Vorobyev victorious in U23 time trial Worlds
Australia's Dennis, Howson complete podium
Anton Vorobyev (Russia) upset the odds by storming to victory in the under-23 time trial at the world championships in Valkenburg, beating pre-race favourite Rohan Dennis (Australia) by a mammoth 44 seconds over the 36km course, while another Australian, Damien Howson, took bronze.
The geography of the Limburg area naturally makes for exacting time trial courses, but Vorobyev made light work of the rolling roads to post an average speed of some 48.9kph. If his dominance wasn’t already highlighted by the emphatic way he zoomed through the finish area, it was confirmed by a cursory glance at his split times.
The day’s major obstacles – the two-kilometre climb of the Sibbegrubbe and then the haul up the Cauberg in the finale – came at the back end of the course, and that was precisely where Vorobyev stretched out his winning margin. 4 seconds ahead of Dennis after 13km and 16 seconds up after 26.5km, Vorobyev was the only rider whose rhythm seemed wholly undisturbed by the sting in the tail as he bounded up the Cauberg to claim the spoils.
Vorobyev said afterwards that he had made no special concessions to the difficulty of the course. "No, I just worked hard from the first metres," he said. "I was sure of myself and I hoped that I could win."
Fourth place in the under-23 time trial in Copenhagen last year, Vorobyev also fell just shy of the podium at the European championships in August, but the Itera-Katusha rider said that the Worlds had always been his primary objective for the 2012 campaign.
In the lead-in to the race, Vorobyev locked horns with both Dennis and Howson at the Memorial Fardelli and finished 3rd behind the Australians, and he said that Dennis had been the outstanding favourite to triumph in Valkenburg.
"I’ve had some races with him and he’s had good results," Vorobyev said. "He won two good races just before coming here [Fardelli and the Chrono Champenois – ed.], and it was evident that he was the favourite."
For his part, Dennis acknowledged that he had entered the race with the tag of favourite, but said that it had not impacted on his preparation for the Worlds. "It is a little bit of added pressure to be the favourite coming into a race and especially when it’s the world championships," he said. "It is a little bit difficult, but at the same time, you just put that behind you and look towards the next race."
Dennis has returned to the road in recent weeks after a season focused on the track, as he built towards the London 2012 Olympics, where he won silver in the team pursuit. "I transitioned well," he said. "I think I did what I could with the preparation and the time that I had."
Another medal winner from London – Lasse Norman Hansen (Denmark), who took gold in the omnium – had set the quickest time before the final wave of riders approached the finish. The Dane struggled over the rugged closing kilometres, however, and this was where Damien Howson managed to overhaul him and clock the best time with just five more finishers to come.
With reigning champion and final starter Rasmus Quaade (Denmark) struggling to find his rhythm out on the course (he would eventually finish fifth), it soon became apparent that only Vorobyev and Dennis would better Howson’s time.
When Vorobyev duly scorched home 51 seconds quicker, all eyes turned to Dennis to see if he had managed pick up time over the final ten kilometres. It was not to be for the Australian. Not for the last time this week, the Cauberg delivered its verdict, and Vorobyev was world champion.
