Welcome back to the Worlds Championships 2013 with the individual time trial of the U23 riders.
The Dutch won the TTT and chances are given, that they take another gold medal here or at least one medal as Tom Dumoulin belongs to a long list of favourites.
While we have more than 15 riders being in a similar range we have only a very few outstanding names: Durbridge for sure. He might be the best time trialist here and the hottest contester for the gold medal. Following him the French Viennet and a Russian duo Vorobev/Yatsevich.
Is the podium already secured now with 4 riders being a bit ahead of the others? Eventually yes, eventually not. Too many riders being too close behind him as you could also name Haugard, Sütterlin, Gonzalez Salas, Zmorka, Jungels, Hansen, Fominykh, Shikai and a lot more.
Tim Kennaugh is the first rider being shown by the television. As decent time trialist and also good stage racer in general he could do well here. But it`s a bit surprising to see him only in 3rd at the intermediate that early being beaten by Ludvigsson and Bolivar.
Sterobo the first of two strong Danes here and he is looking strong so far.
Golovash lacks a bit in the climbing skills and seems to struggle in the uphill section. Just like in the TTT this might have a bit influence.
Goos next as Dumoulin`s team mate for the Netherlands. A very good allrounder actually with a good future.
Da Col next. His team mate Catteneo surely has better chances for a medal but as one of the outsiders, he could surprise here. At least he looks fast so far.
Predatsch is one of those German time trialists without any other strength. This might cost him a bit on the climbs. Then again his time at half time is pretty good.
Here a short overview:
1
Rasmus Sterobo
Denmark
33'57
2
Kevin Predatsch
Germany
+ 2
3
Andrea Dal Col
Italy
+ 2
4
Tobias Ludvigsson
Sweden
+ 7
5
Marc Goos
Netherlands
+ 8
6
Oleksandr Golovash
Ukraine
+ 9
7
Carlos Verona
Spain
+ 9
8
Isaac Bolicar
Mixed
+ 10
9
Tim Kennaugh
Great Britain
+ 11
10
Maani Altanzul
Mixed
+ 14
11
Sean De Bie
Belgium
s.t.
Yatsevich belongs to the best time trialists here, but as his team mate Vorobev is rated a bit stronger, he is one of the earlier starters. That said, we might see a new best time in a few seconds when he passes the finish for the first time.
And there it is. New Best time by far in 33'27 beating Sterobo by 30s!
Howson next. Also one of these earlier starters due to Durbridge being ranked top favourite. And his time isn`t really worth a late starter to be honest. Far off being 37s slower and not even close to medal course. That`s a small surprise and another Australian disappointment after their weak TTT.
Reis is our first "team leader". The Portuguese is starting for a mixed team here and is one of the stage race talents in Portugal.
Bazkhou might be one of the biggest outside favourites. Despite him not being as good timetrialist as a lot of others, he is one of the best puncheurs in the field combined with decent time trial skills. So seing him taking the 2nd at the intermediate at the moment isn`t the biggest surprise. Still 27s behind Yatsevich, who obviously had a perfect ride.
Chikai is also a great stage race prospect. Already quite a good climber with good time trial skills. Decent also today taking the 2nd spot now within the same time as Bazkhou.
Lasse Norman Hansen surely hopes for a medal like all the next starters probably. He definitely is one of the riders you could expect to get one.
Jungels was always in the shadow of the big stars from Luxembourg like the Schlecks or Kirchen. In a few years, he could be a star himself. In the U23 category he already is a superb time trialist.
Zmorka also one of those very similar ranged riders. A medal for Ukraine? This would probably be their best chance.
Dumoulin next as mentioned earlier. Very similar to Jungels actually and probably with the same goal here.
Cattaneo is the best climber here. And also one of the best time trialists. He definitly hopes for a medal. And he is smart enough to use some slipstream from a rider ahead. Officials should have a closer look there.
Gonzalez Salas is a pure time trialist and also lacks any climbing skills, which is surprising as a Spaniard actually. Still he is doing very well here as he comes in as 3rd at the moment! Comparing him with Howson for example as flat time trialist, he definitely showed a by far better performance.
