Tiberi wins Junior Men's Time Trial title

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Antonio Tiberi (Italy) came back from an early bike change and near miss with a rival’s following vehicle to win the junior men’s individual time trial title in Harrogate.

Tiberi seemed to use his anger and frustration to drive him to he finish. He gradually pulled back his lost time and stayed strong on the final kilometres to set a time of 38:28.

Enzo Leijnse (Netherlands) was another early starter and finished seven seconds slower. Germany’s Marco Brenner was third at 12 seconds.

Quinn Simmons of the USA matched Tiberi’s time splits for much of the race but faded in the final kilometres to finish fourth at 19 seconds.

Tiberi, who rides for the Franco Ballerini Juniors – Due C team in Tuscany, was forced to watch his rivals race and could only celebrate when fellow Italian and European time trial champion Andrea Piccolo finished.

“It’s fantastic. I had a mechanical problem, my crank broke, and so I thought it was all over. But I got going and give it everything until last centimetre. I managed to come back well and won it. It’s incredible,” Tiberi explained, with tears in his eyes.

“Being the new world champion is difficult to believe. I’ve never beaten Andrea Piccolo this season but I did it today, so I’m super happy.”

How it unfolded

Like the mixed relay time trial and the Junior women time trial, the men’s time trial was raced on the technical Harrogate circuit, with the men covering two laps of the 13.7km circuit for a total of 27.4km.

The use of a circuit meant riders started in different waves, with the early starters rolling out just after lunch and racing on a mix of wet and dry roads. The conditions improved as the race went on, with the late starters seeded based on their international results.

Leijnse set the early fastest time and so warmed the hot seat on the podium.

Tiberi was also off early and, as he described, his ride was almost derailed on the start ramp as his mechanical problem left him spinning his legs and needing a bike change. The team car was at the foot of the start ramp out of the park and so Tiberi had to roll to the car as the Italian staff rushed to get him his spare bike, give him his aero bidon and push him off.

Tiberi’s chances seemed over but he refused to give up and fought all the way around the two laps of the Harrogate circuit.  He was only 25th fastest at the first time split after 6.3km, 29 seconds slower than Leijnse but he quickly pulled back time. He was sixth fastest after the first lap and fourth fastest after 20.2km.

Many of the pure time trialists blew on the technical and rolling final part of the circuit but Tiberi seemed to go faster and faster, with virtual timing showing he was about to pull off a stunning ride.

From the hot seat Tiberi could watch and enjoy as his rivals tried and failed to beat him. The bearded Simmons started fast but cracked in the final five kilometres, forced to visibly ease up to regain his composure. Michel Hessmann of Germany and Lars Boven of the Netherlands, also faded, the medals escaping their grasp as the climb to the finish hurt and hurt.

Tiberi won two stages at the Junior Peace Race this year and was second in the time trial at the prestigious Giro della Lunigiana but his name now has a rainbow jersey to confirm his talents as he steps up to the Under 23 ranks in 2020.