Welcome back to Stuttgart for the Elite Individual Time Trial championship. We have the same course today that we had for the Team Time Trial, where the Dutch beat the Spanish to defend their title. Will we see one of the big favourites take the win today or will we, as in the U23 time trial, see a surprise winner. Unlike in that race there is very little wind forecast for the whole day so we have an even playing field.
We have a 56km course on offer with two climbs. There are time checks after 22km and 49km, which come about half way down the gentle descent from the climb. Finally, we have a steady climb to the finish line to finish things off. Will the pure TT riders be able to deal with the hills or will it suit someone who is also a decent puncheur?
So without further ado let’s get started.
First out of the gate is Thomas Lovkvist. He is actually not too bad a time trialist and should at least give us a decent idea of what sort of time we can expect from these earlier riders. His time at the first check is 35’58”.
Following this his second check is 1h17’12”. We can see just how arduous this course is by the fact that his time is 1h28’42”. That is an incredibly long time to be in the saddle at these paces so we can expect some large gaps to appear. I’m sure the favourites will be aiming for times under 1h26’00”.
The man behind him on the road is the young Nelson Oliveira. He hasn’t finished all of his development but once he does he can aim for a better time in this race. Oliveira beats the time at the first check with a time of 35’55”, just 3” faster.
He extends his lead at the second check with a new best of 1h17’04”. At the end of the course his time is 1h28’33”, meaning that he is the new leader by only 9”.
A couple more riders go before we get our next decent time trialist. That rider is none other than Jaroslav Popovych. He might be opposed to leaving this early but either way it gives him a good chance of setting a lasting early time. Indeed he easily beats the time at the first check with a new best of 35’24”.
His new best time at the second check is even better – 1h16’00”. That’s more than a minute better than Oliveira’s time. Finally, he finishes the course in 1h27’22”.
The time trialist following this great performance is Brian Vandborg, who might be here for the last time in his career given that he is getting older and Denmark have several strong TT riders. His time at the first check is good enough for provisional second at 35’35”.
At the second he continues to hold a good time with 1h16’20” and remains second with a final time of 1h27’45”. A respectable time that he can be happy with.
Unfortunately his ride is somewhat overshadowed by the next man out - Vincenzo Nibali. It is interesting to see him leaving earlier here as he is probably a better time trialist than his teammate Adriano Malori. Maybe he is hoping that the wind changes? Either way his time at the first check is a new best of 35’09”.
At the second time check he remains the fastest with a new best of 1h15’28” and he holds this to the end where he sets our new best time of 1h26’47”. This seems like it could be a really competitive time based on the gap back to the others.
The next rider is Jack Bauer, who will probably like the slightly lumpy course. He might hope to use this as a springboard to competing for his national jersey against his compatriot Jesse Sergent. Whatever his plans, his first time check is only 35’47”, which is not on the podium.
He doesn’t improve by the next check, where his time is 1h16’46”. His time at the end is 1h28’14”, slotting him into provisional fourth but knowing that he will slip a long way further down.
Kristjan Koren is the next one up, the reigning Slovenian national champion. Him leaving early might be surprising but his teammate Janez Brajkovic is probably the better time trialist on paper. Koren could put that in doubt, however, as he sets a new best time at the first chek. His time is 35’06”, 3” faster than Nibali’s effort.
Indeed Koren continues to be fastest at the second time check with 1h15’20”, and then he finishes it off with a time of 1h26’38”, shaving 9” off the Italian’s effort.
It was quite competitive to get into the squad for Great Britain here, but Ian Bibby managed it. It is hoped that his climbing ability will supplement his time trialing ability here. Certainly he rewards some of that faith with a strong 35’17” at the first time check.
His times at the second check and the finish are 1h15’41” and 1h27’03”, meaning that he is only 25” off the best time of Koren.
Fabio Duarte has had a real season of ups-and-downs but still was able to be selected for his national team here. He probably won’t like the hills too much and indeed he shows that with his first time of 35’45”.
Things don’t get any better for him and after going through the second check in 1h16’40” he finishes the course in 1h28’07”, almost 1’30” off the best time.
One man who has certainly had a brilliant season, however, is Timofey Kritskiy. He will almost certainly be heading to the ProTour next season and will want to show his potential rivals what he is made of. His time at the first check is 35’11”, just 5” off the pace!
