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World championships - CM
Madrid, Spain, September 21-25, 2005
Main Page Results & report Race Details Previous Race Next Race
Race 3 - September 22: Elite men's individual time trial, 44km
Commentary by Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from Hernan Alvarez and Shane Stokes
Live report
Live coverage starts: 13:00 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:10 CEST
12:55 CEST
It's Thursday in Madrid and that
means it's the Elite Men's World Time Trial Championship, which is on the brink
of starting in Madrid's Casa de Campo. The men ride over two laps of the 22
km course that was used by the women, and we can expect winning times of around
52-53 minutes, depending on conditions. At the moment, it's warm and sunny,
with temps in the mid-20s and not too much wind.
The rider to go
will be Matias Medici (Argentina) at 1pm, followed at 2'00 intervals by Fumiyuki
Beppu (Japan), James Lewis Perry (South Africa) and Jan Hruska (Czech Republic).
Like yesterday's U23 men's event, the Elite Men will start in four different
waves (49 riders total), with Michael Rogers (Australia) the last to leave at
16:24. The big local favourite is Ruben Plaza Molina (Spain), who sets off fourth
last at 16:18. He is coming off a solid Vuelta a España, where he won the final
time trial at a record average speed of 56.2 km/h. Today won't be as fast, because
it's not wind assisted the whole way, but he is in good form.
13:00 CEST
Medici rolls up to the start house
and gets ready to go as the first rider. He gets the countdown, and is on his
way.
13:02 CEST
Medici gets up to speed over the
first part of the course, which is uphill. He's chased by Fumiyuki Beppu, the
young Japanese Discovery Channel rider.
13:04 CEST
South African James Perry, a national
champ in this discipline, is now on his way, as the third rider on the course.
13:07 CEST
Probably the best credentialed rider
in the first wave, Jan Hruska (Cze) is now on his way. He starts hard, and is
obviously looking for a good time. OK, I didn't mean it like that, despite
the setting of this time trial.
13:10 CEST
Finland, Finland, Finland's Tommi
Martikainen starts next, getting his big frame down low over his TT machine.
He's followed by Ryder Hesjedal (Canada), who has just signed for Phonak.
13:13 CEST
Linas Balciunas (Lithuania) sets
off next, forgetting to throw away his handkerchief until he gets going. He
takes time to adjust his skinsuit - maybe something wrong with his radio. He's
in the bars now.
13:14 CEST
Matias Medici (Argentina) has gone
through the 10.5 km check in 13'52, the first rider to do so.
Juan
Carlos Lopez Martin (Colombia) is under way.
13:16 CEST
Beppu goes through the first check
in 14'16, just as Gregor Gazvoda (Slovenia) starts his ride.
13:19 CEST
Perry is now through the 10.5 km
check in 14'26, the slowest of the three riders through there to date. Vasil
Kiryienka (Belarus) is under way too.
13:21 CEST
Hruska is second fastest at 10.5
km in 14'09, 17 seconds slower than the Argentinean Medici. Lukasz Bodnar (Poland)
is riding now, the second last rider of the first wave.
13:22 CEST
The final rider of this wave, Denis
Shkarpeta (Uzbekistan), sets off up the treelined starting avenue. He's quickly
into his rhythm and up to speed.
13:23 CEST
Martikainen goes through 10.5 km
in a relatively slow 15'01, the fifth rider to pass that check.
13:27 CEST
Medici is at the end of his first
lap in 27'09. He still has the best time at km 10.5 with 13'52. Hesjedal went
through there in 14'15, third best.
13:34 CEST
Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus) gets within
2 seconds of Medici's time at km 10.5, while Gregor Gazvoda slots into third
at 11 seconds.
At the halfway check, Perry is already a minute behind
Medici. Hruska goes through in 27'40, not good enough to beat the Argentinean.
13:38 CEST
Tommi Martikainen (Finland) comes
past the start/finish in 29'33, as Hesjedal follows him at 27'41, third best.
13:41 CEST
Balciunas is through halfway in 28'26,
the sixth fastest to that point. Medici is still the best, with the top five
at halfway looking like:
1 Matias Medici (Argentina) 13.52
2
Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus) 0.02
3 Gregor Gazvoda (Slovenia) 0.11
4
Jan Hruska (Czech Republic) 0.17
5 Ryder Hesjedal (Canada) 0.23
13:43 CEST
Medici is now at the 33 km check,
powering through in 41'54, which is of course the best to date.
