UCI Road World Championships 2011: Elite Men time trial

The men are riding against the clock!  Will one of the top favourites take it, or will an outsider prove to be the fastest today?

Welcome back to the World Championships!  The Elite men are taking on the time trial today.

Jesse Sergent of New Zealand is the leader at the moment, with a time of 58:10.16.

We have a surprise so far in second place:  Ioannis Tamouridis  of Greece, who put in a time of  58:51.59.

The men were divided into four groups, with a half hour or so pause between groups.  Right now we are in the second pause, so half the riders have gone off already.

There were 16 riders in the first group, and they have all crossed the finish line.  It will be a while before the first rider of the second group, hits the finish.

The sun doesn't seem to be shining today.  That's not so good.  On the other hand, it's not raining.  That's good.

It's  long time trial today, 46 km.

Alexander Wetterhall of Sweden just had a touchy moment -- he came off the cobblestones, turned right and not only came close to the barriers, he actually rode over the foot of the barriers.  Fortunately he stayed upright.

Andrew Talanksy of the USA is on the course now. He started about half an hour ago, and when last spotted, was fourth at the second intermediate time check.

Speak of the devil:  Talansky just passed the next time check, also as fourth.  And he just passed the man who started in front of him.

The other American in the race is Taylor Phinney, who will start as fifth-last, at 15:46:30.

The riders are going off at 1:30 intervals.  Well they aren't at the moment as we are still in the pause.....

Things should start happening soon again, though. The first rider out of the second group is now approaching the finish line, and the first rider of the third group is about to go.

And we have a new best time:  Alexandr Dyachenko of Kazakhstan, at 57:03.61.

One of the more exotic riders has just started, Frekalsi Debesay of Eritrea.  The next rider, Laszlo Brodrogi of France, will have better chances, though.

Another New Zealander is on the course:  Jack Bauer, who was the first off in this third group.

Stef Clement of the Netherlands is next to go.

Jonathan Castroviejo of Spain finishes as second fastest so far.

Bauer sets a new best time at the first time check.

Tony Martin of Germany is one of the favourites for the win today. He has said that anything other than gold will be a disappointment.

We have a DNF to report:  Matt Brammeier of Ireland abandoned midway with a sore throat.  He is unlikely to start the road race on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Talansky has come in with the third best time so far, 57:41.74.

Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa of Portugal takes off as the last rider of the third group.

Svein Tuft of Canada has been underway for a bit more than seven minutes now....

At the halfway point, Bauer has the fifth best time.

Taylor Phinney of the USA is an underdog here today.  His first year as a pro hasn't really been all that it could -- he talks about it here.

All the top names are now warming up.  Who will take the win, Cancellara or Martin?  Or Grabsch, Millar, Porte....

Tuft has the second best time at the second time check.

And in other news:  Levi Leipheimer is confirmed to ride for Omega Pharma-Quickstep next year, Patrick Lefevere tells Cyclingnews.  He hasn't actually signed his contract yet, though.

We still have another 15 minutes or so before we can expect anyone at the finish line.

The UCI is expected to announce later today the next few locations for the Worlds, with Spain expected for 2014. Will Richmond, Va., get the nod for 2015?

Tuft is doing quite well and is in the virtual lead at the moment. 

This is really not a good sign:  raindrops.

Bauer has now finished the race.  He is fifth, with a time of 58:10.84.

Bodrogi is the next to head towards the finish line.

Bordrogi is in sixth place at the moment.

Jack Bobridge of Australia is on the course!  Will we see another medal go Down Under?

Former World Champion Bert Grabsch takes off!  Remember, he beat Tony Martin for the German title this year.

Stef Clement heads towards the finish with a good time.

58.17 and sixth place for the Dutchman.

Brad Wiggins takes off!

Wiggins is no doubt hoping he won't have the mechanical problems which have plagued him in other Worlds time trials.....

Marco Pinotti of Italy crosses himself and takes off.  He had a serious injury in a crash at the Giro and is just happy to be back on the bike.

The second Netherlands rider, Lieuwe Westra, is underway.   Eight more to go!

Jakob Fuglsang is on his way, to a big cheer from his homeland crowd.

Richie Porte tries his luck now. 

Grabsch is underway, looking as smooth as ever.

Bobridge sets a new best time at the first time check -- by 18 seconds!

Third place for Svein Tuft, with a time of 57.19.

Taylor Phinney starts -- four more to go!

And the next is Mikhail Ignatiev of Russia.

Bobridge is the virtual leader at this point -- for whatever that is worth....

Rabon of the Czech Republic comes in 1:20 down.

David Millar would love to claim another Worlds title -- and be able to keep it, too.

Only two more to go, and one of those two is expected to win!

