The riders clip into their pedals in Uster and loop around the Greifensee 1.5 times. The lake lies parallel to its much bigger sibling Lake Zurich, only devided by the Pfannenstiel ridge.
Subsequent to the Greifensee lap the riders tackle this ridge when they ascend to Binz. The climb is 4.6 kilometres long, averaging 4.5% and peaking out at 9%. It’s the last part of the run-up to the circuit, as the routes collide in Binz.
A little over 6 kilometres later a short climb on the densely forested Schmalzgruebstrasse precedes the downhill to Lake Zurich. Along the shores the riders head north to enter the first of four laps after amost 50 kilometres of action.
Approximately 2 kilometres after crossing the finish line – and some twisting and turning in the city centre -, the Zürichbergstrasse gives a first taste of what the finale has to offer. It slopes for 800 metres at 8.6% and peaks out at 15.9% near the end. A virtually flat section of 1.5 kilometres then leads onto a false flat preceding the next challenge. The hardest part of the ascent on the Witikonerstrasse stretches 1 kilometre with an average gradient of 8%, but as it begins and ends with a false flat one could also argue that it’s a 4.1 kilometres climb at 3.8%.
For about 10 kilometres, the circuit stays at a rolling plateau at an elevation hovering between 600 and 650 metres. A number of small uphill punches – such as the aforementioned Schmalzgruebstrasse (300 metres at 8%) – pep up this section before the riders fly down to Küsnacht. A false flat section of 1.5 kilometres precedes the passage through Zollikon and upon reaching the lake the route continues along the flat shores back to Zürich.
Each lap features 409 metres of climbing, while the last uphill kick on the Schmalzgruebstrasse appears just inside the last 10 kilometres.
World Cycling Championships 2024, road race women: route, profile, video
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