He remains quick at the second check with a time of 1h15’26”, now just 6” off the pace and in fact moving into 2nd ahead of Nibali. He finishes the course in 1h26’46”, maintaining his provisional 2nd place. He will be very happy about that.
The next rider out is another great time trialist. This time we have Joost Posthuma, the double Dutch champion. He will be expecting to put in an incredibly good time here, as he is surely aiming for a top ten finish. At the first checkpoint his time is 25’07”, just 1” down on Koren.
At the second check he has reversed this and Posthuma moves into first with a time of 1h15’14”. Finally, he finishes the course in 1h26’33”, setting the new best time. There will be a long wait for him now before the biggest names come through but in the meantime he will be able to see just how enduring his time is.
Fittingly, after the Dutch rider we get a Spaniard in Ruben Plaza. Plaza will hopefully be spurred on y missing out on his gold medal in the TTT. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like he is spurred on enough as his time at the first check is 35’24”, putting his almost 20” off the pace.
At the second check his time is 1h15’40”, and he finishes in 1h27’12”, meaning that he in fact lost some ground to riders like Bibby in that final section and he will finish well down the order today.
Next up is Jan Ghyselinck, who is another rider who got through in a very competitive nomination process. He may struggle a bit on the hills here and indeed he shows that with his first time of 35’41”, a whole 35” back.
His second time is 1h16’24” and he finishes in a time of 1h27’50”, which is well off the mark.
If you thought that Ghyselinck was going to struggle on the hills then Lucas Schadlich is just going to hate them more. He is certainly a pure rouleur who just loves the flat. Regardless, he actually puts in a strong 35’18” at the first check, though ultimately this is probably worse than he would have done on a flat course.
His second check is 1h15’32” and he finishes the course in 1h26’52”, only 19” down. Regardless, you have to think that being beaten by riders like Koren imply that there is something to be gained on this course by being a decent puncheur.
Much better on the hills but not strong enough on the flats would be a good description of Brent Bookwalter, who is the next rider up. His teammate Taylor Phinney seems to be tipped by most managers to take out the title this season so this ride might be more about recon. His first time certainly makes it seem like that is the case as he goes through in 35’37”.
At the second check he is exactly 1 minute back with a time of 1h16’14” and he finishes the course in 1h27’38”. Hopefully he could give his teammate the information that he needed.
Surely one of the riders who could perform brilliantly in this race in the future is Jack Bobridge, particularly on a course like this. Unfortunately he hasn’t finished developing yet so there is still some time before that happens but until then this is some valuable experience. His time at the first check is a still somewhat disappointing 35’32”.
He seems to have a decent second period and puts in a respectable 1h16’07” at the second check before finishing in 1h27’30”. Ultimately he will probably just be glad to have been picked ahead of riders like Ford and Olman.
This is the sort of course that you would think Pierre Rolland would love, with slight hills to hurt other riders more. Unfortuantely he goes out of the starting house and at the first check his time is only 35’50”, putting his well behind other riders we should be beating like Duarte and Bauer.
At the second check he has picked up his pace somewhat and he goes through in 1h16’43”, which while still not a great time it is still somewhat better. He finishes in an ultimately disappointing 1h28’10”.
And with that we have reached the half way mark! Here are the top 5 times at each of the time checks:
Check 1
Koren
35'06"
Posthuma
35'07"
+1"
Nibali
35'09"
+3"
Kritskiy
35'11"
+5"
Bibby
35'17"
+11"
Check 2
Posthuma
1h15'14"
Koren
1h15'20"
+6"
Kristkiy
1h15'26"
+12"
Nibali
1h15'28"
+14"
Schadlich
1h15'32"
+18"
Finish
Posthuma
1h26'33"
Koren
1h26'38"
+5"
Kristkiy
1h26'46"
+13"
Nibali
1h26'47"
+14"
Schadlich
1h26'52"
+19"
So turning to the first of our team leaders, we have Jonas Lindgren. It would be surprising if he could break into the current top 5 but he will surely be happy to just put in a decent time. His time at the first check is 35’50”, putting him well down the list.
Things only start to get worse as he drifts to 1’30” down at the second check with his time of 1h16’44” and he finishes in 1h28’11”. He was never really a favourite but might have hoped for slightly better.
It will be interesting to watch the next rider Rui Costa, because he is equally good as a time trialist and as a puncheur. Perhaps because of this he puts in a solid 35’32” at the first check.
