while Italy lie 33 seconds back.

It's all up to the Dutch trio now.

And they've done it! The Netherlands have won the TTT mixed relay. They cross the line 22.75 seconds up on Germany, while Great Britain are third, 51.27 seconds down.

Here's the full result

1 The Netherlands 0:38:28

2 Germany 0:00:23

3 Great Britain 0:00:51

4 Italy 0:00:56

5 France 0:01:23

6 Switzerland 0:01:27

7 Slovenia 0:01:57

8 Denmark 0:02:04

9 Belgium 0:02:33

10 Spain 0:02:43

11 UCI World Cycling Centre 0:03:28

Our brief report, plus a gallery and the results, are up now here.

"It's amazing. It still needs to slide in a little bit because we just finished, but it's super cool," said Lucinda Brand after the finish.

"Straight away up its really hard to get into it and you think you have really bad legs. But once you're over you can keep fighting against the pain. It's short but hard."

Our full report is now up on the front page.

The Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain celebrate on the podium

That's all for our live coverage of today's event. Come back for more news and reaction, plus full coverage of the Road World Championships throughout the week!