1
Kiril Yatsevich
Russia
33'27
2
Bob Jungels
Luxembourg
+ 9
3
Mario Gonzalez Salas
Spain
+ 19
4
Marlen Zmorka
Ukraine
+ 26
5
Chen Shikai
China
+ 27
6
Stanislau Bazhkou
Belarus
+ 27
7
Lasse Norman Hansen
Denmark
+ 29
8
Rasmus Sterobo
Denmark
+ 54
The Russian, 4th in last years U23 ITT btw. still in the first position. But the gaps behind him are smaller now with Jungels (19./2012) in 2nd ahead of Salas (10.).
Shikai once again on a top10 course while Cattaneo with +36s is far from his 2012 performance, where he finished 5th in the end.
Also an overview of some riders already being in the finish.
1
Rasmus Sterobo
Denmark
1h08'49
2
Kevin Predatsch
Germany
+ 4
3
Andrea Dal Col
Italy
+ 4
4
Tobias Ludvigsson
Sweden
+ 12
5
Oleksandr Golovash
Ukraine
+ 15
6
Marc Goos
Netherlands
+ 16
7
Tim Kennaugh
Great Britain
+ 18
8
Isaac Bolicar
Mixed
+ 19
9
Carlos Verona
Spain
+ 20
10
Sean De Bie
Belgium
+ 24
So the top 4 are exactly the same as in the first intermediate while Golovash and Kennaugh climbed a bit. But seeing that the later riders were faster this might not mean, that anyone of those will probably take a medal.
Sütterlin as the first of the last 5 and highest ranked riders. Last year he was just 8s down and got rewarded with the silver medal. So gold would be the only improvement. Riding in Stuttgart surely improves his chances.
Haugard next. Only 13th last year and definitely a top5 candidate this year.
Vorobev on the road to beat his team mate, who still has the lead at the intermediate. But he isn`t in the finish yet, so we have to wait a bit.
The Russians definitely have a stronger duo here than last year, where Yatsevich was close to win a medal, but Krasikov was no danger at all finishing last.
Viennet missed a medal last year as 8th by quite a lot. This year everything but a medal would be a huge disappointment.
Durbridge as last starter. Bronce medal in 2012, Gold in 2013? The bets say yes. Definitely the best time trialist at the start. So far the Aussies couldn`t deliver as Howson is far from a top10 result. So his ride today might be important for them before the elite races.
Here comes the Russian train! And with what a speed. Easily Yatsevich takes the lead being 57s! faster than Sterobo. Is this already a medal time?
One thing must be said. He still leads the intermediate section with all riders having passed there. So here the times of the last riders being at this point:
1
Kiril Yatsevich
Russia
33'27
2
Luke Durbridge
Australia
+ 1
3
Bob Jungels
Luxembourg
+ 9
4
Anton Vorobev
Russia
+ 12
5
Jasha Sütterlin
Germany
+ 18
6
Emilien Viennet
France
+ 19
7
Phan Age Haugard
Norway
s.t
8
Mario Gonzalez Salas
Spain
s.t
9
Marlen Zmorka
Ukraine
+ 26
10
Chen Shikai
China
+ 27
So we see the top favourites all within the best times but only Durbridge was able to come close to Yatsevich`s best time. Jungels the biggest surprise here, while the others need a better 2nd half.
Howson only in 7th with so many riders to come. This might not even be a top20 for him in the end.
Bazhkou with a very good ride. 2nd at the moment, 52s behind Yatsevich but beating a lot of better time trialists.
Shikai on the 3rd behind Bazkhou, who obviously gained time on the 2nd half. This is a small surprise making it hard for him to improve from his last years 6th.
Hansen only 5th. Some riders look really disappointed in the finish. He is surely one of those.
Jungels definitely mustn`t be counted to those. He is coming in 2nd only 20s to Yatsevich and more than 30s to the next, Bazkhou. Shikai is kicked off the podium.