Costa continues his strong ride by chalking up a time of 1h16’08” at the second check point. Finally, he finishes the race in 1h27’33”, only 1 minute down on the best time.
The next rider, Ramunas Navardauskas, is much less flexible. He is great on the flat but not so good on the hills. As we saw with Schadlich this can be a tough combination on this course. His first time shows this perfectly as he can only manage 35’46”.
At the second check his time is 1h16’34”. It is telling that he is getting close to the time of Lindgren here. Finally, he finishes in 1h28’01”, which you have to think he will be supremely disappointed with.
Next up we have Roman Kreuziger, who is certainly a much better climber than Navardauskas. The Czech Republic doesn’t have a lot of chances for any glory in these Worlds so they would just settle for a decent time. At the first check he goes through in 35’38” which, while decent, is hardly what some would have been hoping for.
At the second check his time is 1h16’17”, which is disappointingly more than minute down on Posthuma. He finishes in 1h27’42”, about 9” behind Costa whom he would have hoped to beat.
We now come to another rider whose nation doesn’t have a lot of chances in this week’s racing. Maciej Bodnar isn’t great on the hills but he is better than Navardauskas. He may also struggle with the distance of this race as he is better as a prologue rider or in a TTT train. At the first check he appears to be saving himself as he goes through in 35’42”.
At the second check his time doesn’t get much better as he goes through in 1h16’26”. Even if he isn’t a favourite he was surely hoping for more than this. Ultimately he finishes in 1h27’52”.
Dmitri Grabovski is a fantastic domestique for his team as he is good over most terrains and can push a pace for a long time. Now riding for his national team, he will remember that Popovych set the best time earlier in the day. It looks like he won’t be repeating that performance, however, as he goes through the first check in 35’44”, which is actually 20” worse than his countryman.
At the second check his time is 1h16’31” and he finishes in 1h27’57”. This will almost certainly be one of the worst times produced by a team leader. Certainly from here it seems likely that many of the times will start to get faster.
Andre Steensen will probably like this course. Not just because of the hills like several others here, but also because of the distance. He can hold his pace for much longer than most of the others here. Clearly he doesn’t use that to his advantage, however, as he goes through the first check in 35’38”, which is the same time as Kreuziger.
Indeed he goes 1 second faster than Kreuziger at the second check (1h16’16”) and he holds that second lead until he finishes in a time of 1h27’41”.
The Italians are more here with hopes of winning the road race than anything else but after the strong effort from Nibali they may also be hoping for more from Adriano Malori. It is a bit odd that he is leaving after Nibali here, but clearly they want to test him a bit. Either way he produces a strong first time of 35’31”, beating riders like Costa and Bobridge
At the second check his time is 1h16’02” and he caps this off with a finishing time of 1h27’25”. This makes him the best ‘leader’ of those who have finished so far, and he can be proud of that result.
Jesse Sergent is quite a similar rider to Malori – both are young and not quite used to the hills or this distance and both of them will be aiming for their national championships this year. Sergent goes through the first check in a similar time too – 35’36”.
At the second check his time is 1h16’12” and he finishes in 1h27’36”. That makes him faster than Bauer, which will make him happy in terms of his chances for the national champion’s jersey.
Now we start to reach some of the very strong leaders. Janez Brajkovic is first up of these outsiders. Remember that Koren set a great time of 1h26’38” earlier in the day and sits in provisional second. Can Brajkovic outdo him here? His first time is 35’17”, only 11” down from the best time at the first check.
At the second check Brajkovic’s time is 1h15’34”, now 20” back from Posthuma and he finishes in 1h26’55”, 22” down from Posthuma’s best and just outside the top 5 times. A strong ride from Brajkovic here.
It is perhaps surprising to see Andrew Tennant leaving this late, given that he isn’t as high-profile as some riders here. He will certainly like the distance but his ability over the hills is a bit questionable. He soon does away with some of those doubts, however, as his time through the first check is 35’18”, just 1 second slower than Brajkovic’s time.
At the second check he comes through in 1h15’32”, this time 2 seconds faster than Brajkovic. He finishes the course in a very solid time of 1h26’52”.
Better known as a climber, it is sometimes forgotten that Rigoberto Uran is also a great time trialist. He will be hoping to put in a big effort today to sit around the top 15 or so places. His first time is a decent 35’24”.
