@ tsmoha: Geox did really well. But, they couldn't work Samu over apparently despite their strength.
@ baia: As I watched the results come in I was rooting for virtual Sanchez. Menchov and Sastre have their wins, Schleck surely will soon, and I can't be too fused about Cobo.
@ roturn: Caja Rural always seem to do well in the Vuelta. I once saw Javier Moreno win. Nationality bonus...
@ FreitasPCM: Likely a combination of both.
@ sutty68: Euskaltel's team was pretty weak actually. Like we saw with Liquigas and Basso in the Giro, in PCM you don't need the strongest team, just the strongest rider.
World Championships - ITT
Copenhagen: 43.6km
Following the conclusion to an exciting Vuelta, the world's best riders have headed north to Denmark for the 2011 Road World Championships. This is the fourth time the capital city of Copenhagen has hosted the event, but first since 1956. With no time trial event back then, Rik Van Steenbergen captured his second of three titles.
But enough history. Today, 66 riders from 26 nations will tackle a relatively flat, 43.6 kilometer course in and around Copenhagen.
Taking center stage is 4-time and reigning champion Fabian Cancellara. Spartacus has had an up and down season, failing to repeat his classics success from 2010. Still he won the time trial in Grenoble during the Tour and today is his race to win.
There are several challengers to Swiss dominance. The most prominent resistance comes from the neighbors to the north, Germany. Tony Martin has gone from strength to strength as a rider and has emerged as the most viable man to end Cancellara's reign. A two-time bronze medalist, Der Panzerwagen will give everything he's got.
For Italy, Adriano Malori is the best hope to do anything. A very good time trialist on his day, it looks to be a tough day for the Azzurri as all the riders pre-selected managed to come in well out of shape.
In such a condensed field, the race was packed with the peloton's best time trialist.
The first rider of real note to hit the course was Michael Rogers. A three-time champion (2003-05), the Aussie has perhaps lost a bit of his ability as he has shifted his focus to climbing and one-week races. He was disappointing today, finishing the course in 1h02'46; good for 58th.
Originally an outsider, Rogers has a bad day.
6-time American TT champion, David Zabriskie soon set the new reference time. Completely the two circuits in 1h01'04. It looked like this time would stay up for a while, at least until the big favorites hit the course.
Zabriskie has a good day; the best-placed American.
Before Tony Martin, Bert Grabsch often held the title for top German time trialist. The 2008 World Champion is now entering the twilight of his career, but a flat course such as the one in Denmark suited the brute power and strength of the 36 year old. Alas, with his better days behind him, Grabsch weakened in the last section. He just missed a Top 10 placing, finishing in 12th.
Grabsch grinding away on his high gear.
Once one of the true stars of Belgian cycling, Stijn Devolder has fallen on rough times. However, after an invigorated Vuelta, where he narrowly missed a couple stage wins, perhaps better times are ahead. Clearly in great form, Devolder shocked many when crushed Zabriskie's time. He finished in 1h00'19.
With a time like that a podium shout is not out of the question,
Devolder hopes to get to his winning ways.
Last year's silver medalist, David Millar surely entered the day with podium dreams. Those quickly slipped away for the Brit, who much like Rogers, was not up to scratch. 24th was the best he could manage.
Millar entered the day as a podium contender.
Italy's Malori was soon on the road. As predicted, he found the day tough. In form, a Top 10 finish would have been possible. However, 43rd is what happened.
The rest of the Italian squad fared no better. 44th, 55th, and 56th. Maybe the road race will hold something better in store.
Italy was off the pace.
Perhaps the Nordic countries best hope was the next rider on the road. Gustav Erik Larsson has had a good season for the depleted Saxo Bank SunGard team. However, many of his results have come because of an increased climbing ability. The Swede put forth a good effort, but it was not enough to unseat Devolder.
Larsson pushes hard, trying to maintain momentum.
Finally, Devolder's time fell. Canadian Svein Tuft completed the course in 1h00'08. In fact, he was so quick and a photo could not be taken.
Instead, enjoy Bradley Wiggins. He just edged into the Top 10 with a time of 1h00'48.
Wiggins was GB's best placed rider.
Richie Porte joined a growing list of riders who were a bit off form on the day. A pre-race podium contender, the Tasmanian could only manage 19th. He completed an underwhelming day for the Aussies.
Porte has had a long season.
Coming off a third-place finish in the Vuelta, Denis Menchov is in great form. One of the best time trialist of the GC contenders, put his versatility on display, blazing through the course in 59'33. He was the first rider to break the hour mark.
With only Martin and Cancellara left, he guaranteed himself at least the bronze medal.