Zmorka with a pretty good time in 4th in between Bazkhou and Shikai. But not enough for a medal.
Dumoulin the next looking very angry about his performance. Only 7th so far being almost a minute behind. So no medal for the Dutch today.
Cattaneo is far from his 5th last year. With several more to come he is only 15th at the moment. But this might sound worse than it is actually as he is only ~15s off the podium as only Yatsevich and Jungels were very far ahead.
Gonzalez Salas with a huge ride. Who would have expected him to finish as 3rd at the moment. The guy who can`t climb at all might take a medal here. 35s behind Yatsevich though but also 22s ahead of the 4th!
Sütterlin as next to go for the medals. He was 5th at the checkpoint and had to improve. He did. But not enough. 4th so far even 1s slower than the Spaniard!
Lots of sad spectators now realizing that they won`t take any medal today.
Also Haugard without a medal. As 5th he can`t fulfill the expectations.
Vorobev comes in next and he gets on the podium as 3rd. So will it be a day for Russia with two medals? Only two riders to come! So Yatsevich has one medal for sure.
Yatsevich, Viennet or Durbridge? Who crowns himself as 2013 U23 ITT World Champion?
The last meters are long for the French and after coming in he immediately realizes that this ride was far from perfect and doesn`t even look at his time. +38 and the 6th only! Jungels can`t believe it. Definitely a medal for him as well while Vorobev is still not safe.
Durbridge definitely was faster than the French. He had 1s at the intermediate and wasn`t looking much slower in the end.
He comes around the corner, crosses the line, looks back and sees a big +3. This means we have Gold for Russia and "only" Silver for the top favourite from Australia with a surprising Bronce medal for Luxembourg.
Yatsevich eventually took profit from his early start as the wind was a bit less. But this was maximum for the first 6-7km. After that all riders had the same conditions, so the Russian would have taken a medal either way. But eventually this small advantage delivered him the Gold medal!
Also mentionable names once again are Salas (5th) and Bazkhou (9th). Both showed huge rides today, while Vorobev, Sütterlin, Viennet and Haugard have a top10 but surely had hoped for a medal. Shikai to complete the top10.
Durbridge for sure. He might be the best time trialist here and the hottest contester for the gold medal. Following him the French 
Viennet and a Russian duo 
Vorobev/Yatsevich. 
Tim Kennaugh is the first rider being shown by the television. As decent time trialist and also good stage racer in general he could do well here. But it`s a bit surprising to see him only in 3rd at the intermediate that early being beaten by Ludvigsson and Bolivar. 
Sterobo the first of two strong Danes here and he is looking strong so far. 
Golovash lacks a bit in the climbing skills and seems to struggle in the uphill section. Just like in the TTT this might have a bit influence.
Goos next as Dumoulin`s team mate for the Netherlands. A very good allrounder actually with a good future. 
Da Col next. His team mate Catteneo surely has better chances for a medal but as one of the outsiders, he could surprise here. At least he looks fast so far. 
Predatsch is one of those German time trialists without any other strength. This might cost him a bit on the climbs. Then again his time at half time is pretty good.
Tobias Ludvigsson
Carlos Verona
Isaac Bolicar
Sean De Bie
Reis is our first "team leader". The Portuguese is starting for a mixed team here and is one of the stage race talents in Portugal.
Bazkhou might be one of the biggest outside favourites. Despite him not being as good timetrialist as a lot of others, he is one of the best puncheurs in the field combined with decent time trial skills. So seing him taking the 2nd at the intermediate at the moment isn`t the biggest surprise. Still 27s behind Yatsevich, who obviously had a perfect ride.
Chikai is also a great stage race prospect. Already quite a good climber with good time trial skills. Decent also today taking the 2nd spot now within the same time as Bazkhou.
Jungels was always in the shadow of the big stars from Luxembourg like the Schlecks or Kirchen. In a few years, he could be a star himself. In the U23 category he already is a superb time trialist. 
Haugard next. Only 13th last year and definitely a top5 candidate this year.