His second check is 1h15’46” which means that he is starting to drift away from where he would like to be and in fact his final time of 1h27’08” certainly doesn’t look like the sort of time he wants to be posting. A disappointing ride from the Colombian.
It is something of a surprise to see Aleksandr Pluchkin leaving this early, with 9 more riders after him to go. Certainly he has been one of the stand-out performers in this discipline throughout the season. We can expect a strong fight from him here. His time at the first check is 35’15”, which is enough for provisional fifth at that part of the course.
At the second check his time is 1h15’28”, which is the same as Nibali’s great early time. Finally, he finishes in 1h26’47” and he is given provisional 4th place ahead of Nibali by less than a second.
Next up we have a Man Game legend in the form of Mikhail Ignatiev. He is something of an outsider here but on a good day he can really fight with the best of them. He will certainly be hoping for a top ten finish. Today, however, is not one of his best days and his first check is a poor 35’27”, which is outside the time of Uran.
Things don’t get better as his next two times are 1h15’52” and 1h27’14”. Thankfully for Russian fans Kritskiy rode well earlier in the day and is 28” faster than him, but Ignatiev will be truly disappointed with that effort regardless.
Now we get to the final 8 riders – these are the big favourites for this race and all of them, on a good day, could manage a podium place. First up we have Robert Gesink, who is a marvellously balanced rider capable of dealing with everything from mountains to hills and even time trialing. His countryman Posthuma sits top of the leaderboard now and so whatever happens this will be another good day for Dutch cycling. Gesink’s first time is 34’52”, which is the new best time by 14”! Clearly we can expect a big ride from him here!
Sitting behind him on the course is Justo Tenorio, another GC rider who happens to be good in this discipline too. His strength in this discipline is one of the things that lead him to victory in the Vuelta this year. His time at the first check is 35’01”, putting him into second place behind Gesink. This shows that Posthuma’s hopes of a top 5 or so finish may in fact be in danger.
It is almost a surprise to see Dominique Cornu leave 6th last, particularly after someone like Ignatiev. He is great in this discipline but he lacks ability over this sort of distance. Regardless, he puts in a solid effort through the first check with a time of 35’08”, good enough for 6th at the moment.
We saw Schadlich earlier in the race struggle over the hills and lose a chance at putting in a provisional podium earlier in the day. We can expect the same problems from his compatriot Marcel Kittel. He is a great powerhouse in a TTT train but over the hills ad this distance he may struggle to get a great time. His first check is 35’10” which is good enough for 8th but once again you have to wonder if he could be higher up on a flat course.
Next up we have arguably the brightest spark of American cycling Taylor Phinney. As was mentioned earlier, Phinney is widely tipped by many of the managers to win the race today and it is easy to see why. He is just as good in this discipline as most of his other competitors and he combines that with a great climbing ability. Not only that but at age 23 he has time to grow even more as a rider and become a true legend. He comes through the first check and it is a new best time! 34’44”! This shaves 8” off the time of Gesink.
Next up we have the defending champion Michael Rogers. Rogers has had a very disappointing season, partly due to race planning issues and partly due to aging legs. Still, he is a force to be reckoned with and you have to think that he will want to take something away from this race because it is probably the last time he can ride it and still be competitive. He goes through the first check in 35’00”, good enough for third but, you have to think, not good enough for a defending champion.
Now it is time for Fabian Cancellara to step up. He is another rider who really will want to do something to do to make up for his increasing age. He has had a very good season and has certainly helped Simply Red Bull with their survival chances. He goes through the first check and it is a fast time... but not fast enoughas he goes through in 34’53”, which is currently third place behind Gesink.
Finally we have the other younger rider here in Jerome Coppel. Undoubtedly he will have many fantastic duels with Phinney over the years to come and today looks set to be one of them. While he isn’t as good a climber as the American he is arguably a slightly better time trialist so this should be an interesting match up. He goes through the first check and the time is 34’52”, which is less than 1 second behind Gesink and good enough for third!
So with everyone through the first check here are the times:
Phinney
34'44"
Gesink
+8"
Coppel
+8"
Cancellara
+9"
Rogers
+16"
Tenorio
+18"
Koren
+21"
Posthuma
+22"
Nibali
+24"
Cornu
+25"
Phinney has an early lead over everyone else but we have seen some riders go out too fast early in the course only to fade later on. Certainly the top four riders here are all in with a chance!
