There’s nothing like the TTT in the rest of the sporting world. At least that’s what the organisers claim, and I’m not taking on a group of wealthy Mexicans as I quite enjoy being alive. So without further ado, the Monterrey TTT begins!
First off is one of the CT teams here today to try steal ranking points from the UCI’s cold dead hands, just by finishing. Through the first time check go the Andorra Cycling Project, in a time of 22’48.
As ever in a TTT, the big favourites are Generali - big, powerful men being a favourite of their manager. They go through the first checkpoint in a time of 22’18, to take a lead of 30 seconds.
Next on the road are UBS - insert Swiss clock/efficiency joke here - who go through the first timecheck in the exact same time as Generali.
Sauber pass through the first checkpoint next, 18 seconds down on Generali at this point, but in the box seat to be the best CT team. As they should, given there are grandparents who weren’t even born when they first started out in the CT.
Next through are Valio, they of the amoosing puns. They’re cownted as being 5 seconds behind at the first check.
Grieg - Eftel are another strong team today, and they are only 1 second behind at the first timecheck. Already we have a close top 3, all of whom are tipped to be promotion contenders. Allegedly.
Sancor come through the checkpoint next, looking somewhat bedraggled - as one would expect of the retirement home of the cycling world. They slot into last, 43 seconds back.
Carlsberg are next up, slotting in 23 seconds back despite the insistence of their manager that the sky is falling in, which would surely prevent them from being competitive?
Compal have long been the whipping boys of the PCT, and before that D2. But they’re a likeable bunch, and they slot in 16 seconds down at this stage.
What kind of name is Newton Foundation? Sounds like some sort of scientific organisation, not a cycling team. May have affected the gravity of their performance so far, as they slot in 8 seconds back.
Isostar may only be at timecheck one, but they’ve already relegated three times today. But shockingly, they take a 12 second lead!
Garmin clearly misprogrammed their sat-navs, as they come through 44 seconds behind.
cycleYorkshire are ultimately the best team here by one important metric - Yorkshireness (defined as the ability to speak unpronounceable English while simultaneously being tighter than a duck’s arse). Not so grand a performance from them so far, 39 seconds down, but it’ll be reet.
After the first check then, Isostar have a commanding lead! But it’s very close behind, while Sancor are in a different state currently.
The first teams have now passed through the second check, lead by Andorra - who have dropped Urcelay now - in a time of 46’43. Turns out a team from a mountain principality can’t TTT, shock horror.
Generali have them in their sights, going 1’02 quicker through the second check. But their manager is screaming in the car, as they’re already behind…
As UBS come through 1 second quicker! After all, if you can make sense of the Swiss system of government, TTTs can’t be too difficult can they?
Sauber through next, 57 seconds down. Looks like they’ll have a nice fight to the finish with Andorra - the team that is, not the entire country. Wouldn’t be a fair fight, with Andorra having so few residents. They’ve lost Salleh and will soon lose Awang and Hugentobler, possibly tilting the balance to the tax haven.
Then Valio follow soon after, 21 seconds down. Out of the running, but not yet pasture their best it seems.
The battle at the front rages on, as Grieg head through 4 seconds behind UBS now. A close finish in store, provided Isostar have to stop to relegate.
Sancor are a nice bunch, but you wonder if their heart is really in it. 2’08 down already, a remarkably poor show. Haedo has also been dropped/gone to live off the fat of the land.
Carlsberg are now being slowed by the falling sky, 1’06 behind at this point.
Compal are still middle of the pack, which admittedly is more than can usually be said for them. 46 seconds down, in a race of their own for the moment.
Newton Foundation continue to be weighed on heavily by gravity, now 24 seconds off the lead. They look to be scrapping with Valio for a top 5 at this point.
We wondered if Isostar would be able to keep up their quick pace while still finding time to relegate, and the answer was no - they drop to 8 seconds behind UBS.
Garmin weren’t particularly competitive to begin with and that continues, down 1’22 at the second check having already lost Witmitz.
cycleYorkshire then impress, losing only 43 seconds and moving up to 7th place - an interesting battle with Compal ahead, they’ll need to fight like Terriers to stay in front.
After two checkpoints then, we still have a race at the front, with 4 teams separated by 8 seconds. Sancor meanwhile may manage to finish OTL at this rate.
Andorra now reach the finish, having lost Urcelay, Goldstein and Schlegel. A time of 1h10’47 for them, but they’ll just be glad that this is over and they can go back to breathing thin air again.
Generali next up, having lost Beukeboom, Sakellaridis and Ghyselinck. They go 1’40 quicker than Andorra, but will that be enough for the sanity of their manager?
Pace setters at check two, UBS stop the watch next. Very unlike the Swiss, I know. They can only finish 4 seconds behind Generali though, having lost Braico, Frank and in the closing metres also Schar.
Sauber managed to stick together having lost three riders early on, and will take 3rd for now ahead of Andorra, but 1’33 down.
Valio have fallen apart on the run-in, losing Brynjolfsson, Henttala, Halme and finally Arissol. Remember that it’s the 5th rider who counts, Hurting them as they have to wait for Arissol to finish - he brings them home 41 seconds down in a provisional 3rd.
Next are Grieg, who have dropped Sterobo, Wurtz and Norwegian TT champion Vassdal. It hurts them in the end, as they finish 5 seconds behind Generali - and 1 second behind UBS in the battle for second.
Sancor finally finish, Andriato and Richeze also going to join Haedo’s new cattle ranch out here in the badlands. They’re 3’20 behind, almost caught by Carlsberg at the end.
Speaking of which, here come the Danish drunks. They finish 1’31 behind Generali, good enough for provisional 5th ahead of Sauber. Lee, Yechezkel and Rasmussen dropped for them.
That position is short lived as Compal race through, 50 seconds down but well clear of Carlsberg - only 9 seconds off Valio in the end. Chen, Li and Wang all dropped for them.
Remarkably, Newton Foundation have 6 riders at the finish - Eaton and Sebright the two dropped. You’d expect this to give them the upper hand in their battle with Valio, but no! They finish 43 seconds back, in a provisional 5th behind Valio.
Here come early pacesetters Isostar, also with six riders - Potocki and Belgasem the two trailed off. Can they spring a shock? No! They finish 4th here today, 14 seconds behind Generali.
Garmin haven’t performed brilliantly so far, and that continues as they finish 1’56 down, ahead of Sancor but likely no one else. Chaoufi and Giacoppo joining Witmitz in being dropped.
Finally, cycleYorkshire cross the line, minus Stannard, Wu and Rowe. They’ll be 8th, 1’12 behind the winning Generali team.
Today’s winners - Generali-EDF. Shocking, I know.
The results failed to export, so I’ve put the top 5 finishers in manually for each team below for scoring purposes.
