Datalearning 2023: Best time-trialists
Thursday 14 December 2023 • Stats
In 2023, the time trials played a greater role than in other years. In the Giro, the individual time trial was scheduled for day 20, making that stage decisive for the battle for the pink jersey between Thomas and Roglič. The Slovenian provided a spectacle and - despite his chain falling off on the climb - took the win and the pink.
In the Tour it wast Vingegaard who made everyone's jaws drop in amazement. He rode more than a minute and a half faster than number two Pogačar. And in the Vuelta, the opening Team Time Trial was a much-discussed stage, thanks to the dark and rainy images from Barcelona.
In this article, team CyclingOracle looks back on the 2023 cycling season, using our well-known (and improved!) AI-model. Which riders have improved most in time-trialing? Who has not been able to live up to expectations? And which riders are the best time-trialists after 2023?
In this article we look at the ITT-specialty. How did the riders improve their ITT-skill? Also check out our other articles, in which we specifically highlight the riders from the following categories:
- Best riders
- Hill specialists
- Climbers
- Sprinters
- Cobblestone specialists
- GC riders
Curious about how our improved AI model works? In this article we will take you through our considerations and adjustments.
Most improved in 2023 - Time Trialists
The AI model calculates the quality value of the time trial riders at the beginning and end of 2023. This way you can see which rider has improved the most last season. Jay Vine has made the biggest progress this season. The Australian time trial champion rode two surprisingly strong time trials during the Giro, in which he finished 11th and 10th.
| Most points gained in 'ITT' specialty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Rider | Start 2023 | End 2023 | Change |
| 1 | Jay Vine | 40 | 78 | 38 |
| 2 | Juan Ayuso | 56 | 88 | 32 |
| " | Niklas Larsen | 30 | 62 | 32 |
| 4 | Joshua Tarling | 63 | 94 | 31 |
| " | Laurens De Plus | 25 | 56 | 31 |
| 6 | Finn Fisher-Black | 44 | 72 | 28 |
| " | Josh Charlton | 20 | 48 | 28 |
| 8 | Yuma Koishi | 20 | 47 | 27 |
| 9 | Ilan Van Wilder | 46 | 71 | 25 |
| " | Ming Xue | 30 | 55 | 25 |
| 11 | Jonathan Castroviejo | 53 | 77 | 24 |
| " | William Barta | 46 | 70 | 24 |
| " | Tim Wellens | 45 | 69 | 24 |
| " | Edward Dunbar | 22 | 46 | 24 |
Young-gun Ayuso is the second fastest climber. He won a time trial of the Tour de Romandie and defeated world champion Evenepoel in an ITT of the Tour de Suisse. A notable climber who now ranks among the top 3 ITT-specialists is Tarling. De uitslagen tegen de klok van de nog maar 19-jarige Brit beloven wat voor de komende jaren. Op het WK tijdrijden behaalde Tarling het brons en bij het EK ging hij er met de winst vandoor.
ITT points lost in 2023
Tratnik won two Team-Time-Trials with Jumbo-Visma this year, but while he achieved nice top 20 results in the individual time trials in 2022, the Slovenian was unable to achieve this in 2023. Affini, who is normally known as a good time trialist within Team Jumbo-Visma, also had a bad year in that area. His bronze medal at the Italian championship in 2022 became a seventh place in the edition 2023.
Mathieu van der Poel is another rider who lost many points on ITT. The Dutch World Champion did not succeed his succesful ITTs in Giro d'Italia and Tour de France of 2022.
Beste tijdrijders
ITT-specialist Küng has been dethroned as the best time trialist after 2023. None other than Remco Evenepoel currently leads the rankings. The Belgian became world champion in Edinburgh this year and won two individual time trials in Italy earlier that season, before he was forced to leave the Giro due to his corona infection.
This means that Evenepoel not only passes Küng, but also Ganna, who is second in this list. The Italian time trial champion finished 12 seconds behind Evenepoel in the world championship. In the Vuelta, Ganna managed to win the only individual time trial. After Tarling he biggest climber in the top 10 is American time trial champion McNulty. the biggest climber in the top 10 is American time trial champion Wout van Aert. Despite his fantastic time trial in the Tour de France, Vingegaard remains stuck at a score of 90. For example, he missed out on the world championships ITT.
Contact
The countdown to 2024 has begun. The transfers and preparations are in full swing. Which ITT-gun will you pay special attention to in 2024? Let us know through a DM at Instagram. If you have any questions or suggestions: feel free to connect. You can send us an e-mail at [email protected].