We now turn back to Robert Gesink, who is one of the four riders who seems to be in with a shot of the win here. He has been something of a surprise and I’m sure both the selectors and his manager will be incredibly pleased with whatever he does from here. Certainly he shows no sign of slowing as he goes through the second check in 1h14’42”, which is the new best time!
He continues on to the finish with the same speed and he goes through there in our new best of 1h25’56”. This is a truly brilliant performance and certainly if I were Posthuma I would be worried about my chances of winning the time trial championship from here.
Behind him is Justo Tenorio who was 5th at the first check and will hop to keep that top 5 placing until the end. He was 9” behind Gesink at the first check and now, through the second check, he is 17” behind him with a time of 1h14’59”. This keeps him in provisional 2nd there.
At the finish his time is 1h26’15”, which is good enough for provisional second and probably good enough to keep a top 5 finish. We will have to see, but the young Spaniard will certainly be satisfied with that ride.
Dominique Cornu was only tenth at the first time check which may be slightly worse than he was hoping for. He is certainly capable of better than tenth place. Certainly he starts to show that as he goes through the second time check in 1h15’12” which means that he has overtaken the times of Nibali, Posthuma and Koren and moved into provisional 3rd.
He holds this speed and finishes provisional 3rd with a time of 1h26’29”. He started off fairly poorly but will be much more satisfied with that finish. Certainly, I can confirm that his manager is.
Marcel Kittel will be cursing the German race organisers for not picking a course that suits his abilities much more. He was in 12th place at the first time check and will certainly be wanting to move into the top ten to at least give the fans something to cheer for. Certainly at the second time check he achieves this by going through in 1h15’13”, which in fact means that he overtakes the same three early starters as Cornu.
He finishes the course in the same provisional place, which is 5th. With only 4 riders left on the course, he is guaranteed to achieve his aim of a top ten finish.
It is now time for our leader on the road Taylor Phinney, who blew everyone away at the first time check. Can he keep this speed up or has he gone out too fast? We come to the second time check and... it is a new best time! He goes through in 1h14’19”, meaning that he has actually increased his lead over Gesink, who is now 23” back.
And there is no surprise as Phinney goes through the finish line with a time of 1h25’33”, which is easily the new best time! He is still 23” ahead of Gesink, who is moved into second place. Can any of the three remaining riders overtake the young American?
The Australian fans will be at home praying that Michael Rogers was just saving energy across the first part of the course where he was 16” down. Certainly he will be looking inside himself for that little bit more to close the gap and fight for a podium. He comes up to the second time check and his time is 1h14’53” which is enough to defend himself against Tenorio behind him.
His time at the finish line is 1h26’11”, putting him 38” slower than Phinney. The defending champion may be disappointed in himself and his attempted defence of the jersey.
Now we come to one of the riders capable of taking on the race leader in Fabian Cancellara. He was only 9” back at the first check in 4th place and will want to at least move on to the podium. He approaches the second time check and his time is... 1h14’37”, which is 18” back on Phinney but 5” faster than Gesink, who he overtakes to move into provisional 2nd.
Cancellara can’t overtake Phinney’s time at the finish line but at the same time he does manage to keep his gap over Gesink, meaning that the Swiss rider moves into second provisionally and is guaranteed a podium place.
Jerome Coppel is our final rider today and he was just 1” ahead of Cancellara at the first time check. Can he make up time on his American rival or, at the very least, stay ahead of Cancellara and get himself the silver medal? He comes to the second time check his time is 1h14’36”, putting him 1 second faster than Cancellara but still 17 seconds behind Phinney!
Finally Coppel finishes us off with a time of 1h25’33”... but that’s the same time as Cancellara! The race officials look a the fractions of a second... and Cancellara is awarded second place!
But more importantly Taylor Phinney is crowned 2013 world champion and he will wear the rainbow jersey in all time trials throughout 2014!
Fabian Cancellara takes the silver medal and Jerome Coppel is in the bronze medal position. This race feels a bit like a changing of the guard – the old time trialists are finally moving on while the two younger riders challenge for the top spots. This means that in future there is going to be a lot of room here for other youngsters to move in and stake their claim as one of the best in the business.
Thomas Lovkvist. He is actually not too bad a time trialist and should at least give us a decent idea of what sort of time we can expect from these earlier riders. His time at the first check is 35’58”. 