13:45 CEST
Kiryienka comes up to halfway, puffing
a bit but he's got a good time: 27'16, the second quickest. It looks like Medici
will be the quickest of this first wave.
13:51 CEST
Hruska comes past km 33 a minute
slower than Mr Medici, while James Perry has the third fastest at that point.
13:53 CEST
Hesjedal is also suffering to the
third check, passing in 42'47. It's second best at this point. Hruska is trying
to bring it home, but he won't best Medici's time.
13:55 CEST
Medici hammers up the final hill
and punches it home to the finish. His time after 43.8 km is 55'11, an average
of 47.941 km/h. His second lap was about a minute slower than his first.
13:57 CEST
Hesjedal is looking a little knackered
as he nears the end of his ride. Just another few minutes of suffering for the
Canadian.
Beppu is nearly at the finish now.
13:59 CEST
Beppu fights all the way to the end,
and crosses in 56'47, over a minute and a half slower than Medici.
14:00 CEST
James Perry (RSA) comes up to the
finish, and he's ridden better in the second half and ends with 56'33. Fairly
even splits on each lap for the South African.
Sylvain Chavanel,
French national TT champ, starts the second wave of riders.
14:02 CEST
Seb Lang (Germany) gets the drei,
zwei, eins countdown and is on his way.
Hruska finishes in 56'12,
a minute slower than Medici, but still good enough for second.
14:03 CEST
Ben Day (Australia) is up next. He's
a past national champion in his discipline.
14:06 CEST
Day is into his rhythm now, trying
to keep it steady as he hits the first climb.
Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus)
has gone through the third check in 42'20, 26 seconds slower than Medici.
Brian Vandborg (Denmark) is next cab off the rank.
14:06 CEST
Hesjedal comes home in 56'17, for
3rd best to date.
14:08 CEST
David George, the second South African,
is in the gate and now on his way. He's generally good against the clock.
14:09 CEST
Tommi Martikainen (Finland) finishes
in 1:00:48, 5'30 slower than Medici.
14:11 CEST
Leif Hoste, in the Belgian blue with
black, yellow and red stripes, is under way now. He gets up to speed without
panicking, and is travelling up the hill nicely now.
Medici, Hruska,
and Hesjedal are sitting in the hot seats as the three quickest to date.
14:12 CEST
Hoste is starting fast, and has a
good speed up the first hill. He's chased by the young Swede Thomas Lövkvist.
14:13 CEST
Colombia's Lopez Martin is at the
finish, and is almost caught by Gazvoda who is home in 56'30 or thereabouts.
14:14 CEST
Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus) finishes
in 56'00, 12 seconds better than Hruska.
Joost Posthuma (Netherlands)
is on his way. He definitely can TT.
14:16 CEST
Ondrej Sosenka (Czech Republic) starts
his ride. He's a huge powerhouse.
Chavanel is past 10.5 km in 14'11,
fifth best.
14:17 CEST
Lang has gone through 10.5 km a bit
quicker than Chavanel, in 14'09.
Sosenka has got the big gear going
as he tackles the first climb.
14:18 CEST
Marco Pinotti (Italy) looks happy
as he gets ready to start. He sets off to a big cheer from the Italian fans.
14:20 CEST
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine) is the
last rider to go from the second wave. Plenty of Discovery riders here today!
14:22 CEST
Denis Shkarpeta (Uzbekistan) finishes
in 59'24 for 11th. He's the last rider of the first wave to finish.
Another early favourite, Brad Wiggins (Great Britain) is on his way.
David George is at 10.5 km in 14'13, in the top 10.
14:25 CEST
Hoste goes through 10.5 km in 14'11
- no-one has beaten Medici's time, although Ben Day is very close.
14:26 CEST
Slava Ekimov is warming up. He is
always a candidate for a medal in these major championships. He's one of the
best time trialists around.
14:27 CEST
Thomas Lövkvist (Sweden) is through
10.5 km in a relatively slow 14'47. That puts him in 17th place already.
14:27 CEST
Chavanel comes up to halfway in a
time of 27'45, for sixth.
