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75th World Championships - CM
Varese, Italy, September 23-28, 2008
Main Page Results & report Race Details Next Race
Race 1 - September 23: Under 23 men's time trial, 33.55km
Complete live report
Live commentary by Susan Westemeyer
Today will see the kick off race of the World Championships with the U23 time trial. A testing 33.55-kilometre course await the youngsters.
13:58 CEST
Hello, and welcome to the first installment of Cyclingnews' coverage of the 2008 road World Championships! We are here in Varese, Italy, and the first group to have their chance is the U-23 men, who today tackle the time trial.
14:02 CEST
Hossein Nateghi of Iran was the first rider off today. The 21 year-old has a goodly number of wins this year, including the overall in the Taftan tour.
14:03 CEST
Rain was forecast for today, but the clouds are moving out and there is actually sun to be seen! It is 14°, which we find a bit chilly.
14:04 CEST
Tejay Van Garderen is a 20 year old American with the Rabobank Continental Team. He has four victories this season, most recently winning a stage in the Tour de l'Avenir.
14:05 CEST
The riders are going off at 90 second intervals.
14:07 CEST
Martins Trautmanis of Latvia is 20 years old. He rides for Rietumu Bank-Riga. He is followed by Ramunas Navardauskas , a 20 year old Lithuanian. He rides for Team Ulan and had a handful of top ten finishes this year.
14:08 CEST
The next to go is Vitor Rodrigues of Portugal, 22. He rides for the Continental Liberty Seguros team and won the Grand Prix Portugal this year.
14:09 CEST
The course today is 33.55km long. It makes a big loop up to the north of Varese, followed by a little loop to the west. It ends with a straightaway in to the finish line in the Hippodrome, or cycling stadium. The organizers tell us that it is virtually the same course as the 1951 Worlds, and we will have to take their word for that, since we are much too young to have been around back then.
14:09 CEST
Nicolas Schnyder is a 21 year-old Swiss rider. Most recently he finished 19th in the GP Tell.
14:10 CEST
There are two intermediate time checks, at 15 km and 23 km.
14:13 CEST
Jakub Novak comes from Slovakia and is 20 years old. He rides for CK Windoor's Pribram. Now taking off is Victor Mironov, 19, of Moldavia, was second in his national ITT and fourth in the road race.
14:14 CEST
We have our first time checks. David Veilleux of Canada came through at 10:57.41, and Van Garderen just topped that at 10:55.05.
14:16 CEST
We have two more underway now -- this goes so fast, it is hard to keep up with them all.
From Argentina we have Roman Jose Mastrangelo, 19 years old. He was eighth this year in the Pan-American time trial race. Arturo Mora Ortiz of Spain, 21, finished seventh this year in the Circuito Montanes time trial.
14:17 CEST
Jakub Kratochvila is 20 years old and from the Czech Republic. He rides for the CK Windoor's Pribram team.
14:18 CEST
Ervin Korts-Laur of Estonia is 22 years old. According to our information, he had retired as a rider, but here he is.....
14:19 CEST
Rodrigues was fifth at the time check, 11:34.
14:20 CEST
Vadim Izitov is a 20 year old Kazakhi. He was ninth in his national ITT and sixth in the road race. His turquoise and yellow kit looks quit familiar to us!
14:21 CEST
Looks like Van Garderen set a good intermediate time. Schnyder just came through at 11:35.00.
14:23 CEST
And the next ones out are: Russell Hampton, 20, of Great Britain, won the prologue of the Tour Alsace this year.
Tamas Iszkadi of Hungary is 19 years old and rides for his national team.
14:25 CEST
We have a gap now. Marco Coledan was supposed to start now, but he had a training accident and faces surgery. The team thought the course was closed to traffic yesterday, and it wasn't, unfortunately. The young Italian had a run-in with a truck. We wish him a speedy recovery!
14:26 CEST
Jaime Suaza is Colombian. The 22 year-old was fourth in the Pan-American ITT championships.
14:29 CEST
Temur Mukhamedov of Uzbekistan is 19. He was second in the Asian Championships road race and fourth in his national time trial championship.
Evaldas Siskevicius is from Lithuania and is 19 years old. He was third in his national TT race, and finished this season as a stagiaire with Credit Agricole.
