Please explain to me how w/kg is not a factor in a flat TT.
Because there's no need to overcome gravitational force and it's an event where riders maintain a constant speed except when cornering?
Here's a nice calculator to show the relationship between watts and speed
All other things equal, here's how much of a factor weight is:
60kg (ie. Remco)
"If you want to ride at groundspeed velocity 55km/h, you must apply 330.58 watts of power."
80kg (ie. Ganna)
"If you want to ride at groundspeed velocity 55km/h, you must apply 345.87 watts of power."
The ~15W difference here, according to the calculator, is purely down to rolling resistance for the heavier rider since there's ever so slightly more tire in contact with the road, about 65.8W vs. 50.7W. This, of course, ignores the fact that Ganna's drag coefficient and surface area will also be considerably bigger since he's a taller guy with, at least according to the eye test, a worse TT position, but drag doesn't affect rolling resistance anyway. Either way, if it is true that Ganna's output is a full 100W higher he's losing about 15 of those watts in his tires because of his heavier weight and the remaining 85W (plus a little bit more seeing as Remco is marginally faster) through pushing more air, which is both because of his increased size and (possibly/probably) worse riding position.
There's a kicker here, though. I've seen estimations of Ganna's FTP being in the 450-470W range, so lets say 460W for him and 360W for Evenepoel with the 100W difference in mind.
That means Ganna's output is 27.8% higher than Evenepoel's. Ganna's rolling resistance is ~29.7% higher than Evenepoel's, so the relationships between output and rolling resistance are pretty much exactly the same. Whichever way you look at it, weight is a minuscule factor in the grand scheme of things when it comes to pure speed in a straight line.
Now, weight is possibly a factor in another area of racing on a flat course as well. Given that the formula for acceleration is
a = F/m (essentially acceleration = watts divided by weight) a lighter rider will accelerate back up to speed quicker after corners and such compared to a heavier rider, providing the watts are the same, but they clearly aren't in the case of Remco and Ganna. As I don't have their power values for short efforts like the ones they'd use to get back up to speed quickly it's impossible to do the math with any accuracy, but if the ratio is the same as with their FTP values their accelerations are as good as dead equal. Remco isn't exactly known for his explosive bursts though, so Ganna probably has the advantage if we're being realistic. Not that it matters as far as the point I'm making goes. Weight clearly isn't factor here either.
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