UCI Road World Championships 21st-29th September 2019 - Yorkshire - Race Thread.

[Lexman]

I find the ITT Men field rather light : we have Roglic, Dennis but then....

 

[johnymax]

I find the ITT Men field rather light : we have Roglic, Dennis but then....

Campenaerts, Evenepoel, Lampaert, Asgreen, Martin, Affini, Ganna, van Emden, Bevin, Castroviejo, Kung, Haga and so on...

 

[tobydawq]

There have been 14 ITTs on the WorldTour this season, won by 11 different riders (Roglic has won 4) and of those winners the only non-participants here are Simon Yates, Schachmann, Alaphilippe and Van Aert, of which I think the latter is the only one to have had a chance on this route.

The other 6 to have won are Campenaerts, Tratnik, Haga, Dennis, Lampaert and Ganna.

 

[RedheadDane]

Was there any practical/rule-related reason for the riders who were dropped during the Relay to complete the route? No potential medal unless you finish?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

There have been 14 ITTs on the WorldTour this season, won by 11 different riders (Roglic has won 4) and of those winners the only non-participants here are Simon Yates, Schachmann, Alaphilippe and Van Aert, of which I think the latter is the only one to have had a chance on this route.

The other 6 to have won are Campenaerts, Tratnik, Haga, Dennis, Lampaert and Ganna.

But of those 14, how many were longer than 20km? Winning a prologue is hardly a reference for a 1hr+ ITT. A non-WT ITT like the EC ITT is likely more of a benchmark in comparison.

It's a shame that Dumoulin and van Aert aren't here, maybe Froome or an in form Thomas. But basically everybody who isn't injured (Thomas not withstanding) and would otherwise have had a shot, is present.

 

[SafeBet]

I'm so sorry for Elisa Longo Borghini. She would have carried the team to bronze without the mechanical.

 

[The Hegelian]

Campenaerts, Evenepoel, Lampaert, Asgreen, Martin, Affini, Ganna, van Emden, Bevin, Castroviejo, Kung, Haga and so on...

Sure, but this is not like Wiggins, Cancellera, Martin and Dumoulin going head to toe like in '13, '14 etc.

 

[Mayomaniac]

So Brenner vs Piccolo for the win in the mj itt? I'm a bit surprised that the Italians aren't bringing Milesi. He's a few months older that Brenner and finished 2nd at the nc itt, ahead of Tiberi. He only started cycling one year earlier and has a Football background, perhaps the route is a bit too technical for him.

 

[DNP-Old]

So Brenner vs Piccolo for the win in the mj itt? I'm a bit surprised that the Italians aren't bringing Milesi. He's a few months older that Brenner and finished 2nd at the nc itt, ahead of Tiberi. He only started cycling one year earlier and has a Football background, perhaps the route is a bit too technical for him.

Quinn Simmons is the red hot favorite.

 

[Davesta]

I think it's a bit arrogant of everybody just to laugh at the event that was held today.

I didn't care for it one bit either, but in all other endurance sports, the concept of a relay works quite nicely and I don't see why the same couldn't be true for cycling just because it's not something that has been done for a hundred years.

That said, I miss the trade team TTT and if a relay cannot generate more rider interest it is doomed to fail.

I agree - it's the first time the event has taken place (well, second time if you count the Euros), so it will inevitably take some time for it to gain traction, if it does at all...

But it's worth remembering that part of the reason the trade team TTT was scrapped is because it didn't generate much rider interest. Since it became non-compulsory, half the World Tour teams breathed a sigh of relief and decided not to turn up. And of those that did, only 4 or 5 teams were ever really in with a shot of a medal...mostly the event was loved by the industry sponsors as a way of showcasing their equipment...

It is, I think, quite simply very difficult to make a spectacle of a TTT, whichever format you choose. The nature of the event means that the level of competition will always be limited to just a handful of potential medallists, which reduces tension and intrigue. And as a viewing spectacle we all know the limitations in making time trials exciting. At least in Grand Tours there's an extra dimension to TTs/TTTs where the effect on the general classification adds a second (and often more interesting) layer. But as standalone events, it's really just an exercise in watching a clock tick over, no matter how you dress it up...

 

[Pantani_lives]

Women Junior ITT. Favourites are probably:

Megan Jastrab (USA)
Shirin van Anrooij (NET)
Camilla Alessio (ITA)
Elynor Backsted (UK)

 

[del1962]

Is Mr Backsted commentating on Eurosport?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

No, but he is getting plenty of name checks.

 

[Bonimenier]

Gareeva gave the other girls a chance, but they didn't take it

 

[sir fly]

Wouldn't be so exciting should Gareeva have not missed the turn for a moment.
Congrats.

 

[Angelo1985]

it's a rather tough course, so i pick Brenner as my favorite.

 

[DNP-Old]

Eurosport Player is live. Piras and Blum are currently on the road, they should be the ones to set the first half decent time from wave 1. My favorites are as follows:

****: Quinn Simmons, Marco Brenner
***: Andrea Piccolo, Finn Fisher-Black, Lars Boven
**: Antonio Tiberi, Leo Hayter, Michael Garrison, Michel Hessmann, Enzo Leijnse,
*: Gleb Karpenko, Carlos Rodriguez, Hugo Page, Andrii Ponomar, Oscar Nilsson-Julien, Blume Levy

 

[DNP-Old]

Vinokourov's sons aren't terrible, they are godawful.

 

[DNP-Old]

Race really starting now with Nilsson-Julien, Vauquelin, Finnesand, Leijnse, Currie and Brenner all starting within 7 minutes of each other.

 

[RedheadDane]

Vinokourov's sons aren't terrible, they are godawful.

Well… it's a bit hard to judge Alexandre Jr's skills based on this.

 

[DNP-Old]

Well… it's a bit hard to judge Alexandre Jr's skills based on this.

There's more to a season than just a time trial. Alexandre nor Nicolas are even half decent.

 

[RedheadDane]

There's more to a season than just a time trial. Alexandre nor Nicolas are even half decent.

Well… this is the first time I've seen any of them…

 

[DNP-Old]

What are you doing Marco.

 

[Bushman]

Marco Brenner bleeding time to the Dutch Enzo Leinjse now. Is Brenner underperforming or is Leijnse about to upset the favourites? He looks very strong.

 

[DNP-Old]

Marco Brenner bleeding time to the Dutch Enzo Leinjse now. Is Brenner underperforming or is Leijnse about to upset the favourites? He looks very strong.

Bit of both, I'm assuming. Brenner is losing time to Nilsson-Julien as well. Maybe it has been too long a season for him after all.