It's here, the first duel for the rainbow bands!
First up here in Kobenhaven we have the TT, a 45km route which will be hard fought between all the best Time Triallists in the peloton.
Due to the teams hard work this year, the USA are allowed 4 slots in this race, and they will be filled by, Lance Armstrong, Taylor Phinney, Levi Leipheimer and David Zabriskie. The unfortunates who miseed the final cut, were Tejay Van Garderen, and Christian Vandevelde, who were the least fit of the available riders.
Startlist
Favourites: The 3 outright favourites for success in Norway, are Cancellara, Wiggins and Martin.
However, Luis Sanchéz is another suggested favourite, after his dominant performance over a similar distance in spain. Gustav Larsson of Sweden is very strong against the clock, though his lack of fitness may cost him compared the the spaniard.
Alberto Contador is the final pick for overall victor, after a quiet season through injury, he mentioned he was looking to peak to the Worlds, and there is no doubting the mans ability versus the clock.
Teddy The Creator wrote:
Really nice Vuelta win, and the world champs will be good. Is the RR a route maybe Horner could perform in? He won the 2012 WC in one of my careers.
It's last years real route (Being on the 2010 games 2011DB) So, possibly, Him or Farrar, but Tyler isn't in shape particularly...
Also, the sprinting on PCM10 is so buggy, that frankly anyone could win if it comes to a bunch finish, can't wait to finish off this season and convert to pcm2012!
I wanna thank you for keeping the story going and not just cutting it to make a new PCM 12 one You could really keep it in this thread, right? Why not? It'd be confusing.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
I was thinking of asking an admin to move it from here to PCM2012 stories section after i finish Lombardia and the season review, otherwise I might start a new thread, that way i can tidy it all up and give a new presentation
On a cloudy morning in Kobenhaven, the rider who would spend the next year in the TT bands would be decided... First up, was Alex Rasmussen of Denmark and HTC. however, no sooner had he finished, than USA Rider Taylor Phinney (Exxon-Duke) knocked him off top spot with a time of 1h08'33"
This time stood until Former World TT Champion, Michael Rogers (Australia and Sky) completed the course, finishing in a time of 1h07'54"
The time of Rogers was clearly a strong one, it saw several very strong TT'ers finish behind it, including Samu Sanchéz, Jens Voigt, and Levi Leipheimer.
Eventually, Luis Léon Sanchéz stormed around the course, and hammered Rogers time, 38" Quicker! Could he perform a repeat of his Vuelta TT Success?
Outside favourite for success today, was Young Australian TT star, Jack Bobridge. He was 1" down after the second Checkpoint, but had clearly not accounted for the length, and finished 28" behind Sanchéz time, which was looking progressively harder to beat.
The last USA hope of the day, was Lance Armstrong (Exxon-Duke) However, Lance suffered from the same problem as his US team mates, and didn't have the fitness to hold the pace, finishing 1'09" behind, with the same time as David Zabriskie.
The last 5 men off the ramp, were on paper the best in the world against the clock. Frst up, was Swedish rider, Gustav Larsson, however he disappointed and finished 1" behind Bobridge, moving into proivisional 3rd place.
Number 4, was GB all rounder Bradley Wiggins, The brit was 17" behind at CP1, 40" behind at CP2, and Finished 51" down finally finishing just outside the top 10.
3rd Last was the race wildcard, Alberto Contador, sadly his season ended as it began, he finished 5th overall, but the rider just hasn't got back to form after multiple injuries...
Last but one today was Tony Martin, he was predicted to show us brilliance, so mediocre wasn't a result he was too pleased with, he got 8th 40" behind Luis Sanchéz, who now as only Cancellara between him and the Rainbow bands!
And Sanchéz wins the World TT Championships! He's had a great season with 3rd at La Vuelta and 4th at The Giro! Cancellara was just 5" behind after Checkpoint 2, but like the rest of the competition, he couldn't contend with the strength of Sanchéz just coming off the back of the Vuelta.
Not a good TT for the U.S. but they can win the RR, and how did Coppel beat Martin?
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.