14:29 CEST
Joost Posthuma is at 10.5 km in 14'20,
just the 13th best. Medici is not to be beaten!
Lang is at halfway
too, crossing in 27'31 for third.
14:31 CEST
Sosenka has finally beaten Medici's
time at km 10.5 in 13'45!
Meanwhile, Ben Day crosses the halfway
point in the third best time of 27'20.
14:33 CEST
Pinotti is past 10.5 km in 14'01,
fifth best. Just two more riders to come after him.
Popovych is driving
it, in a fairly big gear at the moment.
14:34 CEST
Vandborg is riding smoothly, but
is a bit off the pace in 27'42 for seventh at halfway.
Sosenka is
flying though, really giving it full gas on this first lap.
14:35 CEST
Wiggins is superb though, as he comes
past 10.5 km in 13'30. Brits go wild.
14:37 CEST
Wiggins is opting for a saddle mounted
bidon today. Tricky to get at.
14:38 CEST
Hoste comes to halfway in 27'45,
just inside the top 10 but not really on a good pace.
14:39 CEST
Wiggins slices through the air, also
tall and thin like Sosenka. He's on track for a very good ride, and he certainly
knows how to time trial.
14:41 CEST
Lövkvist is at the halfway check
in just under 29'00. He'll be happy when this is over. He did well in the TT
in the Tour of Poland last week, but hasn't got the legs today.
14:43 CEST
Wiggins powers over the top part
of the course, which is more exposed. There's not much wind at all today.
Posthuma is at halfway in 28'19 for 14th. He'll need more than that.
Sosenka follows him still flying. The Czech's time is 27'10 - just slower than
Medici. He might have overcooked it at the start.
14:44 CEST
Lang reaches the third check in 42'07,
the second best time to there.
14:45 CEST
The current top three:
1 Matias Medici (Argentina) 55.11
2 Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus) 0.49
3 Jan Hruska (Czech Republic) 1.01
Pinotti makes the halfway check
in 27'20 for fifth.
14:47 CEST
Popovych is at halfway now, but isn't
one of the quickest. His time is 27'33, 7th best.
14:49 CEST
Wiggins is much better though, the
tall Brit coming through halfway in 26'44 - finally beating Medici's benchmark.
14:51 CEST
David George is at km 33 in 43'33,
for 12th.
14:53 CEST
Hoste is also past km 33, in 43'07
for 11th.
Christophe Moreau (France) is warming up, looking very
red and sweaty in the tent.
14:57 CEST
Sylvain Chavanel is the first rider
from wave 2 to make the finish. The Frenchman's time at the end of 43.8 km is
56'53, only good enough for 8th.
Sebastian Lang (Germany) follows
him and he's quicker: 55'09! New best time!!
14:59 CEST
Lang's second lap was faster than
his first - impressive ride.
Meanwhile, Sosenka has dropped off the
pace a bit at km 33, crossing in 42'09 for third.
Ben Day (Australia)
drives it to the finish and stops the clock at 55'40 for third best so far.
15:00 CEST
Eric Wohlberg (Canada), at 40 years
old a veteran of the World Championships, is the first rider of the third wave
to depart.
15:02 CEST
Csaba Szekeres (Hungary) chases Wohlberg
at 2'00.
Vandborg comes to the finish in 56'17 for 6th best.
15:04 CEST
Wiggins comes up to the km 33 check
in the best time, but only 7 seconds quicker than Medici. Wiggins' time is 41'47.
15:05 CEST
Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan) is
the next rider to set off. He's up to speed fairly quickly.
David
George finishes his ride in 57'21 for 12th.
15:07 CEST
Raivis Belohvosciks (Latvia) is now
going, and going fast. He's a specialist in this discipline, but hasn't had
a great year after his team wasn't allowed to start until very late in the season.
Leif Hoste finishes in 56'54 for 12th.
15:08 CEST
Denmark's second rider, Michael Blaudzun,
is next to go. He's a national champ in this discipline.
15:10 CEST
Now Spain's first hope, José Ivan
Gutierrez Palacios, is on his way. He gets a huge cheer from the partisan crowd.
15:11 CEST
Lövkvist finishes in 59'15, while
Posthuma follows him in 57'23, then Sosenka in 55'29. The Czech has the third
best time, after a more promising start.
