HTC Highroad will cease to exist at the end of the season and is currently participating in its last World Championships. While for this event there are country teams participating, the successes of the riders still give their trade teams good exposure. With Judith Arndt and Tony Martin, two HTC riders took the gold medal in the women and men's time trial, along with a fourth place by Bert Grabsch. The women had five riders among the top 11.
Martin had to be the favorite after beating Fabian Cancellara in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, but an isolated one-day race is always very different than doing a time trial in the middle of a three-week tour.
Plus, Martin can handle uphills well, of which there weren't any in Denmark. "The course was pretty flat," he said, "I normally would prefer a few climbs, but I was able to find a good rhythm and really push myself at every opportunity to accelerate."
He was happy that the weather held up. "It was cloudy, looking like it could rain at any moment, but we were lucky the road stayed dry and I could hit the corners faster."
While Martin didn't need extra motivation, passing your 90-second man is good psychologically. "I was able to catch up to David Millar which was motivating, but my morale going into the race today was quite high. I felt great from the start."
He didn't want to make too much out of his duel with Cancellara. "It was not about taking the rainbow jersey from Fabian, it's not all about the fight between me and Fabian; [there are] a lot of other good guys, Bradley [Wiggins], David Millar."
Martin felt for the Swiss bronze medalist. "I am just happy to have the jersey and I feel sorry for Fabian with all the pressure put on him from his country. Third place is also a good place too - I know it as I did it the last two years! I think that it is a good result for both of us."
Martin's teammate Bert Grabsch, the time trial World Champion of 2008, was fourth. A good result, although missing the podium by one spot is always annoying. He has experience in it, doing the same in 2007 when the Worlds were held in his home country of Germany.
Rounding out the success for the American team was Judith Arndt's gold medal on Tuesday. It was her third win at a World Championship race, but her first in the time trial. She has won the individual pursuit in 1997 and the road race in 2004.
With that success, HTC Highroad can see the rest of the Worlds very relaxed. They still have an ace to play with Mark Cavendish, to whom the flat course should suit. But World Championships always have their own drama and it is certainly hard to pick a winner. Cavendish will remember Mario Cipollini's victory in Zolder in 2002.
The British team is far smaller than the Italian armada nine years ago, so the comparison doesn't hold. For HTC, it doesn't matter. The pressure is off. The last question remaining may be if they regret cutting their sponsorship to one of the most decorated teams in the peloton.