Velkommen and Välkommen. Today is the day of the team time trial from Denmark to Sweden, from Copenhagen to Malmö. 58.6 kilometer over a bridge, which will lead to many beautiful pictures. May the best team win!
Yesterday evening, the organizers held a draw in the town hall of Copenhagen to determine the running order of today's race. eBuddy will be the first starter, and Evonik will be the last team to finish (presumably). The full running order, with the teams starting at 2'30 intervals:
Order
Team
Order
Team
1
eBuddy
13
Aker - MOT
2
Bennelong - Mitchelton
14
Swisslion Cycling Team
3
EA Vesuvio
15
Festina - OAKA
4
Generali
16
cycleYorkshire
5
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
17
Team Puma - SAP
6
Grieg-Maersk
18
Rakuten Pro Cycling
7
King Power
19
Air France - KLM
8
Isostar - Specialized
20
Team UBS
9
Moser - Sygic
21
Indosat Ooredoo
10
Aegon - Peroni
22
Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff
11
Gazelle
23
ISA - Hexacta
12
Volvo acc. by Spotify
24
Evonik - ELKO
Noon in Copenhagen, which means eBuddy is the first team to start. They'll be on top of the timing sheets at the first checkpoint on the Danish side of the bridge, the second checkpoint on the Swedish side and the finish line, because they are the first to cross everywhere...
...but they won't win. Bennelong - Mitchelton topples them at the first checkpoint by 34 seconds.
EA Vesuvio crosses the time check near Kastrup Lufthavn six seconds slower than the Australians.
Generali lives up to their status of pre-race favorite and takes the lead in Denmark, five seconds faster than Bennelong.
Another pre-race favorite starting right after them. Defending champion Team Tinkoff - La Datcha is another seven seconds faster and does the first 23 kilometer in 24'09.
This guy has a perfect view to cheer on Grieg-Maersk. They manage to beat Tinkoff by five seconds and take the virtual lead.
The streak of fastest times is broken by King Power who goes to virtual fifth place out of seven starters, leaving only Vesuvio and eBuddy behind.
eBuddy's status as laterne rouge is taken over by Isostar - Specialized, who are already one minute and eleven seconds behind Grieg.
Huge crowds in the street of Copenhagen, the news of a dangerous virus in China is not deterring them from cheering on the riders. Moser - Sygic only posts the sixth time at the checkpoint, but s.t. to King Power in fifth.
Aegon - Peroni safely negotiates this corner, but will be looking at the bottom half of the leaderboard.
Gazelle is close to the midfield, four seconds behind Vesuvio in eighth, but a huge gap of twenty seconds behind them to Aegon in ninth.
Volvo acc. by Spotify takes seventh place the first checkpoint, 22 seconds down on Grieg.
At the same time, eBuddy is the first team to pass border control into Sweden. All passports are approved, their time of 44'13 is recorded.
Sea to the left, sea to the right. Bennelong - Mitchelton is safe and dry on the road, beating eBuddy by a minute and five seconds at the second checkpoint.
Aker - MOT is not a force to be reckoned with, 43 seconds down on their fellow Norwegians at checkpoint one.
We installed a camera in the middle of the bridge deck, which gives some nice shots. EA Vesuvio's deficit to Bennelong has grown from six to ten.
Wildcard Swisslion Cycling Team can be happy they aren't last so far, they're four seconds faster than Isostar.
Generali's lead to Bennelong was five seconds leaving Denmark, entering Sweden it's eight.
Vlatos the odd one out at Festina - OAKA with his Greek national jersey. They post the fifth time on the first sheet, + 18.
Malori the only Team Tinkoff - La Datcha rider on the wrong side of the road, but he shouldn't worry about oncoming traffic. They increase their lead over Generali to eleven seconds, but Grieg is the only team they should be looking at.
cycleYorkshire challenges for the podium, third amongst the teams which already pssed the first checkpoint, eight seconds down on Grieg.
Grieg-Maersk still the fastest at the first checkpoint, and now they lead on both the first and second checkpoint, extending their lead over Tinkoff from five to fifteen seconds! Looking good!
Team Puma - SAP knocks cycleYorkshire off the virtual podium by one second, but we're only at one-third for the both of them.
King Power rides onto the bridge. They were one second behind Bennelong on this side, but at the other end they're one second ahead.
A bridge over a river, not as spectacular as the Öresund bridge though. Rakuten Pro Cycling needs to make up time there as they're not on the left part of the timing sheet so far.
Isostar - Specialized's fortune not improving, 2'16 down. Evonik hasn't started yet though.
eBuddy finishes with a full team. One hour, four minutes and 47 seconds. Last year that would be 22nd place, judging by the splits they're looking at a similar placement.
1
eBuddy
1h04'47
Air France - KLM was not mentioned as a challenger for the win, but they're definitely not doing bad with a sixth time at the first checkpoint.
Moser - Sygic was tied with King Power, but unlike them they cannot pass Bennelong over the bridge and stay where they are for now.
Final kilometer for Bennelong - Mitchelton, and they expectedly beat eBuddy by one-and-a-half minutes. They could finish anywhere from sixth to tenth still.