The road race, one of the most prestigious days on the UCi Calendar, This year Denmark will play host to the 254km route, which looks to favour the sprinters.
The bookies have clearly been pulled between punchers and sprinters as there selection of favourites is as follows:
3 Stars: Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert 2 Stars: Mark Cavendish, Filippo Pozzato, Tyler Farrar 1 Stars: Damiano Cunego, Matt Goss, Fabian Cancellara
Tyler Farrar will be the USA team leader here today, Chris Horner declined the invitation to join the side, as did Levi and Lance, leaving us with a fairly one dimensional squad.
Leader: Tyler Farrar Free: Tom Danielson Teammates: T Van Garderen, F Landis, D Zabriskie, J Keough, T Phinney, D Pate, G Hincapie
The team is built entirely around Tyler, using the best American TTists in the business to get Farrar to the line. Hincapie might chance a breakaway as the strongest all rounder, and with limieted opportunities to take success left for the veteran american.
Thor Hushovd has ridden his last stage in the rainbow bands, today we will have a new world champion, can we make it an american?
The slightly uphill sprint will make it harder for the pure sprinters, should an explosive puncher try and contest, but the overall course ins't too harsh, so we will have a large group together for the finish.
The race saw a very early, though strong break form around George Hincapie, after just 20km, Rabon of the Czech Republic was also in the group that got clear, along with Bonnet of France and Gasparotto of Italy.
One of the races absolute favourites, was Tom Boonen of Belgium, however after just 75km in the saddle he suffered a nasty crash, continuing, but he carried injuries from that point onwards.
With 50km to go, Hincapie was trying his best to keep the break going, they held a lead of 4'28" but not many of the breakaway were willing to help Hincapie set a pace.
The main team involved in the chase, were the dutch, who had most of the team on the front working for their dual leaders, Theo Bos and Lars Boom.
Sure enough, with 14km to go, Hincapie was swept up, the last man from the original breakaway, and Australia and the Netherlands together maintained the pace, trying to avoid breaks.
With 6km to go, we put the USA train formed down the left handside for Farrar, whilst a second sprinters train began to form on the right hand side of the road.
3km to go, and we have the front train, Farrar however is starting to struggle, his legs are sluggish due to the time since his last race, and he is struggling to hold the fast pace.
Sure enough, with 1.9km the sprinters train draws level. Unsurprisingly some punchers are also in the train. In order - Boassen-Hagen, Traksel, Greipel, Cunego, Freire, Cavendish, Bos)
750m... The USA can't keep the pace up, Farrar tries to follow, but looks distinctly like the "best of the rest" Boassen-Hagen is effectively leading out the men behind him, as he can't shake them off his wheel.
300m... It's down to 4 men now, Boassen-Hagen, Vicioso of Spain who has come from no where, Cunego and Bos. The Italian has just launched his sprint and is coming around the outside, will he be next years world champion?
Yes! After an Ardennes Classics season where he couldn't quite take top spot, 8th, 4th and Second, along with victory in the Ouest-France Plouey, Cunego takes a superb victory in the World Championships, to don the Rainbow Jersey, to go one better than he managed in 2008, when he followed home team mate Ballan.
The last day of our season, the Giro Il Lombardia. This Autumn classic favours the guys who have most left after the trying season, and will be the final race in deciding the overall victor of the UCi World Tour competitions.
The route is 260km in length, so with so many kilometres already in the riders legs, today should be a real test, and a great way to complete the season.
The Favourites
3 Star: Alberto Contador, Damiano Cunego, Philippe Gilbert 2 Star: Simon Gerrans, Michele Scarponi, Vicenzo Nibali 1 Star: Chris Horner, Suergei Ivanov, Ryder Hesjedal
My Prediction: This is something which I stopped doing for a while during the middle of the season, due to how busy life with the team was, but I felt I ought to give it one last shot to finish off the season
My choice for today is going to be Damiano Cunego. He looked really powerful in the Worlds, and has ridden strongly in all the classics this year. The world champion has also been picked by the bookies as one of the big favourites, so look out for the rainbow bands in the finale in his home territory.
