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Elite Men's Individual Time Trial, 50.8 kms14:00 Thursday, October 7, 1999 |
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Info Piazza dei Signori - Piazza Duomo, 50.8 kms:Reports:Ullrich by a slender margin Germany's Jan Ullrich has secured the gold medal in the individual time trial with a convincing but not overwhelming ride, as Sweden's Michael Andersson rode strongly and surprised a few with his second place, while Britain's Chris Boardman is on the podium with a bronze. Ullrich covered the 50.6 km in 1.00.28 at an average speed of 50.209 kmh, just 14 seconds ahead of Andersson, who started in 26 th position and was not considered a favourite or medal prospect. Boardman, meanwhile, told reporters at the finish he was not really happy with his ride - he wanted to win. Nonetheless, the classy British rider finished 58 seconds behind Ullrich and can add yet another World Championship medal to his collection back home in England. The Latvian rider Raivis Belohvosciks came in 1.04 behind Ullrich and was another surprise performer, starting with back number 39 and not expected to figure. But consider the agonising wait for Sweden's Michael Andersson, who rode strongly and had to wait as over 20 riders came in, all over his exceptional time except one. He certainly hit the worlds at just the right time, as he has only won two races this year, the last one on June 27 when he won the Swedish ITT championship Ullrich has confirmed his place as one the best cyclists in the world following this win and his performance in the Vuelta a Espana last month. Although defending champion Abraham Olano and world number one (on the UCI ranking) Laurent Jalabert did not ride, it's doubtful either would have overcome the awesome German rider. The weather did not play a major role in the outcome of the ITT, as conditions were mostly calm with slight winds at the start, gradually decreasing through the afternoon with the final five finishing in sunshine. Jan the Man comes through By Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent As most observers expected, Team Telekom's Jan Ullrich of Germany took out the Elite Mens World Championship Time Trial in Treviso. The lanky Swede, Michael Andersson of Acceptcard took the silver and British TT specialist Chris Boardman from Credit Agricole rounded out the medals with third place bronze. Ullrich didn't crush the opposition, but in beating the suprising Andersson, he showed his class and demonstrated that he has regained his confidence after winning the Vuelta d'Espana, and now his first World TT championship. Ullrich said post-race that "I found my rhythm early on and with the great weather, I felt great. Once I heard I had the fastest (split) times, I just went all out." Early on, young Latvian Raivis Belohvosciks of Lampre had the fastest time in the 50.6km time test, but the 6'4" Andersson smashed his time to go into the lead. With 25 riders to come after the Acceptcard rider, it seemed that his time would be bested by time trial specialists like Velo, Mauri, Honchar or Boardman. Rider after rider tried to beat the Swede, but only the penultimate rider Ullrich was capable of beating him and by only 14" at that! "I can't believe it!", Andersson told cyclingnews.com. "I feel fantastic...I tried to find my own rhythm and everything worked today." Last man off Serhiy Hontchar never found his rhythm; the powerful Ukranian pushed his characteristic 55 X 11 gear but to no avail, while Alex Zulle started fast and pushed Boardman, but faded in the final run-in back to Treviso. Boardman, for his part, wasn't too pleased with his performance. "I'm just glad it's over...I tried to ride at my threshold and I knew Zulle had gone ahead of me, but I came back on him." Tech notes: Jan Ullrich rode a German FES carbon fiber TT bike painted like a Team Telekom Pinarello with a 26" front wheel. Ullrich used a special water soluble coating on the tread of his Continental tires that allegedly lowered the rolling resistance. Rik