Perhaps an upset is brewing.
Tony Martin was the second to last rider on the road. While there had been some good rides today, the main event was about to begin.
The big German got onto the course quickly.
Martin at the start.
Several minutes later, Cancellara was off after his younger rival.
Calm and collected, Cancellara knows what must be done today.
There were two time checks on the day before the finish. Martin, obviously, got to the first point ahead of Cancellara. He lowered Menchov's mark, going threw the point in 20'53.
Martin looks to be riding well.
It was no shock to see Martin set a new reference time. Attention quickly went back to the clock and Cancellara.
The Swiss champion arrived at the same point in 21'10, 17 seconds off Martin! Was Cancellara struggling or just saving energy? Either way, he was going to have to fight back.
Cancellara in an unfamiliar position.
Tony Martin kept his cadence regular and his position still. Always a very good time trialist, he was putting on an impressive display.
The second time check was at 31km. Martin went through in 42'09, again the fastest time.
Martin continues to apply the pressure.
With only 12km to go, Cancellara's time at the second intermediate point would likely determine the day. Looking a bit haggard, Cancellara's time was only 42'42. He had lost another 16 seconds and Martin's lead was out to 33" overall.
Barring a crash or mechanical, Martin was riding to victory.
Cancellara knows the day is lost.
Safely, Martin made it to the finish line. His time of 59'01 was easily best on the day.
Behind him, an exhausted Cancellara crossed the line in 59'47. Clearly, he didn't have the form today, consistently losing time all the way to the finish. He fell so much in the final section he had to settle for the bronze medal.
Martin crosses the line for his biggest win ever.
Is this the end of Fabian's time trial dominance? Perhaps.
But the day truly belonged to Tony Martin. The HTC rider put on a magnificent ride.
His tremendous victory was coupled with rumors of a team switch. When asked about it, he was dismissive, saying, his team choice for next year will be revealed in several weeks.
Attention now turns to the road race where Great Britain's Mark Cavendish is the overwhelming favorite.
@ tsmoha: Menchov is likely in great form. Since Geox only got one grand tour invite, he is only around 55 race days.
@ lennybernstein: Thanks!
@ sutty68: Not the most realistic result, but whatever.
@ valverde321: I knew you'd like that.
@ Teddy the Creator: I normally hate writing about time trials (nothing happens) so I appreciate the kind words. Hopefully Italy can make more of impact on the road.
World Championships - Road Race
Copenhagen: 264.6km
At the end of a long, 264 kilometer course, a year in the rainbow jersey awaits one lucky rider. The circuit course will see the peloton make 18 laps. Many feel the course is not overly decisive. Given this, Great Britain's Mark Cavendish is the overwhelming favorite the win the day.
Italy will be hoping to be more of a protagonist today. They bring an experienced squad that will have several cards to play depending on how the day turns. If a mass sprint is in the cards, Daniele Bennati will be the team's main man. If the race turns out to be a bit hillier than expected, the team is not short of options with Filippo Pozzato, Giovanni Visconti, and Alessandro Ballan. Working in their service will be Marco Frapporti, Daniele Callegarin, Leonardo Bertagnolli, Mauro Finetto, and Matteo Carrara.
The fans lined the roads early, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite riders.
And so the long day begins.
Italy were aggressive from the outset. National champion Daniele Callegarin attacked in the early kilometers, hoping to get away from the peloton. Whatever move forms, Italy wants to be represented.
Callegarin flies the flag for Italy.
Numerous attacks came from behind and soon a large group had joined the Italian. Big nations like Belgium, Australia, and Great Britain all missed the move.
Callegarin in a break.
Callegarin pushed the pace in the group, but the missing nations put the clamps on the move. It was shortly pulled back in.
Matteo Carrara and Mauro Finetto both made attempts at joining a breakaway, but each time the peloton had other ideas. Unsurprisingly, the racing was very fast as most nation's wanted to be in a break.
After nearly 50km, a move got away. No Italian was present...
The break consisted of Grega Bole (Slovenia), Daryl Impey (South Africa), Cândido Barbosa (Portugal), Chris Froome (Great Britain), Blazej Janiaczyk (Poland), Vladimir Karpets and Eduard Vorganov (Russia), Magnus Bäckstedt (Sweden), Aitor Galdos (Spain), Assan Bazayev (Kazakhstan), Kenny Van Hummel (Netherlands), Dominik Klemme (Germany), and Matthew Wilson and Simon Gerrans (Australia).
Italy miss the day's first big move.
The weather in Denmark was lovely, and everyone was subject to some beautiful images.
With the break away, the peloton relaxed a bit. Without a man up the road, Belgium and Italy would have to take more responsibility than either team likely wanted.