Nelson Oliveira. He hasn’t finished all of his development but once he does he can aim for a better time in this race. Oliveira beats the time at the first check with a time of 35’55”, just 3” faster. 
Jaroslav Popovych. He might be opposed to leaving this early but either way it gives him a good chance of setting a lasting early time. Indeed he easily beats the time at the first check with a new best of 35’24”.
Brian Vandborg, who might be here for the last time in his career given that he is getting older and Denmark have several strong TT riders. His time at the first check is good enough for provisional second at 35’35”. 
Vincenzo Nibali. It is interesting to see him leaving earlier here as he is probably a better time trialist than his teammate Adriano Malori. Maybe he is hoping that the wind changes? Either way his time at the first check is a new best of 35’09”.
Jack Bauer, who will probably like the slightly lumpy course. He might hope to use this as a springboard to competing for his national jersey against his compatriot Jesse Sergent. Whatever his plans, his first time check is only 35’47”, which is not on the podium.
Kristjan Koren is the next one up, the reigning Slovenian national champion. Him leaving early might be surprising but his teammate Janez Brajkovic is probably the better time trialist on paper. Koren could put that in doubt, however, as he sets a new best time at the first chek. His time is 35’06”, 3” faster than Nibali’s effort.
Ian Bibby managed it. It is hoped that his climbing ability will supplement his time trialing ability here. Certainly he rewards some of that faith with a strong 35’17” at the first time check.
Fabio Duarte has had a real season of ups-and-downs but still was able to be selected for his national team here. He probably won’t like the hills too much and indeed he shows that with his first time of 35’45”.
Timofey Kritskiy. He will almost certainly be heading to the ProTour next season and will want to show his potential rivals what he is made of. His time at the first check is 35’11”, just 5” off the pace!
Joost Posthuma, the double Dutch champion. He will be expecting to put in an incredibly good time here, as he is surely aiming for a top ten finish. At the first checkpoint his time is 25’07”, just 1” down on Koren.
Ruben Plaza. Plaza will hopefully be spurred on y missing out on his gold medal in the TTT. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like he is spurred on enough as his time at the first check is 35’24”, putting his almost 20” off the pace.
Jan Ghyselinck, who is another rider who got through in a very competitive nomination process. He may struggle a bit on the hills here and indeed he shows that with his first time of 35’41”, a whole 35” back.
Lucas Schadlich is just going to hate them more. He is certainly a pure rouleur who just loves the flat. Regardless, he actually puts in a strong 35’18” at the first check, though ultimately this is probably worse than he would have done on a flat course.
Brent Bookwalter, who is the next rider up. His teammate Taylor Phinney seems to be tipped by most managers to take out the title this season so this ride might be more about recon. His first time certainly makes it seem like that is the case as he goes through in 35’37”.
Jack Bobridge, particularly on a course like this. Unfortunately he hasn’t finished developing yet so there is still some time before that happens but until then this is some valuable experience. His time at the first check is a still somewhat disappointing 35’32”.
Pierre Rolland would love, with slight hills to hurt other riders more. Unfortuantely he goes out of the starting house and at the first check his time is only 35’50”, putting his well behind other riders we should be beating like Duarte and Bauer.
Ramunas Navardauskas, is much less flexible. He is great on the flat but not so good on the hills. As we saw with Schadlich this can be a tough combination on this course. His first time shows this perfectly as he can only manage 35’46”.
Roman Kreuziger, who is certainly a much better climber than Navardauskas. The Czech Republic doesn’t have a lot of chances for any glory in these Worlds so they would just settle for a decent time. At the first check he goes through in 35’38” which, while decent, is hardly what some would have been hoping for.
Maciej Bodnar isn’t great on the hills but he is better than Navardauskas. He may also struggle with the distance of this race as he is better as a prologue rider or in a TTT train. At the first check he appears to be saving himself as he goes through in 35’42”. 
Aleksandr Pluchkin leaving this early, with 9 more riders after him to go. Certainly he has been one of the stand-out performers in this discipline throughout the season. We can expect a strong fight from him here. His time at the first check is 35’15”, which is enough for provisional fifth at that part of the course.
Fabian Cancellara to step up. He is another rider who really will want to do something to do to make up for his increasing age. He has had a very good season and has certainly helped Simply Red Bull with their survival chances. He goes through the first check and it is a fast time... but not fast enoughas he goes through in 34’53”, which is currently third place behind Gesink.