Verbrugghe of Lotto had a pin-up stem (a la Cipollini) on his GT team bike; alas it did him little good as the talented Belgian tester finished way out of the medals. Final results 1 Jan Ullrich (Ger) 1.00.28.44 (50.209 km/h) 2 Michael Andersson (Swe) 14.09 3 Christopher Boardman (Gbr) 58.66 4 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) 1.04.50 5 Melchior Mauri Prat (Esp) 1.18.81 6 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) 1.19.53 7 Gilles Maignan (Fra) 1.25.40 8 Erik Dekker (Ned) 1.40.59 9 Jens Voigt (Ger) 1.45.11 10 Alex Zuelle (Sui) 1.45.79 11 Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) 1.53.59 12 Eugen Wacker (Kgz) 2.00.52 13 Andrei Teteriouk (Kaz) 2.01.34 14 Alvaro Gonzalez De Galdeano (Spa) 2.13.31 15 Marco Velo (Ita) 2.14.39 16 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) 2.15.72 17 Christophe Moreau (Fra) 2.19.40 18 Arturas Kasputis (Ltu) 2.20.09 19 Beat Zberg (Sui) 2.22.01 20 William Chann McRae (Usa) 2.26.93 21 Bert Roesems (Bel) 2.28.32 22 Nathan O'Neill (Aus) 2.39.20 23 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) 2.56.54 24 Martin Hvastija (Slo) 3.04.04 25 Eric Wohlberg (Can) 3.04.06 26 Piotr Przydzial (Pol) 3.08.64 27 Thomas Brozyna (Pol) 3.15.59 28 Rusian Ivanov (Mda) 3.18.99 29 Martin Rittsel (Swe) 3.38.02 30 Florian Wiesinger (Aut) 3.49.27 31 Bradley McGee (Aus) 3.51.97 32 Jan Hruska (Cze) 3.53.66 33 Michael Sandstod (Den) 4.13.52 34 Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr) 4.15.98 35 Milan Kadlec (Cze) 4.19.46 36 Levy Leipheimer (Usa) 4.27.69 37 Andrei Mizourov (Kaz) 4.34.23 38 Bart Voskamp (Ned) 4.34.39 39 Ondrej Slobodnik (Svk) 4.36.57 40 Gian Mario Ortenzt (Ita) 5.11.21 41 José Azevedo (Por) 5.22.17 42 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) 5.25.09 43 René Haselbacher (Aut) 5.30.51 44 Christopher Newton (Gbr) 5.30.94 45 Jann Kirsipuu (Est) 5.58.84 46 Mikos Rnjakovic (Yug) 6.05.06 47 Benoît Joachim (Lux) 6.23.97 48 Jan Valach (Svk) 7.01.77 49 Branko Filip (Slo) 7.28.23 50 Morne Bester (Rsa) 7.47.24 51 Amar El Nady (Egy) 8.01.18 52 Alexandr Kozlov (Blr) 8.12.48 53 Sergei Stets (Blr) 8.53.29 54 Ervin Lika (Al 9.38.16 55 Marc Vanacker (Lux) 10.27.42 56 Besnik Musaji (Alb) 11.14.05 DNS Igor Bonciucov (Mda) DNS David George (Rsa) DNS Sergev Krushevskiy (Uzb) Profile of a silver medallistBy Tomas Nilsson (Apologies to Ullrich fans, but Andersson is certainly not as well known!) Michael Andersson, currently without a contract after this season, started his sporting career in rowing (still nicknamed "The oarsman" in Sweden ) with several Swedish championships. His domination on the lakes and rivers got boring, so one day he borrowed a bike and started in a tour ride, and then in a real cycle race. It didn't take him many years to be equally dominant in amateur cycling, especially the time trials. In road races he is more famous for his early attacks like in the Olympic race in Atlanta 1996. He won his first of six time trial national championships in 1992. The distance was, as always in Sweden, 50 kms, the standard championship distance even for juniors in those days. Andersson also won the Postgirot Tour of Sweden in 1991 and 1992 against professional riders. His professional career started in Portugal in the fall of 1995 at Sicasal Alcral, he rode for Telekom in 1996 and TVM in 1997 and 1998 before signing for Acceptcard in 1999, a team that will close after this season. Other stage race wins: Rapport Tour (RSA) 1995, Giro dell Capo (RSA) 1995, and the Tour of China 1996. He also won the Berner Rundfahrt one day race in 1997 and was then for a while ranked among the top 100. This year he has two victories: A stage in Ringerike GP, Norway (cat 2.5) and the Swedish TT championships, he also held the leaders jersey in the Tour de Langkawi during one stage. He is currently ranked 377th on the UCI list with 102 points. Now he gets another 150 points which will bring him into the top 200. Need a time triallist anyone? As it happenedUpdate - weather conditions:This morning in Treviso there are overcast