The peloton rolls along.
The large breakaway quickly built up a lead. With 150km to go on the day, they were 5'35 ahead of the main field.
The break's lead grows.
The lead continued to expand as the peloton reached the halfway point of the day. With 100km to go, the lead grew to its maximum; 7'26. Here, the peloton started to chase.
Surprisingly, it was Australia who led the charge. Stock full of capable sprinters like Matthew Goss, Heinrich Haussler, Allan Davis, and Mark Renshaw, it was strange given the presence of two riders up the road.
Australia lead the charge.
In a strange move, defending champion Thor Hushovd (Norway) attacked from the peloton with 72km to go. Robert Hunter (South Africa) and Nico Eeckhout (Belgium) went along on this speculative move.
Hushovd is off.
14 kilometers later, Hushovd and his companions were back in the peloton.
With 50km to go, clearly feeling strong, the Norwegian was again on the attack. This time, Martijn Maaskant (Netherlands) followed.
The peloton was trailing the leading break by 3'57.
Hushovd's tactics must be questioned.
This time the move only lasted 4 kilometers. The peloton was now chasing hard.
As the pace raised, three-time champion Óscar Freire (Spain) was dropped.
An outsider, a fourth rainbow jersey is not in the cards.
The race was entering its final, decisive phase. The break was still going well up the road.
Italy took charge at the front of the group. All their main leaders were still riding well and the team wanted to put Mark Cavendish and the other pure sprinters under pressure. Marco Frapporti led the peloton.
With 20km to go, the break's lead was down to 1'30.
Frapporti's fine form is rewarded with a selection for the Worlds.
Frapporti was able to really string the group out, but ultimately, the terrain wasn't hard enough to really cause splits. Still Italy would fight on.
Visconti went on the attack with 14km left.
Visconti is the first card played by Italy.
Visconti showed a good burst, but again, at risk of sounding like a broken record, the parcours was too easy. He could not create a sizeable gap and was soon brought back in.
Up ahead, riding in the breakaway for around 200km had taken its toll on most of the riders. Gerrans was clearly the strongest and rode away from his companions on the penultimate climb. He had 10km of flat, solo riding ahead of him.
Back in the peloton, a small crash occurred in the middle of the pack. Italy's leaders made it through okay, but Finetto and Callegarin got caught up.
A crash derails momentum.
For much of the day, the peloton looked to have the break solidly under control, but with 10km left, the chase had suddenly become unhinged. Gerrans lead was a shade over a minute!
Feeling a sense of urgency, Pozzato attacked.
Pozzato goes after Gerrans.
Pozzato had done a nice job conserving his energy on the day and was going well. In his wheel was Johan Vansummeren (Belgium). Maybe they could create a gap and work together to reach Gerrans...
Pozzato and Vansummeren make a last ditch effort.
...but no! In absolutely spectacular fashion, the 31-year old Australian holds off the peloton to take the 2011 World Championships!
38 seconds later, on home soil, Matti Breschel (Denmark) nabs his second consecutive silver medal, just ahead of Peter Sagan (Slovakia).
Pozzato, who fell back in the sprint was the highest placed Italian finisher, crossing the line in 7th. Ballan came in 13th while Bennati took 27th.
The mass sprint that was expected never really materialized. Cavendish came in 15th after a hard day's riding.
A sublime win.
A stage winner in every grand tour, the win here will be the feather in Gerrans' cap. A very accomplished rider, this result is remarkable and will perhaps spur him on to even bigger things.
Great report again. The course made for boring TV, but at least your commentary gave it some life! I look forward to the final races of the season and to seeing whether you've made any new signings...
@ Spilak23: Thanks. I didn't even realize he had broken free up ahead until it was too late That's why there are no screens of him.
@ cunego59: Thanks. It certainly wasn't a course for Italy. Cunego and Nibali refused to ride. The way the riders prepare/are selected for the Worlds is a big issues in my opinion.
@ tsmoha: I don't win often, but I'll go down swinging.
@ baia: I wonder when the last WC came from a breakaway. My cycling knowledge doesn't go back that far.
@ lennybernstein: Thanks. I'm glad it wasn't just a straightforward sprint. I like to think Italy played some role in that. I have made new signings and will reveal them and all the transfer movement after the season.
@ andy222c: The attack was never going to succeed. It probably would've been smarter to stay in the pack and just sprint. However, I don't see much of a difference between say 4th and 7th in a race like this.
Sánchez dominating, but this team did very well..
Fantastic reports in both TT and RR! Also, good riding, Italy was very active and did the best they could.
That's why there are no screens of him.
