'I wondered if there was a timing error' - Armirail baffled by 26th place in Worlds TT

The three-time French champion’s confusion was evident when he spoke with Eurosport in the mixed zone after his effort.

“Honestly, I felt really good – I had loads of power beyond what I needed to do. I don’t understand it, I don’t know what’s going on,” Armirail said. “My aero position was normal, and normally I’m very aerodynamic.

“When I saw my place at the first intermediate check, I was 26th, I think… Given how I felt, I thought that I must have been in the top three, so when I saw that, I thought to myself, ‘Well, something’s up here, it’s not possible.’ Well, I don’t know how to explain it.”

The three-time French champion was some 2:45 down on winner Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and 1:32 down on his teammate Paul Seixas, who claimed the bronze medal. 

Seixas became only France’s third-ever medallist in the elite men’s time trial after Laurent Jalabert won the title in San Sebastián in 1997 and Jérôme Coppel took third in Richmond in 2015.

Armirail wondered if his clothing had been a factor as he wasn’t wearing the same skinsuit that he uses when racing with Visma | Lease a Bike, though he acknowledged that Seixas’ medal might undermine that theory.

“As far as aerodynamics are concerned, there might be an issue – it’s true that we’re using the federation’s suits here, not our team’s – but then again, Paul achieved a very good result, so…” Armirail said, according to L’Équipe. 

“I’ll have a chat with him about his performance figures and how he managed it. We also know that certain suits are faster for some riders than for others. I’ll analyse all of that.”

Armirail placed eighth in the time trial at last year’s Worlds in Kigali before taking ninth in the same discipline at the European Championships the following week. He had designs on a strong result in Montréal after completing the Vuelta a España, where he took seventh in the final week time trial in Jerez de la Frontera. 

“In terms of how I felt and the power I was able to generate, I was in great shape. I averaged 436 watts over 47 minutes – I think that’s pretty much my personal best,” Armirail said. 

“I was having a really good day, so I’ve absolutely no idea how to explain it. I thought I was among the top three or five at the first split, but then I saw I was 26th – I wondered if there’d been a timing error. I don’t understand it. I post all my data on Strava, so perhaps someone can analyse it.”

Armirail also lined out at the Tour de France this season, his first at Visma. The 32-year-old is now set to ride for France in the mixed relay, where he won silver medals in 2023 and 2025, and he will ride in support of his former Decathlon teammate Seixas in Sunday’s road race.