1
Bennelong - Mitchelton
1h03'15
2
eBuddy
+ 1'31
One team which is underperforming is Team UBS. Mentioned as one of three major favorites, they are only twelfth at 23 seconds with four teams left to pass the first checkpoint.
Aegon - Peroni at + 1'27 at the tollbooth. They did the bridge nine seconds faster than the team behind them on the leaderboard (eBuddy), but are too far behind the rest of the field to gain places.
Trouble in the streets of Malmö for EA Vesuvio, as Pelikan has to leave a few bike lengths to Goos, Kneisky and Girdlestone. The front three had to slow down to allow the rest of the team to rejoin, yet they gained a second on Bennelong in the final part. It's not enough to pass them in the standings though.
1
Bennelong - Mitchelton
1h03'15
2
EA Vesuvio
+ 9
3
eBuddy
+ 1'31
Another team with a suboptimal train! Arifin and Bolor-Erdene lose contact with the rest of Indosat Ooredoo in Copenhagen, with Ligthart trying to bring them back. They're not at the complete bottom, but a good result is out of the question now.
Gazelle are chased by a bunch of lunatics who somehow got onto the bridge. Police took care of them and it didn't destroy their rhythm, 50 seconds behind Grieg now and looking for the mid-table.
New fastest time for Generali. 1h02'52 is eight seconds slower than their effort last year in which they finished fourth.
1
Generali
1h02'52
2
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 23
3
EA Vesuvio
+ 32
The second wildcard is Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff but they join Swisslion at the bottom, two seconds slower than their fellow PCT team with only Isostar behind them.
Volvo acc. by Spotify can spot Malmö, maybe the home crowd can help them reduce their 41 second deficit to Grieg.
Generali couldn't make it to the hot seat before Team Tinkoff - La Datcha finished and went sixteen seconds faster. However, they are seventeen seconds slower than their previous, winning effort, and their only hope of retaining the title is Grieg imploding.
1
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
1h02'36
2
Generali
+ 16
3
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 39
ISA - Hexacta is only at the first checkpoint, 38 seconds down in Grieg in fifteenth.
Aker - MOT has crossed the second checkpoint. + 1'22 does not improve their position.
Grieg-Maersk finishes in 1h02'19, the exact same time to the second as Tinkoff in 2019. This year they are seventeen seconds faster than the Russians, and given no team has managed to beat them at either split, they are favored to win the race.
1
Grieg-Maersk
1h02'19
2
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
+ 17
3
Generali
+ 33
The last team to start is Evonik - ELKO. They're looking good to finish last, fourteen seconds than Isostar at only the first split.
Swisslion Cycling Team lost a second to Isostar on the bridge. The difference between the two teams is just one second now, still in Swisslion's favor!
King Power was one second ahead of Bennelong at the second checkpoint. At the finish line it has grown to thirteen. This illustrates the bad finish for the Australians which might knock them out of the top ten.
3
Generali
+ 33
4
King Power
+ 43
5
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 56
The bridge does not suit Festina - OAKA, as they drop behind King Power and Moser. Only four seconds between these three teams (and Bennelong before implosion) in the battle for most likely seventh.
Coppel with a long stint at the front, but it doesn't bring cycleYorkshire closer. The gap to Grieg was nine seconds, now it has doubled to eighteen.
Bad news for Isostar as they have to move aside to let Moser - Sygic pass. Moser moves ahead of Bennelong and also, by a mere second, ahead of King Power. Virtual fourth place!
3
Generali
+ 33
4
Moser - Sygic
+ 42
5
King Power
+ 43
For Isostar - Specialized, it is virtual last place but they should be spared from that unless Evonik mounts rockets.
7
EA Vesuvio
+ 1'05
8
eBuddy
+ 2'27
9
Isostar - Specialized
+ 3'20
Team Puma - SAP rode the same pace as rivals cycleYorkshire, the difference between the two still one second in favor of the Germans. The final spot on the podium will be decided in Malmö.
Five kilometer left for Aegon - Peroni, they complete the course in 1h04'21 and are third-from-bottom at the moment.
7
EA Vesuvio
+ 1'05
8
Aegon - Peroni
+ 2'02
9
eBuddy
+ 2'27
Rakuten Pro Cycling is exactly one minute behind Grieg at the second checkpoint.
Gazelle finishes 1'09 down on Grieg and looks set for a mid-table finish.
7
EA Vesuvio
+ 1'05
8
Gazelle
+ 1'09
9
Aegon - Peroni
+ 2'02
Ouch, Air France - KLM drops from sixth to tenth between the two checkpoints. Distracted by the view perhaps?
Home sweet home for Volvo acc. by Spotify. Despite the lack of crowds at this specific place, that extra boost is enough to pass Bennelong by one second.
5
King Power
+ 43
6
Volvo acc. by Spotify
+ 55
7
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 56
The last shot from the ground camera as Abreu break it by riding straight over it. Team UBS will complain as they lost a virtual place to EA Vesuvio on an already horrible day for them.