14:30 CEST
Van Garderen continues to lead at the intermediate time check. Korts-Laur just came through with the second best time, seven seconds slower.
14:30 CEST
Daniel Kreutzfeldt of Denmark is 21. This season he won a stage in the Ringerike GP.
14:31 CEST
The later riders are sitting happily out in the sunshine, pedaling away.
14:31 CEST
Gideoni Monteiro, 19 years old, is from Brazil. He was 18th in his national TT race this year.
14:33 CEST
Cameron Meyer of Australia is 20 years old. He rides for SouthAustralia.com-AIS and won the Tour of Japan.
14:37 CEST
At the 23km time check, Veilleux is clearly in the lead, at 32:22, ahead of Van Garderen at 33:18.
14:37 CEST
The first time check is at 8km, followed by ones at 15 and 23km. We were misinformed earlier.
14:39 CEST
Navardauskas just topped Veilleux at the final time check by five seconds.
14:41 CEST
Let's catch up with some more of the riders who are now underway:
Mykhaylo Kononenko is a 21 year-old Ukrainian. He rides for the Danieli Cycling Team and this summer won the Mainfranken Tour.
Martin Kostelnicak of Slovakia is 22. He was seventh in his national TT race.
Muhammed Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi is from Malaysia and is 22 years old. He won the Malaysian national road title this year.
Johan Lindgren is a 22 year-old Swede. He was fourth in the national ITT championships.
14:42 CEST
Joze Jovanov, 21, is Macedonia's representative in this race.
14:43 CEST
Serhei Papok of Belarussia is 20, and he finished second in the Tour of Sochi.
14:45 CEST
Ole Jorgen Jensen, 20, is from Norway. He was ninth in the Norwegian national TT championships.
14:46 CEST
Veilleux is in, and sets us a time of 43:44.70. Who will be able to top that? And by how much?
14:46 CEST
The Australian Meyer has set a new best time at the first time check, a whole 13.71 seconds better than the previous time.
14:47 CEST
Martin Hacecky is a 20 year old Czech. This year he finished 20th overall in the Thüringen Rundfahrt.
14:48 CEST
Van Garderen has finished now, in a time of 44:57.04.
14:49 CEST
Dmitriy Gruzdev of Kazakhstan, 23 years old, rides for Team Ulan. He was seventh in his national time trial championships.
14:49 CEST
Sergio Daniel Godoy from Argentina is 20. He finished 12th in the Tour de San Luis the beginning of the year.
14:51 CEST
Navardauskas is now second overall, with a time of 44:02. He passed Trautmanis underway.
14:51 CEST
From Belgium, Jan Ghyselink is 20 years old and finished third in three races in April.
14:52 CEST
Next to go is Gabor Fejes of Hungary. He is 19 years old and finished 11th in the GP P-Nivo last month.
14:54 CEST
Andreas Henig is a 19 year old German with Team Atlas - Romer's Hausbäckerei. He recently finished second in the Chrono Champenois. He is German U-23 TT champion, and is figured to have good chances for a medal today.
14:55 CEST
Schnyder is in sixth place now, with a final time of 46:06.88.
14:56 CEST
Nicolas Boisson of France is 19 years old. He rides for the French national team.
14:57 CEST
Alex Dowsett, 20, of Great Britain won the prologue of the Tour Alsace this summer. There are 25 more riders to go.
14:58 CEST
Novak is no threat to Veilleux' time, coming in last so far.
14:59 CEST
Abdelkader Belmokhtar is from Algeria and is 21 years old. Last year he placed 55th in the U-23 ITT.
15:00 CEST
Mora Ortiz has crossed the finish line, with a time of 44:26, which puts him in third place at the moment.
15:01 CEST
Jarlinson Pantano Gomez is from Colombia. The 19 year-old rides for Colombia es Pasion – Coldeportes and can point to a number of top ten finishes this year.
15:02 CEST
Eric Boily, 22, is from Canada and this year he won a stage in the Coupe des Nations Ville de Saguenay,
15:03 CEST
Korts-Laur is about 20 seconds slower than Veilleux, coming in third at 44:06.27.
15:03 CEST
Stefano Borchi of Italy is 22 and finished 12th in the European U-23 TT championships.
15:04 CEST
Peter Stetina of the USA is 22. He has top ten finishes in many races this year.