skies and cool temperatures, with the slight hint of rain. According to our correspondent, Tim Maloney, the barometer reading is still high and the weather should remain relatively stable for the Elite Men's ITT, with a slight wind building in the afternooon but only affecting certain, less-protected parts of the course. In fact, the weather is very similar to the previous days' conditions, which has seen some exceptional times. So we should expect a similar performance this afternoon. At 15.02 hours, 37 riders on the course The Moldavian rider Igor Bonciucov was suspended for a high red blood cell count, while the South African rider David George did not start for an unspecified reason. At 15.22 hours, 49 riders out, 19 finished, 30 on the course At 15.40 hours, all riders out The fastest time overall is currently held by Sweden's Michael Andersson, who has completed the 50.6 km course in 1.00.42, some 50 seconds faster than the previous fastest set by Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat). Andersson also holds the fastest intermediate time split at the top of the Montello climb (27 km), but it's expected that the big guns will overhaul this soon. At 16.10 hours, all riders out and Ullrich at halfway Previously, after 21 km the times were: Jan Ullrich (Ger) 26.20 Christopher Boardman (Gbr) 26.44 Michael Andersson (Swe) 26.45 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) 26.51 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) 26.51 Alex Zuelle (Sui) 27.02 Bert Roesems (Bel) 27.08 Jens Voigt (Ger) 27.09 At 16.30 hours, all riders out Preview:By Jeff Jones Although last year's winner and hot favourite for this year, Abraham Olano, has had to withdraw due to injury, the elite men's time trial will still be a very fiercely contested event. Time trial specialists will love this course, as it is not overly technical nor hilly, enabling the power men to come to the fore. There have already been some extremely quick times posted in the events contested so far. The winners of all but the junior women's events have averaged over 50 km/h, so we can expect some fireworks from the elite men. Heading the list of favourites is Germany's star Jan Ullrich, who by riding on "modified" tires, would love to add a rainbow jersey to his palmares this year. That combined with his recent Tour of Spain victory would make for a half decent year. Telekom might even hire him again next year. However, we shouldn't count out last years second and third place getters, Melchior Mauri Prat (Spa) and Serhiy Hontchar (Ukr) who are specialists in this event, and will not be riding it under the conditions of a three week tour. Likewise, there are former winners Alex Zulle (Sui) and Chris Boardman (Gbr) who will push the others all the way, though possibly not literally. Outside chances for a podium spot include top Belgian time triallist Rik Verbrugghe (no Marc Streel though!), German Jens Voigt, French rider Cristophe Moreau, and die-hard Russian Vjatceslav Ekimov. Australia will have good top 10 prospects in Brad McGee and Nathan O'Neill, while the USA has William Chann McRae as their best hope. Canada's Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Eric Wohlberg will also be aiming for a high placing. Stay tuned for live updates from Tim Maloney at the worlds for cyclingnews.com! Starting List by Time13.44.00 59 Besnik Musaji (Alb) 13.46.00 58 Ervin Lika (Alb) 13.48.00 57 Eugen Wacker (Kgz) 13.50.00 56 Amar el Nady (Egy) 13.52.00 55 Sergei Stets (Blr) 13.54.00 54 Sergev Krushevskiy (Uzb) 13.56.00 53 Mikos Rnjakovic (Yug) 13.58.00 52 Marc Vanacker (Lux) 14.00.00 51 Ondrej Slobodnik (Svk) 14.02.00 50 Igor Bonciucov (Mda) - suspended 14.04.00 49 Piotr Przydzial (Pol) 14.06.00 48 José Azevedo (Por) 14.08.00 47 René Haselbacher (Aut) 14.10.00 46 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) 14.12.00 45 Levy Leipheimer (USA) 14.14.00 44 Arturas Kasputis (Ltu) 14.16.00 43 Benoît Joachim (Lux) 14.18.00 42 Nathan O'Neill (Aus) 14.20.00 41 Martin Rittsel (Swe) 14.22.00 40 Morné Bester (RSA) 