Excitement right from the start in Lithuania! As a number of local amateurs make their fruitless attacks, grasping at the idea of unlikely glory, two professionals manage to slip away as well. Justas BENIUSIS and Venantas LASINIS; what a bold move by the DK Zalgiris directeur sportif!
Things don't look as they are going to quiet down any time soon. Upset with the pace in the peloton, which has allowed the Zalgiris duo to extend their lead beyond a minute, Mantus JANUSKEVICIUS launches into an assault. Rokas KMIELIAUSKAS is the first responder, but he is unable to control the move. Instead JANUSKEVICIUS is allowed to bridge across the leaders, who have a gap of 51" with 30km remaining.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, cooperation becomes more difficult the greater the number of competitors are involved. JANUSKEVICIUS is not willing to work at the front and Zalgiris do not want to carry him to the finish. Cohesion breaks down and all of the professionals reunite prior to the final climb. There it is BENIUSIS who leads the group, with an amateur immediately in his wheeltracks. Airidas VIDEIKA is next; he is keen to get going and launches an attack right from the base. LASINIS is not able to hold on to his wheel, but Adomaitis ROJUS comes shooting round the side to try and close the gap. The sprinters are off to an early advantage.
As the climb continues and the riders transition from pure power into anaerobic endurance, the advantage of the sprinters starts to be chipped away. It is still VIDEIKA leading ROJUS by a hair, but now JANUSKEVICIUS is edging his way alongside them. LASINIS is a touch further back, so there probably isn't enough road remaining for him.
VIDEIKA claims it. Given the narrow margins he might have been better served by a bikethrow but he is the professional and he has got this one right. He will be the one wearing the Lithuanian tricolour next season. JANUSKEVICIUS came so very close; perhaps he will go one better some time in the future. For ROJUS it was merely a matter of poor positioning.
Lithuanian National Championships '23 Individual Time Trial
The race against the clock was just marginally simpler than that on the road, given the slightly more limited availability of tactical manoeuvres. His earlier aggression might not have been enough to secure glory but in this competition Justas BENIUSIS was and is simply unmatched. His closest competition, Rokas KMIELIAUSKAS, was some 45" behind his time of 1h00'21.
Lithuanian National Championships '23 