1 | Anton Vorobyev (Russian Federation) | 0:44:09.02 |
2 | Rohan Dennis (Australia) | 0:00:44.39 |
3 | Damien Howson (Australia) | 0:00:51.12 |
4 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Denmark) | 0:00:53.28 |
5 | Rasmus Christian Quaade (Denmark) | 0:01:02.56 |
6 | Marlen Zmorka (Ukraine) | 0:01:09.42 |
7 | Rasmus Sterebo (Denmark) | 0:01:25.24 |
8 | Jasha Sütterlin (Germany) | 0:01:28.70 |
9 | Sergey Chernetski (Russian Federation) | 0:01:37.95 |
10 | Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) | 0:01:40.78 |
11 | Johan Le Bon (France) | 0:01:50.26 |
12 | Bob Jungels (Luxembourg) | 0:01:52.92 |
13 | Hugo Houle (Canada) | 0:01:59.72 |
14 | Yoann Paillot (France) | 0:02:12.09 |
15 | Gabriel Chavanne (Switzerland) | 0:02:17.05 |
16 | Yves Lampaert (Belgium) | 0:02:19.25 |
17 | Oleksandr Golovash (Ukraine) | 0:02:26.80 |
18 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan) | 0:02:31.61 |
19 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina) | 0:02:40.89 |
20 | Nathan Brown (United States of America) | 0:02:41.60 |
21 | Jasper Hamelink (Netherlands) | 0:02:41.94 |
22 | Daniil Fominykh (Kazakhstan) | 0:02:45.30 |
23 | Patrick Konrad (Austria) | 0:02:46.09 |
24 | Jakob Steigmiller (Germany) | 0:02:48.80 |
25 | Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Ethiopia) | 0:02:49.91 |
26 | Kevin De Jonghe (Belgium) | 0:03:00.44 |
27 | Lawrence Warbasse (United States of America) | 0:03:08.34 |
28 | Silvan Dillier (Switzerland) | 0:03:09.08 |
29 | Joseph Perrett (Great Britain) | 0:03:09.30 |
30 | Sean Patrick Downey (Ireland) | 0:03:10.86 |
31 | Daniel Turek (Czech Republic) | 0:03:16.71 |
32 | Tobias Ludvigsson (Sweden) | 0:03:26.91 |
33 | Andreas Hofer (Austria) | 0:03:28.71 |
34 | Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spain) | 0:03:29.74 |
35 | Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Colombia) | 0:03:35.15 |
36 | Louis Meintjes (South Africa) | 0:03:42.48 |
37 | James Oram (New Zealand) | 0:03:43.95 |
38 | Davide Martinelli (Italy) | 0:03:50.26 |
39 | Samuel Harrison (Great Britain) | 0:04:07.29 |
40 | Klemen Stimulak (Slovenia) | 0:04:12.79 |
41 | David Boily (Canada) | 0:04:16.33 |
42 | Andrei Holubeu (Belarus) | 0:04:23.48 |
43 | Marcos Jurado Rodriguez (Spain) | 0:04:25.85 |
44 | Mark Dzamastagic (Slovenia) | 0:04:29.31 |
45 | Jason Christie (New Zealand) | 0:04:36.73 |
46 | Soufiane Haddi (Morocco) | 0:04:41.75 |
47 | Alex Kirsch (Luxembourg) | 0:04:42.42 |
48 | Conor Dunne (Ireland) | 0:04:46.77 |
49 | Mattia Cattaneo (Italy) | 0:04:51.15 |
50 | Till Drobisch (Namibia) | 0:05:15.64 |
51 | Issiaka Cisse (Ivory Coast) | 0:05:25.00 |
52 | Tural Isgandarov (Azerbaijan) | 0:05:44.66 |
53 | Nikita Zharoven (Belarus) | 0:05:55.50 |
54 | Paulius Siskevicius (Lithuania) | 0:05:57.04 |
55 | Sarawut Sirironnachai (Thailand) | 0:06:25.01 |
56 | Quinten Winkel (Netherlands Antilles) | 0:06:39.49 |
57 | Reda Aadel (Morocco) | 0:06:53.02 |
58 | Carlos Eduardo Quisphe (Ecuador) | 0:06:53.67 |
59 | Piter Campero (Bolivia) | 0:07:01.77 |
60 | Manuel Andres Sanchez Cuevas (Dominican Republic) | 0:07:04.53 |
61 | Hillard Cijntje (Netherlands Antilles) | 0:07:08.26 |
62 | Johann Schwabik (Slovakia) | 0:07:12.94 |
63 | Hiroshi Tsubaki (Japan) | 0:07:16.61 |
64 | Maxim Rusnac (Republic of Moldova) | 0:07:29.65 |
65 | Julio Marcelo Paspuezan Carlozama (Ecuador) | 0:07:50.10 |
66 | Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mexico) | 0:08:31.69 |
67 | Stefan Petrovski (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) | 0:09:08.71 |
DNF | Ramon Carretero (Panama) | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
