Gutiérrez well off the pace

Spanish hope José Iván Gutiérrez was not at his best in the elite men's time trial today, losing 3'07 to Swiss train Fabian Cancellara to finish in 14th place. "Things did not go well for me today," he said after the finish. "It have had had better days for sure. Moreover, luck was not on my side. Around kilometre 28, my handlebar broke and I was forced to continue with another bike. That disturbed me, because I was riding on a bike that was not the one I am used to. I could not find a good position and did not feel at ease.

"But the result is what it is and I am not looking for excuses to explain my bad result. This incident made me lose 30 or 40 seconds, nothing more, and I think that at best, I could have finished sixth or seventh. When Cancellara passed me, I tried not to lose contact, but on the climb I was not able to follow the pace. Then I lost my concentration and in a one hour long time trial, it is obviously not the ideal situation. Let's hope that next year in Stuttgart I will be able to finally make my dream come true and win the title of world champion in this discipline."