15:05 CEST
Cameron Meyer held the best time at the final time check. Will he hold on to his good time until the end and move into the lead?
15:06 CEST
Matthias Brandle is a 19 year-Austrian who rides for Team Ista. He has a number of top ten finishes this year, including second overall in the Tour de Berlin.
15:09 CEST
We have a new leader: Suaza of Colombia came in at 43:16.42, which is 28.28 faster than the Canadian.
15:10 CEST
Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo, besides having a very long name, is 22 and comes from Colombia. He rides for Colombia es Pasion – Coldeportes.
Andrey Amador Bikkazakova is a 22 year-old Costa Rican, who this year won the prologue of the Tour de l'Avenir.
15:12 CEST
Travis Meyer of Australia is 19 years old. He rides for SouthAustralian.com-AIS, and this year won the Tour of Wellington and the Tour de Berlin. His brother Cameron is also in this race, and we expect a new best time from him when he crosses the finish line, which ought to be soon.
Gert Joeaar is 22 and from Estonia. He was eighth in the European U-23 time trial race.
15:13 CEST
Kreuzfeldt is now second, with a time of 43:27.53.
15:15 CEST
Martin Keizer, 20, is Dutch and rides for the Rabobank Continental Team.
Rafael Serrano Fernandez is a 21 year-old Spaniard. He rides for Contentpolis-Murcia.
15:16 CEST
As expected, Cameron Meyer takes the lead, with the first time under 43 minutes. Will his time of 42:40.34 be enough for a medal, possibly even gold?
15:18 CEST
Marcel Wyss of Switzerland is 22. He started this year riding for Atlas - Romer's Hausbäckerei and ended it as a stagiaire for Scott-American Beef. The end of April he won the opening prologue of the Fleche du Sud.
Sergui Cioban, 20, is Moldavian time trial champion and was second in the national road race championship.
15:21 CEST
Clinton Avery is a 21 year-old New Zealander, who this year was fifth in the Paris Roubaix Espoirs race.
Artem Ovechkin of Russia is 22. He was third in the European U-23 time trial championships.
15:23 CEST
Doesn't look like Travis Meyer is going to challenge his brother for a medal. He just came in tenth at the first intermediate check, where Cameron is still first.
15:26 CEST
Patrick Gretsch of Germany is 21 and rides for the Thüringer Energie Team. This year he won the Thüringer Rundfahrt.
Tony Gallopin is a 20 year-old Frenchman who rides for Auber 93. He was third overall in the Thüringer Rundfahrt this year. You know his Uncle Alain, who is a Directeur Sportif at Astana.
15:27 CEST
Dmitry Sokolov from Russia is 20 years old. In the GP Capodarco he finished third.
Dennis Van Winden is a 20 year old Dutch rider for the Rabobank Continental Team. He has a number of victories this season, including the overall title in the Tour du Haut Anjou.
15:28 CEST
Borchi has set a new best time at his most recent intermediate time check, ahead of C. Meyer.
15:29 CEST
Kristjan Koren of Slovenia is 21 years old and rides for Perutnina Ptuj. He has four wins this season and most recently finished 11th overall in the Tour de l'Avenir.
Michael Faerk Christiansen, 22, is from Denmark and rides professionally for Glud & Marstrand Horsens. He has had some success on the track, winning second in the Worlds and Beijing Olympics in the team pursuit.
15:30 CEST
A Dutch rider misjudged the course and ended up on the wrong side of the road -- namely, where the oncoming riders and cars are! Fortunately nothing happened, but he sure didn't help his time with that move. Or our nerves...
15:33 CEST
Leandro Bittar from Brazil gives us a little more info on Gideoni Monteiro, who is U-23 Pan-American road champion. He is moving to Europe next year. He will race in a Italy team, GS Spercenigo. Thanks for the update!
15:34 CEST
Rui Costa is 21 years old and rides for the Portuguese Team Benfica. Most recently he finished second in the Tour de l'Avenir.
Gatis Smukulis is a 21 year-old Latvian. He had three wins this spring: Boucles du Sud Ardèche - Souvenir Francis Delpech, Ronde van Vlaanderen Beloften, and stage one of the Ronde de l'Isard. He also rode the road race in the Beijing Olympics.