15:15 CEST
Slava Ekimov, not quite the oldest
in the field, is on his way. Let's see if he can pull out a big one today.
Pinotti finishes in 55'56, the fifth best time.
15:16 CEST
David O'Loughlin, Irish champ, is
on the start ramp. He sets off, slightly wobbly.
15:17 CEST
Here's Wiggins, trailing Popovych
to the finish. Popo ends in 57'02 but Wiggins has him in his sights and crosses
in 55'06, three seconds better than Sebastian Lang.
15:18 CEST
Colombian Victor Hugo Peña sets off
next, but his condition could be affected by his crash in the final stage of
the Vuelta. He's normally very solid against the clock.
15:22 CEST
Neither Kashechkin nor Belohvosciks
can make the top five at the first check after 10.5 km.
Christophe
Moreau is preparing to start now. Trois, deux, un...He's off!
15:23 CEST
Ivaïlo Gabrovski (Bulgaria) didn't
start today, it looks like.
15:23 CEST
Gutierrez comes up to 10.5 km in
a respectable 13'43, 13 seconds slower than Wiggins at that point.
15:28 CEST
Gutierrez is looking good as he tackles
the steeper climb. He doesn't get out of the saddle.
15:29 CEST
Ekimov is not on the pace today,
it seems. He goes through time check 1 in 22nd spot. Victor Peña is nearing
that mark now.
15:31 CEST
Kashechkin reaches halfway in 26'58
- very decent! 2nd fastest to date behind Wiggins.
15:32 CEST
Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan) is
already catching Csaba Szekeres (Hungary), not bad after one lap.
Peña is 12th at time check 1 in 14'06.
15:33 CEST
Ekimov hits the climb, but doesn't
look at his best today. Definitely no medal for the experienced Russian.
15:36 CEST
Germany's Michael Rich warms up using
his SRM on the rollers. He's very experienced at the World's, and has a swag
of silver medals in his collection. But this course might be a bit tough for
him.
Blaudzun reaches halfway in 27'50, 17th best. But Gutierrez
is right on his heels, coming through in 26'27! Excellent ride by the Spaniard,
who is obviously very motivated today.
15:42 CEST
Moreau is riding OK, hitting the
climb out of the saddle. The wind is a bit stronger here, blowing across the
riders.
Ekimov is at the end of lap 1 in a time of 27'44 for 16th.
He's improved a little, but will need an awesome second lap to match the best.
15:42 CEST
The top five so far, with two waves
completed:
1 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 55.06
2 Sebastian
Lang (Germany) 0.03
3 Matias Medici (Argentina) 0.05
4 Ondrej Sosenka
(Czech Republic) 0.23
5 Ben Day (Australia) 0.34
15:45 CEST
O'Loughlin comes up to halfway in
28'09, just inside the top 25. Victor Peña is not too far behind him. The Colombian
motors along and crosses in 27'16 for 7th.
15:47 CEST
Kashechkin is through the third time
check in a 41'48, only half a second slower than Wiggins. He's already passed
Szekeres, and is in search of Wohlberg.
15:48 CEST
Ruben Plaza and Alex Vinokourov are
warming up. Vino is using his ovalised chainrings.
Belohvosciks is past
33 km in 42'29, for a top 10.
15:50 CEST
Christophe Moreau comes up to the
start/finish at the end of lap 1. It's not a good time at all: 28'25. Top 30,
just.
15:52 CEST
The reason for Ivaïlo Gabrovski's
non-start today was because he failed a blood test this morning. His Bulgarian
teammate Bogdan Stoytchev also failed.
Jose Ivan Gutierrez has smashed
Wiggins' time after 33 km in 41'08!
15:57 CEST
Gutierrez continues to power along
in the second lap. He'll have the best time soon, for sure.
Michael
Blaudzun suffers as he hits the second climb.
Mick Rogers and Michael
Blaudzun warm up now. Rogers is a bit of a mystery man, but you can never discount
him in a time trial.
Eric Wohlberg (Canada) reaches the finish, struggling
a bit at the end to close in 57'14 for 17th.
15:58 CEST
Rogers is riding his special Time
frame, which he's got on his Advanced Training Systems warmup machine.
15:59 CEST
Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan) is
finishing his ride now, and he's close! He finishes in 55'03, new best time!
