Wetterhall takes men's TT title

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Alex Wetterhall (Team Magnus Maximus Coffee.com) set the fastest time in the elite men’s time trial, before enduring a classic wait as one by one the finishers failed to better it. With defending champion Fredrik Ericsson off last he pushed the Maximus riders time close at all the intermediate time checks with only seconds in it.

In the end Wetterhall took the title by 17 seconds to give the perfect gift to team manager Magnus Backstedt, who won both the national time trial and road race titles in his long career.

“I'm so proud of Alex, he has worked incredibly hard and followed the training and preparation to the letter,” said Backstedt. “I have never been so nervous in my life, waiting for the last riders to come in. He really deserves this."

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Wetterhall comes from a mountain bike background and narrowly missed out on an Olympic place last year.

"I went into the race totally prepared and focussed,” said Wetterhall. “Maggy has advised me on and set up my position on the time trial bike based on all the time he's spent in the wind tunnel.

“I can't quite believe it, I'm totally ecstatic to take a victory of this magnitude,” he added. “I had the opportunity to ride the Tour de L'Ain and Tour of Ireland last year, I learned a lot. I'm another year stronger and more experienced. This is such an important victory for myself and my team."