15:36 CEST
The number one rider in this race (according to his back number) is Adriano Malori of Italy. The 20 year-old is the current Italian and European U-23 ITT champion and won the 2 Giorni Marchigiana - Trofeo Citta di Castelfidardo and the Crono Champenois. He was fifth in the Worlds last year.
15:37 CEST
Henig is over the finish line, in second place, with a time of 43:09.69.
15:41 CEST
Cameron Meyer is looking pretty cool in the finish area. He might not be so happy to know that yet another rider has topped his best time at the first intermediate check.
15:42 CEST
That new best time at the first time check is 10:30.54, and it belongs to Gretsch.
15:43 CEST
Is Cameron Meyer really this cool, or just hiding his nerves? We heard from a good buddy of the two Meyer, Jordan, who wanted to know how they are doing. Cameron seems to be doing just fine!
15:45 CEST
Malori has now set the best time at the first check, 10:26.44.
15:46 CEST
Cameron Meyer is the elder brother, being born Jan. 11, 1988, which make him 20 years old. Travis is about a year and a half younger, being born June 8, 1989, so he is now 19.
15:47 CEST
Lots of riders are coming in now, of course, but none of them is coming close to the top times.
15:48 CEST
Having said that, Stetina brings in the third place time, at 43:00.56.
15:50 CEST
Wyss has set the second best time at the 23km time check. He is second behind C. Meyer, with a time of 31:23.84.
15:51 CEST
The New Zealander, Avery, all in black, and Gallopin are riding together, more or less.
15:53 CEST
C. Meyer is starting to look a bit more relaxed and a small smile is starting to show every now and then.
15:56 CEST
Gretsch just blasted Meyer's time at the final time check, with a time of 30:55.71, about 23 seconds faster than the Australian.
And Malori is faster than Gretsch at the second time check.
15:58 CEST
Koren is giving his all to get a good time, sliding around the saddle and then getting up out of the saddle entirely.
15:58 CEST
Malori, on the other hand, looks very calm and smooth.
16:00 CEST
Wyss approaches the finish line, and ought to bring in a good time.
16:01 CEST
It's not a new best time, though, 42:47.54, which makes him second at the moment. Wyss looks to have better chances in the road race.
16:06 CEST
Malori is 22 seconds faster than Gretsch at the last time check, 30:33.39.
16:06 CEST
Gallopin and Avery stayed together and crossed the finish line pretty much together.
16:07 CEST
We have a new leader: Gretsch comes in with a time of 42:26.65.
16:07 CEST
A Russian just went flyyyyyyyyyyying! He crashed and slid a long way, before getting back up and going. It was Sokolov.
16:08 CEST
C. Meyer moved over a chair to make space for Gretsch. He grinned and waved as he did so.
16:10 CEST
Cyclingnews' Gregor Brown talked to North Americans Tejay Van Garderen and David Veilleux. Both agreed that it was a power course. Tejay Van Garderen of the USA said "there were lots of changes of rhythm and a lot of corners."
Canadian Veilleux added that "my last time trial was in Missouri, where I crashed."
16:11 CEST
Sokolov makes his way to the finish now. He lost a lot of time and won't even make the top 25.
16:12 CEST
Gretsch has still not yet appeared in the waiting area. There is an empty chair there, just waiting for him.
16:13 CEST
There are only three riders still on the course: Smukulus, Costa and Malori.
16:14 CEST
Malori can already see Costa, who started 90 seconds ahead of him.
16:15 CEST
Smukulus is in now, in 20th place, with a time of 43:48.79.
16:16 CEST
Malori won't catch Costa, but it doesn't matter, he will take a gold medal instead!
16:17 CEST
Adriano Malori is our new U-23 World Time Trial Champion, with a time of 41:35.98!
16:19 CEST
Congratulations to all these young men! We will see a number of them again later in the week, in the U-2 road race. Thanks for reading along today and join us tomorrow for the women's time trial!
Provisional results
1 Adriano Malori (Italy) 41.35.98 (48.389 km/h) 2 Patrick Gretsch (Germany) 42.25.65 3 Cameron Meyer (Australia) 42.40.34 4 Marcel Wyss (Switzerland) 42.47.54 5 Stefano Borchi (Italy) 42.59.00