15:59 CEST
Andriy Grivko (Ukraine) is the first
rider to start from the final wave.
16:02 CEST
Szekeres finishes in 58'47, not close
to the top 20. Belohvosciks follows him in in 55'51, a decent time for 7th.
16:02 CEST
Bert Roesems (Belgium) sets off next,
another tall time trialist.
16:05 CEST
Here comes Gutierrez! As expected,
he has the new top time with 53'58! That's over 49 km/h, more than a minute
quicker than Kashechkin.
Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia) is next to go.
He's last year's U23 champ, and is only 21 this year, but has to ride with the
elite because he rides for a ProTour team.
16:06 CEST
Blaudzun is home in 57'30 for 23rd.
Thomas Dekker, another U23 rider in a ProTour team, is next to go. He starts
really hard. He wants to win today.
16:08 CEST
Marzio Bruseghin (Italy) leaves the
start ramp next. He was good last year (6th) and is a very consistent rider.
16:09 CEST
Piotr Mazur (Poland) finishes in
57'11. He won the TT in Plouay in 2000, but as a junior.
16:10 CEST
Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) is
next to go. He's another big lad, but is normally best at shorter distances.
16:10 CEST
Eki finishes off in 56'41 for 16th
at the moment.
Thomas Dekker is motoring up the first climb.
16:12 CEST
Gustav Larsson (Sweden), a surprising
fourth last year, is on his way.
16:13 CEST
Peña finishes off in 55'15, not bad
for 6th place. He's followed by O'Loughlin in 57'26.
16:14 CEST
Bobby Julich (USA) is next to leave.
He is one of the favourites for today, as long as he's feeling good. He doesn't
start too hard. He's got his camelbak under his skinsuit, as usual.
16:16 CEST
Denis Menchov, dual time trial winner
in the last Vuelta, is next to go. He's riding with the Russian colours today,
but has orange Rabobank shoe covers on.
Most riders are using rear
disks with a front trispoke or deep section wheel.
16:18 CEST
Ruben Plaza, Spain's other big hope,
is ready to roll. He looks very calm as he sits on the ramp, perched on his
Orbea.
16:19 CEST
Plaza is starting steadily, but powerfully.
Alexandre Vinokourov is next to go, Kazakhstan's second rider.
16:21 CEST
Moreau finishes in 58'41, around
5 minutes slower than Gutierrez. He's the last of the third wave to finish.
16:22 CEST
Dekker is already 49 seconds down
after 10.5 km for 23rd. That's not good for the Dutch rider. He can probably
forget about a medal already.
Michael Rich (Germany) starts.
16:24 CEST
Rich looks good as he hits the first
climb, keeping a very steady tempo, his massive legs pumping up and down.
Now the defending champion Michael Rogers is on the ramp. Three, two, one, go!
He's racing, the last rider on the course.
16:25 CEST
Rogers is quickly onto the bars and
gets his big gear going as he approaches the first climb.
16:26 CEST
Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) is
through 10.5 km in 13'46 for fourth. He's better than Gustav Larsson, whose
14'18 gives him just 25th.
16:28 CEST
Plaza is riding strongly on the first
part of the parcours, getting out of the saddle on the climb a bit. But that
will push his heart rate up.
Bobby Julich is past km 10.5 in 14'02
for 12th, knees pointing at odd directions as they always do.
16:29 CEST
Rogers is riding steadily on the
first climb, not going flat out. He's normally an even rider, trying to save
a bit for the second half.
Vinokourov is struggling with his rhythm
a bit.
16:30 CEST
Here comes Menchov - The Russian
comes past km 10.5 in 14'01, just quicker than Julich.
16:30 CEST
Plaza looks good, and takes a drink.
He's only got a bottle cage mounted on his seat tube, not his down tube.
16:32 CEST
Plaza comes up to time check one
but is not the fastest by any stretch. His 13'56 puts him in eighth.
16:33 CEST
Rich takes the first U-turn and gets
back up to speed again. He's near the 10.5 km check, but Vino will go through
first.
16:33 CEST
Vino punches along to time check
1, and he's good, doing 13'49 for fifth.
16:35 CEST
Dekker comes past 22 km in 27'58,
definitely not on a good ride. Bruseghin is better, in 27'18 for ninth.