Entering Malmö is Aker - MOT. They were five seconds ahead of Aegon at both checkpoints, same story at the finish line.
9
Gazelle
+ 1'09
10
Aker - MOT
+ 1'57
11
Aegon - Peroni
+ 2'02
After the disorganized start, Indosat Ooredoo is back on the right track. They closed the gap to Rakuten ahead to two seconds, and might overtake them for sixteenth place and five extra ranking points.
Swisslion is about to be overtaken by Festina - OAKA. The latter goes to provisional sixth, between King Power and Volvo.
5
King Power
+ 43
6
Festina - OAKA
+ 47
7
Volvo acc. by Spotify
+ 55
Swisslion Cycling Team fends off the other team which had been overtaken, Isostar, for the non-Evonik laterne rouge.
13
eBuddy
+ 2'27
14
Swisslion Cycling Team
+ 3'14
15
Isostar - Specialized
+ 3'20
The other PCT team is underway to the second checkpoint. Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff takes the lead in the prestigious PCT championship there, leaving Swisslion nine seconds behind.
ISA - Hexacta exactly halfway over the bridge, and they're also somewhere in the midtable on the timing sheets, fifteenth place still.
The ideal finish is to spread out, which cycleYorkshire attempts. + 25 to Grieg in provisional third, they have to wait two minutes and aboout thirty seconds for Puma to finish to know if its third or fourth place.
2
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
+ 17
3
cycleYorkshire
+ 25
4
Generali
+ 33
Evonik - ELKO still the slowest team out there at the second checkpoint, they'll probably finish when everyone has packed up already. They might be lucky to be the last starter, saving them the humiliation of being overtaken.
Here is Team Puma - SAP, who were a second ahead of the Yorkshire Boys at the end of the bridge. The difference on the finish line is three seconds... still in their favor. Podium for Puma, fourth for cycleYorkshire.
2
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
+ 17
3
Team Puma - SAP
+ 22
4
cycleYorkshire
+ 25
2 + 1 free on knäckebröd, what a deal! Also, Rakuten Pro Cycling finishes in thirteenth place at the moment, but should drop down to sixteenth.
12
Gazelle
+ 1'09
13
Rakuten Pro Cycling
+ 1'27
14
Aker - MOT
+ 1'57
A word from our sponsor, Mika's Triathlon Store, for when you want to swim across the Öresund instead of driving over it. Air France - KLM had dropped from sixth to tenth between the two checkpoints, and lose out another place to Volvo. However, they gained one back on Bennelong by milliseconds, thus it will be tenth place for them.
9
Volvo acc. by Spotify
+ 55
10
Air France - KLM
+ 56
11
Bennelong - Mitchelton
s.t.
Team UBS still has its complete squad and will keep everyone on board until the finish line. 1'01 down on Grieg by which they regain their place to EA Vesuvio. Twelfth place it will be.
11
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 56
12
Team UBS
+ 1'01
13
EA Vesuvio
+ 1'05
Indosat Ooredoo falling apart again in the outskirts of Malmö, Bolor-Edene and Arifin again, but an even larger gap to Ji and specialist Keizer! Especially the last one is a surprise, but they had a decent lead over Aker behind them which they didn't squander.
15
Rakuten Pro Cycling
+ 1'27
16
Indosat Ooredoo
+ 1'33
17
Aker - MOT
+ 1'57
This guy tries to take a picture of Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff but forgot to select the right mode, ouch. The team beats Swisslion by 44 seconds to become unofficial PCT TTT Champions! Lord Bakari also deserves special recognition for finishing more than ten minutes behind the rest of his team, and not because he went sightseeing in Malmö.
19
eBuddy
+ 2'27
20
Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff
+ 2'30
21
Swisslion Cycling Team
+ 3'14
ISA - Hexacta ever consistent, being in fifteenth place on all timing sheets. The only team starting after them will not take that away.
14
Gazelle
+ 1'09
15
ISA - Hexacta
+ 1'23
16
Rakuten Pro Cycling
+ 1'27
Evonik - ELKO finishes dead last as everyone expected. 1h06'29 is nearly a minute slower than Isostar, but still twelve minutes faster than the slowest time ever, Warner Brothers in 2012. The sky is the limit for Evonik!
22
Swisslion Cycling Team
+ 3'14
23
Isostar - Specialized
+ 3'20
24
Evonik - ELKO
+ 4'10
The outcome was clear for a long time, but now it's official: Grieg-Maersk wins the Copenhagen-Malmö TTT, and the credits go to the following riders: Benoit Cosnefroy Lasse Norman Hansen Truls Engen Korsaeth Mathias Krigbaum Vegard Stake Laengen Yuan Tan Peng Ken Sebastian Vassdal Mads Würtz
They dethroning Team Tinkoff - La Datcha who takes the silver medal this year by seventeen seconds. The podium is completed by Team Puma - SAP at 22 seconds. cycleYorkshire and Generali fell three and eleven seconds short for fourth and fifth respectively. The top ten is completed by Moser - Sygic, King Power, Festina - OAKA, Volvo acc. by Spotify and Air France - KLM.
