Michael Rogers (Australia) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Three for Rogers
Australia's Michael Rogers has made history this afternoon when he became the first rider to win three Elite World Time Trial Championships. The 25 year old took his third successive title with a superbly measured ride on the Casa de Campo circuit in Madrid today, beating José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) by 24 seconds and bronze medallist Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) by the same margin.
Rogers starting slowly, placing only fifth at the first check, but while early leader Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) faded, the Australian continued to build speed. By checkpoint two he was second, eight seconds off the pace set by Gutierrez, and then by the third point he had pulled seven seconds clear of the Spaniard.
Rogers' acceleration continued all the way to the line, his final winning margin rising to more than 20 seconds. Gutierrez and Cancellara were separated by fractions, while Ruben Plaza (Spain), Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) and his compatriot Andrew Kashechkin took fourth, fifth and sixth.
Pre-race favourites Victor Hugo Peña (Colombia), Bobby Julich (USA), Denis Menchov (Russia) and Thomas Dekker (Netherlands) all had disappointing rides, finishing outside the top nine. Christophe Moreau (France) and Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russia) were similarly off the pace.