16:37 CEST
Plaza reaches the second climb as
Michael Rich passes 10.5 km in a very slow 14'24 for 34th. That's bad, considering
there are only 48 riders in the race.
Cancellara is past halfway
in 26'35! That's second quickest, behind Gutierrez. Nice riding by the Swiss.
16:38 CEST
Rogers is now past 10.5 km, in a
decent time of 13'48 for fifth. That's good for him, considering he usually
doesn't go out too hard.
16:39 CEST
The top six after 10.5 km, with all
riders through now:
1 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 13.30
2 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) 0.13
3 Ondrej Sosenka (Czech Republic)
0.15
4 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 0.16
5 Michael Rogers (Australia)
0.18
6 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) 0.19
16:41 CEST
Rogers heads back down the hill towards
the start finish, as Bobby Julich reaches the halfway point in 27'05 for 5th.
16:42 CEST
Julich grabs an energy gel from underneath
his shorts and swallows it.
16:43 CEST
Rogers rides powerfully up the second
climb, getting out of the saddle for 15 seconds. He gets a big cheer from the
Spanish.
Menchov is at the halfway point now, suffering a fair bit,
and his time is 27'27 for a top 15 so far.
16:45 CEST
Menchov starts his second lap as
Gutierrez chats on his mobile phone, while sitting in the hot seat. Gutierrez
is a very good chance for a medal, quite possibly gold.
His compatriot
Ruben Plaza is past halfway in 26'50, not bad at all. Fourth place.
16:47 CEST
Plaza has picked up placings to the
halfway point, but he's still 23 seconds behind Gutierrez.
Vinokourov
is at halfway now. He takes the corner a bit wide, then corrects and comes across
the line in 26'57, for fifth.
16:49 CEST
Michael Rich is next across the start/finish
at the halfway check. The German is solid as ever, but is off the pace in 27'31
for 19th. Well, that's better than his first check.
16:50 CEST
Mick Rogers takes the uphill corner
before the start finish and comes across in a great time of 26'35 for second,
just 8 seconds slower than Gutierrez and on the same time as Cancellara. This
will be a close finish.
16:52 CEST
Speaking of Cance, the Swiss power
man reaches the third check at km 33 in 41'17, 9 seconds slower than Gutierrez.
The top five at halfway, with all riders through:
1 José Ivan Gutierrez
Palacios (Spain) 26.27
2 Michael Rogers (Australia) 0.08
3 Fabian
Cancellara (Switzerland)
4 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 0.17
5
Ruben Plaza (Spain) 0.23
16:54 CEST
Vinokourov continues his ride on
the second lap, and looks quite good now as he mashes a fairly big gear. All
power, all the time.
Ruben Plaza has reached a downhill part and
is getting close to the km 33 check.
16:55 CEST
Cancellara reaches the second climb
on the second lap, but has a good pace at the moment. He's on track for a medal,
but which colour?
16:55 CEST
The Swiss changes down a few gears
in to the small chainring and gets out of the saddle to punch over the top.
16:56 CEST
Julich is now past km 33 in 42'10
for 8th. It's a good ride, but not good enough for a medal today.
16:57 CEST
Rogers reaches the roundabout where
Vino went through just before, and grabs a drink from his seat tube mounted
bidon cage. He might catch Michael Rich.
16:58 CEST
Andriy Grivko (Ukraine) comes to
the finish as the first rider of the last wave. His time of 57'34 puts him 34th.
Vino slows as the road goes up again, trying to keep it going. He reaches the
U-turn.
Bert Roesems (Belgium) comes home in 56'23.98 for 15th.
16:59 CEST
Menchov is slowing on the second
lap. He's past km 33 in 42'42 for 17th. Ruben Plaza is better, crossing in 41'32.
Can anyone beat Gutierrez?
17:00 CEST
Brajkovic finishes in 56'04 for 12th.
That's not bad for the young Slovenian.
Julich hits the second climb
now, getting out of the saddle like everyone else.
17:02 CEST
Vino comes up to km 33 in 41'53.
No medal for him today either.
17:04 CEST
Thomas Dekker (Netherlands) finishes
off what hasn't been a memorable ride in 57'19, for 26th. He's pretty cooked.
He's followed by Marzio Bruseghin (Italy) who does a much better 55'46 for 9th.
