Cancellara storms to third World time trial title

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The elite men's time trial at the World Championships in Mendrisio was all about one man: Fabian Cancellara. As the Swiss star left the start house and gingerly negotiated the first sweeping bend, he quickly settled quickly into his rhythm, and then began eating up the road.

Within the first three kilometres, and as the UCI's new GPS tracking system confirmed, the Olympic champion was travelling significantly faster than the 61 riders who had gone before him as well as defending champion Bert Grabsch (German), who followed at an increasing distance behind.

Over three laps of the 16.6km circuit, Cancellara crushed the opposition. He appeared to be carried on a wave of home support, with the noise by the roadside quite deafening as he powered through villages and steamrollered the climbs. The crowd was estimated at 23,000, and every one of them - it seemed - was rooting for the local hero.

Cancellara's superiority was evident throughout, but it was bludgeoned home in the final 200 metres, when he sat up, patted the Swiss flag on his chest and pointed to the skies to begin his victory celebrations even before the distance had been completed and as the clock was still running.

But with his closest rival having been caught and left behind well before half-distance, he would have had time to get off his bike and crawl those final 200 metres.

Fancied opponents were scattered left, right and centre. Before the first lap was up, the Swiss had his minute-man and the eventual runner-up, Gustav Larsson (Sweden), in his sights, going through the start/finish area trailing the Swede before overhauling him early on the second lap. Larsson was also the silver medallist behind Cancellara at the Beijing Olympics.

Before lap two was finished, Cancellara had caught another hotly tipped contender, Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain). Whereas Larsson put up a fight, trailing Cancellara for a few kilometres, the Swiss star flew past Wiggins as though he were Mark Cavendish sprinting to victory on the Champs Elysées.

To complete Wiggins's ignominy, he was also caught by Larsson after suffering mechanical problems on his final lap, which necessitated a bike change. The British star, a triple Olympic gold medallist on the track, dropped from fourth at the penultimate time check - just three seconds down on eventual bronze medallist Tony Martin (Germany) - to a final placing of 21st.

Throughout the 49.8km test, Cancellara didn't waver, other than to glance up at the clock at the end of lap two. Every corner was negotiated with just enough room to spare, prompting some sharp intakes of breath from those watching as his tyres almost clipped curbs and his broad shoulders almost scuffed buildings.

And whereas the climb to Rancate, half-way around the circuit, seemed to kill most riders' momentum, Cancellara apparently had energy to spare, sprinting up it to defy a gradient that, in places, was 10 percent.

Remarkably, Cancellara was unsure whether it was his best ever performance in a time trial, with Beijing also vying for that honour. "It was a perfect day, a perfect time trial," he said. "But it's difficult to say if it's my best. Beijing and today were the most beautiful ones. The Olympics and the worlds are very different. The Olympics are the biggest thing an athlete can do, but winning at home is also a fantastic experience. The support from the crowd, and the Swiss flags - it helped."

Asked about the margin of victory - which at the finish was one minute, 27 seconds, and would surely have been around 1:45 had he not sat up before the line - Cancellara said, "One minute's difference is difficult [to achieve]. I knew I would be fast, I knew I was ready.

"Above all, I had prepared mentally. My tactic was to give it my maximum. Larsson was one of the favourites, and I had the advantage starting behind him. To take so much time out of him demonstrates that I did everything right."

Cancellara will not celebrate his time trial title until after Sunday's road race. And he is hoping for a double celebration. "Last year I prepared well for Beijing, but I didn't have the confidence for the road race [in which he nonetheless won a bronze medal]," said Cancellara. "This year I am confident; I have the mental strength. My legs are ready but so is my head."

"I dream of doing the double," he said. "I said during the Vuelta that I think I can do it. I have the motivation, the determination, and the confidence. I always achieve what I say is a target, but of course the World Championship [road race] has its own rules. We have a six-man team. Others have nine, and the race will be very hard. But I have set the bar high, and I have the belief. If I didn't, I would stay at home."

For his part, Larsson was generous in his praise of Cancellara. After noting his other worldly time trialling ability, he conceded, "Unfortunately, he is from planet Earth."

"To win silver [in a time trial against] Cancellara is like winning gold," said Larsson. "He was the best today. I tried as hard as I could and I think I did a good race. I'm really happy with my performance."