Germany and Hungary claim the first gold medals at the 2024 World University Championship Cycling Costa Rica

German cyclist Tim Wollenberg and Hungarian rider Petra Zsankó claimed the first gold medals at the 2024 World University Cycling Championship (FISU), held at the San Carlos Technological Campus.

The first event of this competition was a critérium. It was held on Wednesday, May 29th, in the town of Monterrey, part of the province of San Carlos, Costa Rica.

The German won the the event with 23 points after five sprints of competition. The second place of the day went to the Czech ride Jakub Toupalik, who got 17 points.

The third place was secured by the German Linus Jörg Rosner, who obtained six points.

During the post-evento interview, Tim Wollenberg declared: “I am happy with this victory; it is a pride to represent my country and my university in a competition of this kind. I am very grateful to my team and the Federation for having us here.”

In the women’s category, the winner was Hungarian rider Petra Zsankó who claimed 17 points. The second place went to Slovakian Nora Jencusova, who got seven points, and the podium was completed by the German Judith Krahl with six points.

“The weather was good; the cool conditions allowed us to compete at a high level,” Zsankó emphasized.

For the full list of results, please click on the corresponding link below:

Full results – Female

Full results – Male

The second stage of this world championship will be a 19-kilometer individual time trial (ITT) between Los Ángeles and Santa Clara, scheduled for Thursday starting at 8:00 a.m.

WHAT IS A CRITERIUM RACE?

According to Merriam-Webster, a criterium (crit for short) is: “a bicycle race of a specified number of laps on a closed course over public roads closed to normal traffic.”

But really, crit racing is so much more. Crit races typically last between 30-90 minutes and speeds vary based on weather conditions, course elements, prize money, and competition levels. The winner of a crit race is the first rider who crosses the finish line at the end of a race without having been “lapped.”