Then Cancellara, who flies home in 53'58....just slower than Gutierrez by 0.12
seconds. Wow!
17:05 CEST
Michael Rich is through km 33 in
42'43 for 20th, that's better than his first lap.
But Mick Rogers
is through in 41'01!! New best time from the two time champion. He's better
on this second lap, that's for sure.
17:07 CEST
Rogers picked up 15 seconds on Gutierrez
between km 22 and km 33. He's flying now. He's on the downhill back towards
the second climb. It looks like Rogers, Gutierrez, and Cancellara will take
the medals, with Plaza maybe sneaking in too if he has a great finish.
17:08 CEST
The top five after 33 km, with all
riders through:
1 Michael Rogers (Australia) 41.01
2 José Ivan
Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) 0.07
3 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 0.16
4 Ruben Plaza (Spain) 0.31
5 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 0.46
17:09 CEST
Gustav Larsson (Sweden) finishes
in 56'34, just outside the top 20. A far cry from his brilliant fourth place
last year.
Rogers hits the second climb, working hard now.
Julich finishes in 55'19 for 8th.
17:10 CEST
Rogers stays in the saddle until
right near the top, but looks strong as he punches it over for 10 seconds. He's
nearly caught Michael Rich.
17:11 CEST
Rogers hits another small climb and
powers past his German two minute man. No silver medal for Rich this year.
17:12 CEST
Plaza is catching Menchov as he nears
the finish. That's not bad riding at all!
The two come in together,
virtually, with Plaza clocking 54'18 for third. Menchov roughly 56'20.
17:13 CEST
Rogers rides away from Michael Rich,
who has no choice but to let the Australian go. It never feels good to be caught
for two minutes.
Rogers nearly loses it on a corner! Oops. That
was tight.
17:15 CEST
Rogers is on the downhill stretch
now, as Alexandre Vinokourov comes to the finish. Vino powers home in 54'54
for fourth. Two more riders to come.
17:16 CEST
Rogers has a couple more minutes
to ride now. This will be close. He's still speeding down the descent.
17:16 CEST
Rogers takes the last roundabout
very smoothly and reaches the final kilometre with 52'17. He'll do it easily.
17:17 CEST
Michael Rogers takes the last corner
before the finish, then powers home in a time of 53'34.49! Triple world champion!
That's unprecedented in this discipline.
17:18 CEST
Michael Rich crosses in 55'48-ish
for a top 15.
17:26 CEST
The podium of the World TT Championships:
1. Michael Rogers, 2. Jose Ivan Gutierrez, 3. Fabian Cancellara. Rogers three
times in a row, but he says he wants to win a fourth! "I want to win a fourth
one. I don't want to quit here." Oh well, you can't have too many World Titles.
On his ride, he said, "I had the plan to go out - not easy, but still within
myself, and try to accelerate in the last half, which I did. It was very, very
hard. The second lap, right to the turn around at the top of the circuit. It's
uphill all the way and there's a lot of wind. It's a very hard course."
And that's about all from us in Cyclingnews' live blimp, that's double parked
above the Casa de Campo. We'll be back on Saturday with live coverage of the
women's and U23 men's road races.
Intermediate timing
km 10.5 (all riders through) 1 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 13.30 2 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) 0.13 3 Ondrej Sosenka (Czech Republic) 0.15 4 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 0.16 5 Michael Rogers (Australia) 0.18 6 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) 0.19 km 21.9 (all riders through) 1 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) 26.27 2 Michael Rogers (Australia) 0.08 3 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 4 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 0.17 5 Ruben Plaza (Spain) 0.23 6 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) 0.30 7 Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan) 0.31 km 33 (all riders through) 1 Michael Rogers (Australia) 41.01 2 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) 0.07 3 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 0.16 4 Ruben Plaza (Spain) 0.31 5 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 0.46 6 Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan) 7 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) 0.52 Finish - km 43.8 1 Michael Rogers (Australia) 53.34 2 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) 0.24 3 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 4 Ruben Plaza (Spain) 0.44 5 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) 1.20 6 Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan) 1.29 7 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 1.32 8 Sebastian Lang (Germany) 1.35 9 Matias Medici (Argentina) 1.37 10 Victor Hugo Pena (Colombia) 1.41 11 Bobby Julich (USA) 1.45
