Tipped as the man to beat after defeating Fabian Cancellara in the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, German rider Tony Martin dominated the world time trial championships in Copenhagen today. The 26 year old started fast and continued accelerating, setting the best time at each of the intermediate points and averaging over 51 kilometres per hour.
The pace was sufficient for him to eke out a one minute 16 second winning margin over Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, with Cancellara placing only third. The latter was five seconds off the time of Wiggins but would have secured silver had he not taken one risk too many on the bends towards the end of the race.
Under pressure to deal with Martin’s onslaught, he went far too quickly into a 90 degree right hand bend and had to jam on his brakes to avoid slamming into the barriers with his left side. The four-time champion managed to avoid the crash, but came to a complete halt and lost over ten seconds.
He looked shattered at the finish, while Martin was the complete opposite. He punched the air as he came over the finish line, embraced a soigneur and was smiling broadly.
“It is incredible. I already could feel it in the last kilometres,” he said in a TV interview soon after the finish. “I was already sure I would win it as I had such a good feeling. Now a dream has come true, it is unbelievable for me.”
He caught and passed last year’s silver medallist David Millar soon after the halfway point, and said this was an extra boost. “For me, Dave Millar is one of the favourites and for sure when you pass him, being one and a half minutes faster, you must be on a good ride,” he said. “That gave me a lot of motivation and morale.”
The victory is Germany’s second win in recent years, with Bert Grabsch taking the title in 2008. He was on another good ride today, netting fourth, eleven seconds off the podium.
For Martin, it caps a fine season where he moved to a new level. The Paris-Nice champion had taken six time trial wins in 2011 prior to this morning, leading to a lot of expectation. He said that starting the race as perhaps the biggest favourite hadn’t been a problem.
“For me it was positive pressure,” he said. “It is my fourth time doing the worlds as a pro and I have learned now how to handle it.”
He headed to Copenhagen determined to shoot for gold; Wiggins came out of the Vuelta a España unsure as to how he would go, and claimed he didn’t have a set target in the race. “I didn’t really expect anything to be honest, I just went out and did my ride,” he stated. “You always hope that on a good day you can get a medal or even win the race, but it needed something special to beat Tony today.”
The same applied to Cancellara, who clearly hasn’t been the same rider this year as in previous seasons. “Tony deserved to win today more than anyone else,” he said, complimenting his rival. “I started good feelings but could not find rhythm and I felt that this was not the day where I could give everything.”
Mixed results for other tipped riders:
Australia’s Jack Bobridge was one of those who wasn’t mentioned often as a medal contender before the race, but performed at a very high level today. The young Garmin-Cervélo rider, who with switch to GreenEdge next season, led briefly before Grabsch finished. He ended up third quickest in the first two out of the five time checks, but slowed towards the end and missed a medal.
Still, as a rider who is just 22 years of age, he showed that he can podium – and perhaps win – in the years ahead.
Sixteen seconds and one place behind Bobridge was compatriot Richie Porte. He was fourth last year but on a course lacking undulating roads, the good climber was disadvantaged. He had to be content with sixth place, two and a half minutes back, and one place ahead of last year’s silver medallist David Millar.
The Briton hasn’t raced much in recent weeks and also became a father, and so he was uncertain about how he would fare. The outcome was a solid ride, but one which never threatened to result in a podium finish. Being caught by Tony Martin was likely demoralising, but he’d have been closer on a tougher course and with a better buildup.
Kazakhstan’s Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kazakhstan) was one of the big surprises of the day, finishing ninth and holding the hot spot for much of the race. He was third rider off in the second out of four waves of riders, and held the quickest time until Bobridge finished.
Jakob Fuglsang rode solidly in front of the Danish fans for tenth , showing he has come out of a tiring Vuelta in decent condition.
Further back, Svein Tuft (Canada) and Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia) were twelfth and thirteenth, less than both were hoping for, and it was a disappointing day for America’s Taylor Phinney. He was fifth in the time trial at the Vuelta a España and the 2010 under 23 world time trial champion was aiming for another top five finish in Copenhagen. He even hoped for a medal, but in the end took 15th, just under four minutes behind Martin, and five seconds ahead of his team-mate Andrew Talansky.