Tony Martin of Germany is totally concentrated a he takes off in search of his medal.

And the final rider is now underway:  four-time world champion Fabian Cancellara.  He has been under a lot of pressure because of the changes in his pro team.  Will that affect his performance today?

We will now have a break from finishes, as the last rider of the penultimate group is in, and it will be a while until the first rider of the last group finishes.

Got that?

Martin is off to a fast start!

Bobridge sets a new best time at the 23.2km marker -- by 38 seconds!

The official "GPS Time Comparison" tells us that Martin is the quickest underway right now.

Grabsch hits the 23.2km time check, eight seconds faster than Bobridge.

At the first time check, Martin smashes through for a new best time.

Remember that rain we mentioned earlier?  It was just a sprinkle and has stopped, thank goodness.

Wiggins nly second at the 23km marker, behind Grabsch.  And Cancellara 10 seconds back at the first time check!

Doesn't look like Phinney will medal today, as he is 45 seconds down at only 16km into the race.

Pinotti only 21st at the halfway mark.

It's official:  the 2015 Worlds will be in Richmond, Va, USA!  Read about it here.

Cancellara over 11 seconds down at the next time check.

Porte fourth at the halfway mark.

Bobridge on the verge of catching Brajkovic, who started 1:30 before him.

Phinney tenth at the half, one minute down.

Can we start thinking about two medals for Germany?

Millar comes to the halfway mark, but he is 33 seconds down in fifth place.

Martin is right behind him nd smashes Grabsch's time by 47 seconds!

Cancellara wil most likely not win today, we can say already. He is second at the halfway, but now 18 seconds down.

Who has saved the most power? Who will do best on the second lap?

Martin has just passed Millar.

Oh, there are other riders out there too -- Westra, for example......

Martin is now passes Ignatiev, who started three whole minutes before him!

Wiggins puts in a best time at whichever intermediate time point he just passed.

The Briton has picked up his pace.  Perhaps he has hopes of a medal now that Cancellara is showing signs of weakness.

He is still behind Grabsch, though, who is momentarily and virtually in third.

Kiryienka, the first of the last group, hits the finish line as tenth -- but that will change.

Bodbridge passes Brajkovic at the last second.  Bobridge takes the lead with a new best time -- temporarily.

His time holds only a few seconds.  Grabsch is in at 55:15.

Martin has a lead of one minute at the 34km marker.

Twelve riders are still to come in.

Wiggins looks to be next in, not sure what happened to Larsson.

he pushes the speed to beat Grabsch' time!

Wiggo breaks the 55 minute mark to take the lead!

He just squeezed in under 55 minutes, at 54:59.68.

Larsson now in, in fifth place.

Cancellara 40 seconds down but still in second place at the next time check.

Phinney has fallen back, and is only 12th at the 39km marker.

Will it suprise you to learn that Martin leads by 1:14 at the 39km marker?

Pinotti and Westra cross the finish line more or less together.

Cancellara at the 39km marker, and he is now nearly 57 seconds down.

Fuglsang nears the finish line.

The Dane crosses the line in a time of 57:14, sixth at the moment.

Porte comes in at 55:13, or fourth.

Martin hits the cobblestones.....

And makes it through safely!

Phinney is the next to arrive.  He is out of the top ten.

Tony Martin, the new World Champion, will be the next to finish!

53.42.85 is the time of the day!

Martin really smashes Wiggins time.

Cancellara with problems.  He bumps out of the cobbled section and runs into the barriers. A bystander gives him a shove back onto the course.

Millar now in as sixth.

Ignatiev also in, not in the top twenty.

What will Cancellara's time be?  Has he saved his silver medal?

It will be close....

No!  He drops to third!

hHs time is 55:04.44.

Wiggins hugs Martin in congratulation.

That is the fouth World time trial title for Germany -- Jan Ullrich won it twice and Grabsch once.

And that also gives German both World time trial titles -- Judtih Arndt won it for the women yesterday.

Here are the top ten best time trial riders in the world:

1. Tony Martin (Germany) 53:43.85 
2. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 54:59.68  
3. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 55:04.44
4. Bert Grabsch (Germany) 55:15.61
5.  Jack Bobridge (Australia) 55:57.71
6. Richie Porte (Australia) 56:13.39
7. David Millar (Great Britain) 56:29.47
8. Lieuwe Westra (Netherlands) 57:02.37
9. Alexandr Dyachenko (Kazakhstan) 57:03.61
10. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) 57:14.44

Cogratulations to our podium of Martin, Wiggins and Cancellara.

Congratuations too to all of the riders today.

Thursday is a rest day, so join us again Friday for our live coverage of the under 23 mens road race.