1 | Anton Vorobyev (Russian Federation) | 0:15:41.55 |
2 | Rohan Dennis (Australia) | 0:00:04.57 |
3 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Denmark) | 0:00:13.43 |
4 | Damien Howson (Australia) | 0:00:18.57 |
5 | Marlen Zmorka (Ukraine) | 0:00:18.68 |
6 | Bob Jungels (Luxembourg) | 0:00:20.23 |
7 | Rasmus Christian Quaade (Denmark) | 0:00:21.24 |
8 | Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) | 0:00:23.82 |
9 | Jasha Sütterlin (Germany) | 0:00:24.21 |
10 | Rasmus Sterebo (Denmark) | 0:00:27.66 |
11 | Gabriel Chavanne (Switzerland) | 0:00:38.94 |
12 | Oleksandr Golovash (Ukraine) | 0:00:40.34 |
13 | Johan Le Bon (France) | 0:00:40.36 |
14 | Sergey Chernetski (Russian Federation) | 0:00:41.56 |
15 | Yoann Paillot (France) | 0:00:41.82 |
16 | Jakob Steigmiller (Germany) | 0:00:43.38 |
17 | Yves Lampaert (Belgium) | 0:00:48.38 |
18 | Jasper Hamelink (Netherlands) | 0:00:50.34 |
19 | Nathan Brown (United States of America) | 0:00:52.93 |
20 | Tobias Ludvigsson (Sweden) | 0:00:53.53 |
21 | Silvan Dillier (Switzerland) | 0:00:55.57 |
22 | Hugo Houle (Canada) | 0:00:58.23 |
23 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan) | 0:00:59.34 |
24 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina) | 0:00:59.44 |
25 | Joseph Perrett (Great Britain) | 0:00:59.83 |
26 | Daniel Turek (Czech Republic) | 0:01:00.15 |
27 | Daniil Fominykh (Kazakhstan) | 0:01:05.38 |
28 | Samuel Harrison (Great Britain) | 0:01:07.86 |
29 | Kevin De Jonghe (Belgium) | 0:01:08.59 |
30 | Patrick Konrad (Austria) | 0:01:08.75 |
31 | Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Ethiopia) | 0:01:10.27 |
32 | Sean Patrick Downey (Ireland) | 0:01:10.87 |
33 | James Oram (New Zealand) | 0:01:12.78 |
34 | Klemen Stimulak (Slovenia) | 0:01:14.78 |
35 | Louis Meintjes (South Africa) | 0:01:14.79 |
36 | Andreas Hofer (Austria) | 0:01:15.49 |
37 | Lawrence Warbasse (United States of America) | 0:01:15.93 |
38 | Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spain) | 0:01:18.04 |
39 | Davide Martinelli (Italy) | 0:01:19.95 |
40 | David Boily (Canada) | 0:01:24.02 |
41 | Andrei Holubeu (Belarus) | 0:01:25.97 |
42 | Mark Dzamastagic (Slovenia) | 0:01:27.18 |
43 | Jason Christie (New Zealand) | 0:01:27.89 |
44 | Mattia Cattaneo (Italy) | 0:01:29.26 |
45 | Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Colombia) | 0:01:30.30 |
46 | Marcos Jurado Rodriguez (Spain) | 0:01:30.48 |
47 | Alex Kirsch (Luxembourg) | 0:01:31.21 |
48 | Conor Dunne (Ireland) | 0:01:48.35 |
49 | Soufiane Haddi (Morocco) | 0:01:50.87 |
50 | Tural Isgandarov (Azerbaijan) | 0:01:51.69 |
51 | Nikita Zharoven (Belarus) | 0:01:52.29 |
52 | Issiaka Cisse (Ivory Coast) | 0:01:54.81 |
53 | Till Drobisch (Namibia) | 0:01:57.99 |
54 | Johann Schwabik (Slovakia) | 0:01:58.84 |
55 | Paulius Siskevicius (Lithuania) | 0:01:59.30 |
56 | Sarawut Sirironnachai (Thailand) | 0:02:00.97 |
57 | Hiroshi Tsubaki (Japan) | 0:02:11.91 |
58 | Quinten Winkel (Netherlands Antilles) | 0:02:14.43 |
59 | Carlos Eduardo Quisphe (Ecuador) | 0:02:18.57 |
60 | Manuel Andres Sanchez Cuevas (Dominican Republic) | 0:02:20.69 |
61 | Julio Marcelo Paspuezan Carlozama (Ecuador) | 0:02:24.63 |
62 | Reda Aadel (Morocco) | 0:02:25.54 |
63 | Hillard Cijntje (Netherlands Antilles) | 0:02:26.04 |
64 | Piter Campero (Bolivia) | 0:02:29.51 |
65 | Maxim Rusnac (Republic of Moldova) | 0:02:36.49 |
66 | Stefan Petrovski (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) | 0:02:47.87 |
67 | Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mexico) | 0:02:48.47 |
1 | Anton Vorobyev (Russian Federation) | 0:31:30.53 |
