Sep 21, 2011

Men's Elite Time Trial World Championship Review

Race winner: Tony Martin (Germany) destroyed the field, winning by over a minute over the 46.4 km course in Copenhagen, Denmark. Of course this is no surprise considering Martin won the time trials at the Criterium du Dauphine, Tour de France and most recently at the Vuelta a Espana. His form has been great all season and he entered as the co-favorite along with four-time and Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland).

Podium: The silver medal surprisingly went to Bradley Wiggins (UK). Wiggins rode within himself and didn't cook himself entirely on the first half of the course like he did at the Vuelta time trial (where he finished 3rd). While a bronze medal would not have been a surprise, beating Cancellara for the silver is a big one even though he also beat Cancellara at the Vuelta. Cancellara did take the bronze as he cooked himself trying to keep pace with Martin and then cost himself the silver by overrunning a corner and stalling against a barrier.

Biggest non-podium surprise: Austrailian youngster Jack Bobridge took 5th place. Bobridge is only 23 and had not had many good results this season. In addition, he comes from a track background and was thought to lack the experience needed to contend in a longer time trial. Now, he looks like a possible future winner if he keeps developing.

Biggest non-podium disappointment: Defending silver medalist David Millar (UK) did not have a good ride. After a strong season, Millar looked to cap it with a good ride in the time trial. Instead, he was passed by Martin not long after the midway point even though Martin started 90 seconds after him. For most, 7th place would be a good ride. But for someone of Millar's stature, it was disappointing.

Final Top Ten:
1 Tony Martin (Germany) 53:45.85
2 Bradley Wiggins (UK) +1:15.83
3 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) +1:20.59
4 Bert Grabsch (Germany) +1:31.76
5 Jack Bobridge (Australia) +2:13.86
6 Richie Porte (Australia) +2:29.54
7 David Millar (UK) +2:45.62
8 Lieuwe Westra (Netherlands) +3:18.52
9 Alexandr Dyachenko (Kazakhstan)+3:19.76
10 Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) +3:30.59

Other cycling news: The World Championships continue through Sunday in Copenhagen. I will have a preview on the Men's Road Race on Friday in advance of Sunday's race... The 2015 World Championships were officially awarded to Richmond, Virginia today. It will be the second time the championships have been to the United States. The first time was in Colorado Springs in 1986.

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