It appears he hasn’t fully recovered from competing in his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España.
Both Americans will return to the worlds stronger in the years ahead, and had the boost of learning today that they can chase victory on home soil in four years time when the championships are held in Richmond, Virginia. Being 21 and 22 respectively, they have plenty of improvement ahead and should be big contenders in 2015.
How the race played out:
Ioannis Tamouridis (Greece) set an early mark of 58 minutes 51.59 seconds, but soon afterwards RadioShack rider Jesse Sergent (New Zealand) went quicker. Fifty minutes later Alexandr Dyachenko (Kazakhstan) scorched to the top, setting a time of 57 minutes 3.61 seconds and going a minute and seven seconds faster.
This would stand for quite some time, despite being threatened early on by Jack Bauer (New Zealand), who then faded as the time trial went on. Dyachenko would remain in the hot seat for two hours, but would give way when the bigger guns started to fire.
Martin was the second-last rider to start and thundered out of the start house, quickly getting up to speed. He beat the previous best time set by Bobridge at the 10.8km split, showing he was on a good day. Cancellara started a minute and a half behind him and started conceding time right away; he was ten seconds back at that point, but limited his losses to one more second over the next 5.4 kilometres.
Fuglsang came through the 23.2 kilometre halfway point in fifth, 53.38 seconds behind Bobridge. Porte came through next and was faster than the Dane, getting provisional third at that halfway point. Behind, Cancellara was whipping the pedals around but not using the same high cadence as in previous years. His shoulders were rocking more than usual, while Tony Martin was a picture of concentration, turning the pedals well.
American rider Taylor Phinney had hopes of taking a medal but was over 50 seconds behind Grabsch at the halfway point. Millar was faring a little better, going through this marker in provisional fifth. However Martin had him in his sights and scorched through the time check 47.11 seconds quicker than Grabsch’s time. He caught the Scotsman soon afterwards.
Cancellara’s supporters waited with bated breath to see what he could do there; the answer was not enough, passing the clock second, 18.83 seconds back. He had left himself with a lot to do and the question was if Martin could keep up that pace to the line.
At the next check point, 34 kilometres after the start, Wiggins was fractions ahead of Grabsch and continuing to speed up.
Soon after, Bobridge raced on towards the finish, passing Brajkovic within sight of the line and grabbing provisional first place. He was a cool one minute 5.9 seconds faster than Dyachenko there, but his mark didn’t last long.
Grabsch came in very soon afterwards, going 42.1 seconds faster than the Australian. Meanwhile Martin came through the third time check a clear one minute six seconds quicker than Wiggins, averaging 52.6 kilometres per hour at that point in time.
The Briton was going well compared to the others, though, and reached the finish line 15.93 seconds faster than Grabsch. That put him first, but he knew that Martin and Cancellara’s battle meant that his lead there could be a brief one.
The Swiss rider knew that things were not going his way, particularly after he passed the third check point almost a minute behind Martin. He fought harder and harder, seeking to make time up on the corners and taking some risks. He hurtled around each ninety degree curve, hardly hitting the brakes, and went close to the barriers on more than one occasion.
Fuglsang finished very soon after that, netting provisional sixth place; almost right away Porte finished, and went quicker to move into fourth. It was the same position he had clocked up last year, but with others still out on the course he knew he would be further back this time round.
Phinney had started with a similar goal of taking a medal but was only 12th fastest when he passed the line. The next rider to finish was Martin, who zoomed in to reach the finish one minute 16 seconds ahead of Wiggins. Even with Cancellara still out on the course, he knew he had done enough to take the title, and wheeled across the finish line with his fists pumping the air.
Behind, his big rival was despairing and want far too fast into a right hand corner, being forced to jam on and come to a halt to avoid skidding into a barrier. This cost him dearly; he had been ahead of Wiggins but lost at least ten seconds. He reached the line five seconds back, throwing away a silver medal he would otherwise have got.
He was deeply disappointed, but would complement Martin soon afterwards and recognise that he was the best rider on the day. The German had the upper hand all season, and kept that trend going to earn his first rainbow jersey. Few would bet on it being his last.