Welcome to Hamilton, Canada. Today the Elite men's TTT is taking place on a flat 40km parcours. No winds, best weather. Let the strongest team win!
Speaking of the strongest, we do have some favorites of course: the Netherlands are aiming for the triple after winning the past two events ahead of Spain (winner in 2010 and 2011)! Both teams should be amongst the most promising today.
Same goes for Russia (third in 2011) and France, which lines up with some great depth and Coppel as the world's best against the clock. Germany (third last year), Australia (with some Oz-power) and teams like Belgium (third in 2012) may fancy their chances as well.
One of those top-favorites is first on the road here: the Dutch team, led by Keizer/Gesink/Reus, will surely miss guys like Van Winden, but features a super strong team anyway.
17'35" at the first split, this is certainly an indicator for all following teams!
Switzerland is next in line. With someone like Cancellara in your team, you definitely may hope for him to pull the whole team to a fairly good result:
+ 37" at the first split, which ain't exactly surprising..
Belgium may lack a truly outstanding core of premium TT-specialists, but on a very good day, someone like Cornu is capable of pulling the team to a similar strong result like Belgium had in 2012 (3rd):
+ 36" on the Dutchies though, and still a lot of promising teams to come..
The British team is one of those well rounded, but not truly outstanding teams here. They pass the first split in the same range as the previous lineups:
+ 37" after 14.5km..
Russia is next on the road and it's for sure one of the most promising lineups here: Ignatiev as the superstar, supported by PT-dominating Trofimov and several strong TT-specialists:
New best time at the first split! 7 seconds faster than Netherland!
Except of Porte/Howson, the Aussies brought an all-Oz squad - given the team's success in many many timetrials this season, this ain't that bad at all:
+ 21" on Russia at the first split though! Well, we've seen those Aussies struggling in other races' first sectors, too.
Spain has podium'd the Worlds TTT in all four years since it has been held! Will the team fight back for the title after finishing as the runner-up in the past two years?
+ 20" on Russia to this point. Still possible..
As third-placed last year, Germany will definitely aim for at least the podium again. Kittel/Schädlich as the powerhorses and a strong overall squad:
+ 9" as provisional 3rd at the first split!
With still some promising teams to reach the first split, here's a quick overview of the current situation: Russia, Netherlands and Germany going strong.
Spain and Australia with a 20 seconds-deficit. We've already seen teams bouncing back from such margins though..
The US boys ain't exactly amongst the top-favorites with someone like Zabriskie missing out on the Worlds. Still a kinda special race in their neighbourhood:
+ 38" and so in the same area as the Brits, Belgians and Swiss!
France has never podium'd the Worlds TTT so far, but this year, the team is aiming high: with Coppel as the leader, it's an incredible deep team:
+ 14" as provisional 4th behind Germany..
Just because they deserve a mention on home turf: Canada is anything but a threat today. Aiming for the Top-20 is probably the team's biggest goal. This will be a tough, but achievable goal, as they are 21st at the first split.
Italy is the last of the more promising teams. The may not be a podium contender, but they go pretty strong at the first split:
+ 25" as 8th best there..
So here the "final" first split: France joins the mix for the title-hunting teams. And so does - surprisingly - Sweden! We're sorry to not catching a picture here. Will this team pull a huge result eventually?
But first, let's take a look at those top-teams reaching the second split now...
Netherland of course setting the pace and time to beat here:
39'31"
Russia led the race at the first split and this is looking like a thrilling battle between them and the Dutchies at least:
+ 4" on the Netherlands at km 31.2!
Just like the Dutch team, also the Australians make up some ground on Russia now:
+ 15" as provisional 3rd at the second split!
The Frenchies though keep their third from the first split:
+ 14" on the Netherlands, so still the same disadvantage on the "winning" time!
Will it come down to either Netherlands or Russia? Too early to say, since France is still there. Also Australia made a nice jump onto 4th, with Germany still in striking distance as well.
Spain/Italy/GBR/USA all ahead of Belgium, but half a minute down on the Dutch team. Sweden also suffering big time now.
The final sector can surely make a difference (9km length) between those teams within just 15-20 seconds:
The Netherlands are definitely in reach for it's third consecutive TTT-title:
50'56" at the finish, they now face some thrilling moments...
Belgium won't be in the mix for the podium, but it's still a quite open fight for the Top-5/10 here:
+ 39" as provisional 2nd - surely this placement won't last til the end.
Actually, it didn't last too long, as the British team had a pretty strong final sector, it seems:
+ 34" on the Dutchies!
And here comes the Russian team! 7 seconds ahead of the Netherlands at the first, 4 seconds down at the second split. Will the team around Ignatiev bounce back from the losses halfway through the race?
This may be the fight for the title... may!
Trofimov is the one, who crosses the line at the finish:
+ 2" as 2nd! Wow, what a thrill here. This is likely to be a podium for Russia. Dutch triple then?
Australia next.. will the team repeat Oz Cycling's tactics of starting slow and finishing high?
Here they come down the finishing stretch:
+ 18" as provisional 3rd! No victory, but maybe a podium?
And what about Spain? Will the team indeed miss the podium for the first time in five years?
They do:
+ 39" to finish behind Great Britain, but ahead of Belgium!
The Germans looked promising at the first split in particular.. they lost some ground at the second split though.. and they couldn't bounce back at the finish:
+ 26" to finish behind Australia as provisional "unlucky" 4th!
The US boys fight for the Top-10 then:
+ 51" on the Dutchies. Beating teams like Portugal, Switzerland and also Sweden!
Back to the title-contenders though. And the French team is probably the last real threat for the Netherlands here. Trailing by 14 seconds at the first two splits, will the team make up some ground at the finish then?
It's of course Coppel, who pulls his mates over the line:
+ 12" as 3rd! Gaining back two seconds, but it's too less to attack the Dutch team.
Last, but not least - Italy:
+ 43" as 9th eventually. A solid effort.
And it's the triple for the Netherlands! Runner-up in 2010 and 2011, the Dutch team makes it three victories in a row with 2012, 2013 and 2014! A thrilling decision, but surely a deserved winner.
An unlucky 2nd for Russia, while France completes the podium ahead of Australia and Germany... Great Britain with a nice effort to finish ahead of Spain, which misses the podium for the first time.
USA round up the Top-10 then, while Canada finishes as 20th eventually.. Sweden went down to 13th place, so obviously had "just" a great first sector.
Netherlands
Russia
France
