Denmark NC - always worth watching! This year, the managers voted for a panflat route..
..so there's actually a chance for Alex Rasmussen to shine..
26 riders at the start and local team Carslberg as the strongest in numbers (12 riders, 2 teams), also lining up with the already mentioned Rasmussen as one of the favorites.
Kivst (Swedbank) and Pedersen (Vueling) as the other two most promising riders, both with less support than Rasmussen though..
Carlsberg goes for a "save" tactic and features the only rider in today's early and only breakaway attempt:
Ebsen prefers climbs, but may benefit from his team taking things easier now! He's riding for the non-Rasmussen squad though..
..and at least, the other team(s) won't just give up on the race today. While the bunch struggles to close the gap until the final lap, the gap is at 1'30" with 6km to go:
Ostergaard (Carlsberg #1) doesn't believe in a bunch sprint anymore and tries to bridge across that gap!
He's soon accompanied by top-favorite Kvist (Swedbank)! The duo is down by 36" on Ebsen with now just 2.5km to go though..
..and so Ebsen takes the road title in a less entertaining race than we saw last year! He holds off Kvist (2nd) and Ostergaard (3rd) by 50", while the bunch comes in at 1'39" eventually.
Carlsberg played it save, Carlsberg played it smart..
Road title/
John Kronborg Ebsen (Team Carlsberg - Danske Bank)
The ITT promises a more thrilling outcome than the road race: lacking a truly outstanding favorite, we've several possible to follow in Steensen's footsteps (he's missing on the startlist).
Christensen (Pokerstars), Sterobo (Risa), Klostergaard (Swedbank), Bochman/Rasmussen (Carlsberg) or Hansen (Evonik) are all pretty similar strong against the clock!
As we're already seeing the last riders crossing the half-time split, it's Bochman setting the provisional lead at kilometre 23:
7" ahead of Klostergaard, 21" Rasmussen, 23" Hansen!
Heavy crosswinds of up to 67kmh make for a challenging day, but all contenders have pretty much the same conditions. Hard to track all sectors though.
Sterobo struggles anyway: + 25" at this split and probably too far behind already..
Last year's runner-up Christensen also doesn't go for a too impressive first half:
+ 26" at 6th so far!
Klostergaard definitely in the mix for the win though, as he looks like the biggest threat for Bochman now:
best time at the final split, 16" ahead of Rasmussen, 22" Hansen!
Bochman still going strong(er): 18" faster than Klostergaard!
Christensen + 34" and Sterobo + 35" - those two won't fight for the win, but just for the 3rd place..
Klostergaard or Bochman?
The first obviously setting the new best time at the finish: 1h11'40".. the winning time?
Nope! Bochman kept growing his lead and wins the TT by 27" on Klostergaard!
Carlsberg completes the double in road race and timetrial, while Christensen took the 3rd place eventually..
Denmark NC - always worth watching! This year, the managers voted for a panflat route..