2 | Rohan Dennis (Australia) | 0:00:25.75 |
3 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Denmark) | 0:00:35.25 |
4 | Damien Howson (Australia) | 0:00:37.03 |
5 | Marlen Zmorka (Ukraine) | 0:00:40.82 |
6 | Rasmus Christian Quaade (Denmark) | 0:00:53.99 |
7 | Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) | 0:00:59.06 |
8 | Rasmus Sterebo (Denmark) | 0:01:03.10 |
9 | Bob Jungels (Luxembourg) | 0:01:05.86 |
10 | Jasha Sütterlin (Germany) | 0:01:06.84 |
11 | Sergey Chernetski (Russian Federation) | 0:01:22.84 |
12 | Gabriel Chavanne (Switzerland) | 0:01:29.32 |
13 | Johan Le Bon (France) | 0:01:29.71 |
14 | Oleksandr Golovash (Ukraine) | 0:01:31.12 |
15 | Yoann Paillot (France) | 0:01:32.06 |
16 | Hugo Houle (Canada) | 0:01:45.16 |
17 | Yves Lampaert (Belgium) | 0:01:48.19 |
18 | Jakob Steigmiller (Germany) | 0:01:51.80 |
19 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina) | 0:01:59.08 |
20 | Jasper Hamelink (Netherlands) | 0:02:00.28 |
21 | Tobias Ludvigsson (Sweden) | 0:02:02.34 |
22 | Silvan Dillier (Switzerland) | 0:02:03.97 |
23 | Daniil Fominykh (Kazakhstan) | 0:02:06.11 |
24 | Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Ethiopia) | 0:02:06.71 |
25 | Nathan Brown (United States of America) | 0:02:08.25 |
26 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan) | 0:02:12.58 |
27 | Daniel Turek (Czech Republic) | 0:02:13.99 |
28 | Joseph Perrett (Great Britain) | 0:02:15.83 |
29 | Patrick Konrad (Austria) | 0:02:16.15 |
30 | Andreas Hofer (Austria) | 0:02:29.33 |
31 | Kevin De Jonghe (Belgium) | 0:02:29.72 |
32 | Sean Patrick Downey (Ireland) | 0:02:30.20 |
33 | Lawrence Warbasse (United States of America) | 0:02:31.75 |
34 | James Oram (New Zealand) | 0:02:36.80 |
35 | Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Colombia) | 0:02:44.07 |
36 | Louis Meintjes (South Africa) | 0:02:44.35 |
37 | Samuel Harrison (Great Britain) | 0:02:51.66 |
38 | Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spain) | 0:02:55.82 |
39 | Davide Martinelli (Italy) | 0:03:00.01 |
40 | Klemen Stimulak (Slovenia) | 0:03:02.20 |
41 | David Boily (Canada) | 0:03:06.45 |
42 | Jason Christie (New Zealand) | 0:03:09.01 |
43 | Andrei Holubeu (Belarus) | 0:03:16.29 |
44 | Mark Dzamastagic (Slovenia) | 0:03:18.01 |
45 | Marcos Jurado Rodriguez (Spain) | 0:03:21.68 |
46 | Alex Kirsch (Luxembourg) | 0:03:22.38 |
47 | Conor Dunne (Ireland) | 0:03:27.37 |
48 | Mattia Cattaneo (Italy) | 0:03:29.56 |
49 | Soufiane Haddi (Morocco) | 0:03:36.10 |
50 | Issiaka Cisse (Ivory Coast) | 0:04:00.65 |
51 | Tural Isgandarov (Azerbaijan) | 0:04:00.70 |
52 | Till Drobisch (Namibia) | 0:04:14.95 |
53 | Nikita Zharoven (Belarus) | 0:04:15.26 |
54 | Paulius Siskevicius (Lithuania) | 0:04:23.08 |
55 | Sarawut Sirironnachai (Thailand) | 0:04:35.15 |
56 | Carlos Eduardo Quisphe (Ecuador) | 0:04:38.12 |
57 | Johann Schwabik (Slovakia) | 0:04:44.90 |
58 | Quinten Winkel (Netherlands Antilles) | 0:04:51.20 |
59 | Hiroshi Tsubaki (Japan) | 0:04:56.91 |
60 | Reda Aadel (Morocco) | 0:04:58.16 |
61 | Julio Marcelo Paspuezan Carlozama (Ecuador) | 0:05:05.75 |
62 | Manuel Andres Sanchez Cuevas (Dominican Republic) | 0:05:06.53 |
63 | Hillard Cijntje (Netherlands Antilles) | 0:05:11.58 |
64 | Piter Campero (Bolivia) | 0:05:14.36 |
65 | Maxim Rusnac (Republic of Moldova) | 0:05:27.60 |
66 | Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mexico) | 0:05:36.24 |
67 | Stefan Petrovski (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) | 0:06:15.85 |
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
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