14.24.00 39 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) 14.26.00 38 Andrei Teteriouk (Kaz) 14.28.00 37 Alexandr Kozlov (Blr) 14.30.00 36 Christopher Newton (Gbr) 14.32.00 35 Jan Hruska (Cze) 14.34.00 34 Branko Filip (Slo) 14.36.00 33 Bert Roesems (Bel) 14.38.00 32 Florian Wiesinger (Aut) 14.40.00 31 Jan Valach (Svk) 14.42.00 30 Jann Kirsipuu (Est) 14.44.00 29 Thomas Brozyna (Pol) 14.46.00 28 David George (Rsa) 14.48.00 27 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) 14.50.00 26 Michael Andersson (Swe) 14.52.00 25 Milan Kadlec (Cze) 14.54.00 24 Gian Mario Ortenzi (Ita) 14.56.00 23 Gilles Maignan (Fra) 14.58.00 22 Bart Voskamp (Ned) 15.00.00 21 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) 15.02.00 20 William Chann Mcrae (USA) 15.04.00 19 Eric Wohlberg (Can) 15.06.00 18 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) 15.08.00 17 Jens Voigt (Ger) 15.10.00 16 Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr) 15.12.00 15 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) 15.14.00 14 Andrei Mizourov (Kaz) 15.16.00 13 Erik Dekker (Ned) 15.18.00 12 Martin Hvastija (Slo) 15.20.00 11 Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano (Esp) 15.22.00 10 Michael Sandstod (Den) 15.24.00 9 Marco Velo (Ita) 15.26.00 8 Beat Zberg (Sui) 15.28.00 7 Christophe Moreau (Fra) 15.30.00 6 Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) 15.32.00 5 Christopher Boardman (Gbr) 15.34.00 4 Alex Zuelle (Sui) 15.36.00 3 Melchior Mauri Prat (Esp) 15.38.00 2 Jan Ullrich (Ger) 15.40.00 1 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Complete Starting List by Country:Australia Bradley Mcgee (Aus) 24-02-1976 Nathan O'Neill (Aus) 23-11-1974 Austria René Haselbacher (Aut) 15-09-1977 Florian Wiesinger (Aut) 20-01-1976 Belgium Bert Roesems (Bel) 14-10-1972 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) 23-07-1974 Belarus Sergei Stets (Blr) 28-05-1976 Alexandr Kozlov (Blr) 21-07-1974 Canada Eric Wohlberg (Can) 08-01-1965 Czechoslovakia Jan Hruska (Cze) 04-02-1975 Milan Kadlec (Cze) 13-10-1974 Denmark Michael Sandstod (Den) 23-06-1968 Egypt Amar Al Nady (Egy) 13-04-1975 Estonia Jann Kirsipuu (Est) 17-07-1969 France Gilles Maignan (Fra) 30-07-1968 Christophe Moreau (Fra) 12-04-1971 Great Britain Christopher Boardman (Gbr) 26-08-1968 Christopher Newton (Gbr) 29-09-1973 Germany Jan Ullrich (Ger) 02-12-1973 Jens Voigt (Ger) 17-09-1971 Italy Gian Mario Ortenzi (Ita) 24-06-1976 Marco Velo (Ita) 09-03-1974 Kazakhstan Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) 15-08-1976 Andrei Mizourov (Kaz) 16-03-1973 Andrei Teteriouk (Kaz) 20-09-1967 Kyrgyzstan Serguey Derevyanov (Kgz) 07-08-1972 Evgeniy Vakker (Kgz) 14-04-1976 Latvia Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) 21-01-1976 Lithuania Arturas Kasputis (Ltu) 26-02-1967 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) 14-01-1972 Luxembourg Benoît Joachim (Lux) 14-01-1976 Marc Vanacker (Lux) 29-03-1976 Moldova Igor Bonciucov (Mda) 16-03-1973 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) 18-12-1973 The Netherlands Erik Dekker (Ned) 21-08-1970 Bart Voskamp (Ned) 06-06-1968 Poland Thomas Brozyna (Pol) 19-09-1970 Piotr Przydzial (Pol) 15-05-1974 Portugal José Azevedo (Por) 19-09-1973 South Africa Morné Bester (Rsa) 29-05-1976 David George (Rsa) 23-02-1976 Russia Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) 04-02-1966 Spain Alvaro Gonzalez Galdeano (Esp) 03-01-1970 Melchior Mauri Prat (Esp) 08-04-1966 Slovenia Branko Filip (Slo) 18-03-1975 Martin Hvastija (Slo) 30-11-1969 Switzerland Beat Zberg (Sui) 10-05-1971 Alex Zuelle (Sui) 05-07-1968 Slovakia Ondrej Slobodnik (Svk) 15-11-1976 Jan Valach (Svk) 19-08-1973 Sweden Michael Andersson (Swe) 04-03-1967 Martin Rittsel (Swe) 28-03-1971 Ukraine Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) 03-07-1970 Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr) 29-01-1975 United States Levy Leipheimer (Usa) 24-10-1973 William Chann McRae (Usa) 11-10-1971 Uzbekistan Sergev Krushevskiy (Uzb) 19-05-1976 Yugoslavia Mikos Rnjakovic (Yug) 20-04-1964 |