Alas, I have been caught out as I thought the men's time trial was on Thursday. I meant to do a blog on the world championships a bit earlier.
So onto the event, the course, and the starting list are online. The course is flat and technical.
The favourites
1) Tony Martin - This could be the year where he finally overcomes Cancellara, who has had a relativity poor season; Wiggins beat him in Bayern-Rundfahrt and Martin beat him in the TdF. Martins form all year has been good. There was the aforementioned win in Tour de France and his wins in the Criterium Dauphine & Vuelta against Wiggins and others. He has been second to only Cancellara for the past few years, but he is coming into his prime. Previously he has come third for the last 2 years in this competition.
Pros- Strong form.
Cons- Not as good at technical courses than some others (Cancellara)
2) Fabian Cancellara - One of, if not the, best time trialists of all time as shown by his previous 4 world titles (and numerous national titles). Usually he would be the outstanding favourite. He has not had the best of years, having been defeated by some of his rivals (Wiggins, Martin), in the Vuelta, Tour and Bayern-Rundfahrt, he also didn't look that great in the spring classics. However that may only give him more motivation. The course is technical which will suit him and he has immense talent.
Pros- Superb biking handling, excellent past performances.
Cons- Poor recent form.
3) Bradley Wiggins - He has had an excellent year with his win of the Criterium Dauphine and third place in the Vuelta. He has shown excellent form all year having beaten Cancellera in Bayern-Rundfahrt by a good margin (~ 30 seconds) and coming second in the Criterium Dauphine to Martin by only 11 seconds and taking considerably less risks throughout the course. This could very well be his year.
Pros- Strong form all year, good bike handler, no pressure.
Cons- Not quite as strong as Martin, had a long season.
4) David Millar - What with writing his autobiography and the birth of his first child Millar has had a quieter year than usual. He rode both the Giro and the Tour, however has not done much since. He wore the Maglia Rosa (the Pink jersey) in the giro down to a breakaway and won the 26 km time trial (the finial stage). Last year he came second in the time trial.
Pros- Strong form earlier in the year
Cons - Lack of preparation, probably not as good form as Wiggins/ Martin.
Others to watch
Richie Porte - Solid performer, poor season.
Bert Grabsch - Excellent time trialist, previous winner and multiple national champion
Taylor Phinney- Won the under 23 title last year. The kid certainly has talent, however he is still young and not near his peak.
Gustav Larsson - Olympic silver medallist, and has come second in this event before (2009).
Where to follow ?
cycling weekly
cycling news
bbc
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