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2003 Road World Championships - CM
Hamilton, Canada, October 7-12, 2003
Main Page Live report Results Start list
Day 1 - October 7: U23 Men Time Trial
A sign of things to come
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Although not always a flawless inidicator of professional potential, the U23 men's events are watched closely each year for hints of who will make an impact in the pro ranks. Last year in Zolder, Belgium Lithuanian Tomas Vaitkus won the gold medal, averaging 51.5 km/h on the fast Hasselt-Zolder course. Vaitkus had come off of a victory in the U23 Grand Prix des Nations time trial, an event held just prior to the World Championships each year that tests the specialists of the discipline. This year Vaitkus has moved into the Elite category, but some of his competition from 2002 remains and will look for gold in his absence.
The U23 time trial will use Hamilton's short course, covering two laps for a total distance of 30.8 kilometres. Among the contenders this year are last year's runner up Alexandr Bespalov from Russia and his compatriot Vladimir Goussev. Bespalov came within 41" of Vaitkus in Zolder, but this year's parcours will challenge the riders with the climb up the Niagara Escarpment, a stark contrast to a flat and fast 2002 course.
If the Grand Prix des Nations can be used as a barometer for World's form, Dutchmen Thomas Dekker and Joost Posthuma will be counted among the favourites, having finished 1-2 in the Nations U23 event in September. Rory Sutherland of Australia, who finished third at Nations, will be looking for a strong performance after the bad luck of a puncture dashed all hopes last year. Other medal contenders include Brian Vandborg (Denmark), Marcus Fothen (Germany), Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukraine), and Mike Creed for the USA.
Start list
First wave Start local time 45 Andrei Marin (Romania) 12:20:00 44 Olegs Melehs (Latvia) 12:21:30 43 Jure Zrimsek (Slovenia) 12:23:00 42 Áron Kovalóczy (Hungary) 12:24:30 41 Tim Duggan (USA) 12:26:00 40 Chris Isaac (Canada) 12:27:30 39 Petter Renäng (Sweden) 12:29:00 38 Juozas Martynaitis (Lithuania) 12:30:30 37 Carlos Nozal Vega (Spain) 12:32:00 36 Tiziano Dall'antonia (Italy) 12:33:30 35 Hernani Broco (Portugal) 12:35:00 Second wave 34 Tarmo Raudsepp (Estonia) 13:10:00 33 Andreas Molandsveen (Norway) 13:11:30 32 Alexandru Sabalin (Moldavia) 13:13:00 31 Andres Rodriguez Diaz (Colombia) 13:14:30 30 Blazej Janiaczyk (Poland) 13:16:00 29 Andreas Schillinger (Germany) 13:17:30 28 Matej Jurco (Slovakia) 13:19:00 27 Nicholas Roche (Ireland) 13:20:30 26 Viktor Rapinski (Belarus) 13:22:00 25 Damien Monier (France) 13:23:30 24 Aldis Abolins (Latvia) 13:25:00 Third Wave 23 Daryl Impey (South Africa) 14:00:00 22 Jussi Veikkanen (Finland) 14:01:30 21 Muradjan Khalmuratov (Uzbekistan) 14:03:00 20 Brian Vandborg (Denmark) 14:04:30 19 Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukraine) 14:06:00 18 Tom Southam (Great Britain) 14:07:30 17 Michael Creed (USA) 14:09:00 16 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spain) 14:10:30 15 Peter Dawson (Australia) 14:12:00 14 Niels Scheuneman (Netherlands) 14:13:30 13 Vladimir Gusev (Russia) 14:15:00 Fourth wave 12 Dominique Rollin (Canada) 14:50:00 11 Thomas Lövkvist (Sweden) 14:51:30 10 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Colombia) 14:53:00 9 Emilien Benoit Berges (France) 14:54:30 8 Ella Rigotto (Italy) 14:56:00 7 Gregor Gazvoda (Slovenia) 14:57:30 6 Piotr Mazur (Poland) 14:59:00 5 Marcus Fothen (Germany) 15:00:30 4 Olivier Kaisen (Belgium) 15:02:00 3 Rory Sutherland (Australia) 15:03:30 2 Alexandr Bespalov (Russia) 15:05:00 1 Thomas Dekker (Netherlands) 15:06:30
