UCI 2006 World Road Championships

Salzburg (Austria), 19 - 24 Sept. 2006

Hub Page, World Road Champions
Larry Hickmott reports and photographs

No Rest at Camp GB Between Races

The sun may have been shining on the day where there is no racing, but it's probably one of the busiest days of the camp as all the riders are now in the hotel ready to compete in the road races. The last of the riders arrived at the team hotel yesterday and were down for breakfast at 8am this morning prior to doing a lap or two of the course.

British Cycling joined Matt Parker from the EIS in the GB Team Shuttle and went out to get some pictures of them which you can see by clicking the Gallery button at the top of the page. First out at 9am were the men and then following an hour later were the Women riders, both with team cars behind them to give them some shelter from the traffic on what were still open roads.

The atmosphere on the course was already reaching fever pitch. Club riders abounded on the course, and there were sides of mountains packed full of campers with people out enjoying the bright sunshine. Roads were painted up with the names of riders and countries in the tradition of any big bike race and it was at times chaos to move in any direction. For the pictures of the Women's team, we got caught out and once behind them, had no chance of getting front of them.

Training ride over, some of the riders retired to their rooms to relax before lunch whilst others talked to the mechanics about getting some tweaks to their bikes before the all important races tomorrow.

The Course
The common verdict on the course is that it's hard but that depending on the pace of the race, it isn't necessarily a climber's race. The climbs all come in a small section of the course and then there is a lot of flatter territory for recovery if the pace of the race allows it. To get the voice of experience, we spoke to Max Sciandri, an Olympic medallist in the Road Race in Atlanta and one of the most experienced professional cyclists before he retired only a few years ago.

Max Sciandri is a special advisor to the GB team and he told British Cycling "It's a fast course where they will have quite a bit of recovery after the second climb into the finish. From the finish, positioning is important because they are going to go through town centres, so its going to get narrow."

"They will have little bit of time to get to the front half of the bunch because they have a major long climb on a wide road but then it goes into a smaller lane. I think it will be a wearing down course and very difficult for a single rider to get away because from the top of the second climb, it's a fast finish."

"So a small bunch can make much more speed than one or two guys. We will see tomorrow some hints perhaps about how the pro road race will go. Sometimes it is difficult to interpret a course but it will be hard. It is a real World Championship course I would say and will have that World Championship atmosphere."

"As we say in Italy, it's the bike riders who will make the course harder so it will depend on how they want it to go. Amateur racing is a bit more open and less controlled than pro racing where the bigger teams have nine riders."

"I told the under 23's when I was riding the course with them this morning 'pay a lot of attention on the first big long climb because positioning is going to be very important. You get into the small lanes and then a long fast descent before you hit the steep climb. Then a chain goes down, riders are in the middle of the road and it will take time to get back on and that is a wasted effort'."

"The second climb for sure is little ring with a 21. The first climb, you could use the big ring but you are showing off to nobody so you may as well as save your legs and use the little ring and a 17. Then with one or two laps to go, there is no need to save as you're in the race but before that you have to look after yourself and be out of the wind. Lots of little things that can add up - every bit of energy they save could make all the difference".

Roger Hammond Interview

Russell Downing on his preparation: "I went to race in Bermuda which was meant to be a four day stage race but ended up being two with a hurricane cutting it short. So that was disappointing although I only missed one day on the bike which was the day of the hurricane. So I ended up winning that overall and then went back to Belgium. I then did an amateur kermesse two days after I got back and was 5th in it and then did a Pro kermesse and was 5th in that."

"My last race was a 1.1 Omloop van het Houtland and that was splitting all day which made me nervous so I just cruised in with the bunch. The legs felt good. I have had a really good season and the Tour of Britain was really good for myself and helped in the selection for this really. It shows I can mix it and hopefully I can do that on Sunday."


Under 23 Road Race
First race on the Saturday is the Under 23 Road Race and manager for that team is Rod Ellingworth. He explained that after the Tour of Britain, his Under 23 riders from the GB Olympic Academy rode the Giro della Toscana, a UCI 2.2 stage race. This came three days after the Tour of Britain and went well considering the crashes and tiredness in the boys after the ToB.

Geraint Thomas won the Points jersey in the Italian race and came close to a stage win on the opening day, getting within 300 metres of making it to the finish line first. After that though the team have backed off, especially as there was a bug going around and Geraint came out of the Italian race ill. They did one more race last Sunday near Venice over 170k and it was says the manager, really hard. In poor conditions, 190 started and only 30 odd finished, four of which were British out of the five that started.

In the last week, the team have been rested to try and make sure they are fit and well for the race after they all got ill at some point and that includes Mark Cavendish. "Its not how we wanted to go into the race but who knows, most of the other teams may have had the same problems. Nothing is perfect. We'll go in as we always do and go for the best result possible".

One of the interesting things the team has done is take Mark Cavendish to Italy to help his climbing. "Everybody's perception of climbs since going to Italy has changed and knowing that, the team have been helping Mark for events such as this" the manager explained.

Mark Cavendish explained that its been a tough period since the Tour of Britain. He started the 3-L䮤er-Tour in Germany and then crashed out on the first day, thinking he broken a rib after an Austrian rider fell in front of him. "I went on for 150k but couldn't get out of the saddle, so I stopped. I came back to Italy and just trained. I couldn't get any better so I was just trying to make sure it didn't get any worse."

Geraint Thomas: "We went back to Italy and then three days later rode a race in Tuscany which was pretty hard. Harder than the Tour of Britain to be honest." Asked about his near miss on stage 1, he explained "I was in an early move and with about 30k to go we had the last climb and it was one I knew really well because its near the house. So I attacked because the group wasn't really working and was on my own until 10k to go when three came across."

"We were holding them off for a while and then the gap just went so I was a bit gutted. I rode the whole race pretty aggressively and was always in the moves. It was a good workout for Saturday's Worlds race. Being with GB all year round, it feels like just another race set up wise although with everyone else here, it does feel like a big occasion."

Ben Greenwood: "It's been really good to be selected to ride the Worlds after I have raced with them all year. It is also good to be riding the road race and I will see what I can do. It's a really good opportunity."

"I haven't felt any pressure this season and have just wanted to do my best in every race. I didn't really think about this specific event during the season and just concentrated on doing my job whether it was getting a result for myself or working for other people."

"I've had three top 10's in races and got 4th in one race when I was in a break of six racing for the win up the last climb. That was my biggest result because all the races have been internationals and every single race we do is a massive race."

"I have definitely enjoyed racing in Italy even though it is quite hard living away from home and family and friends. It is what I wanted to do and I really like the style of racing and the big sort of events. I'm going back next year and hopefully everything will continue".

"I went to the Tour of Britain with the aim of showing myself because I had really good form. I decided to attack where I could on the climbs and had a go on my local stage but unfortunately the break was just a little too far ahead to get to it and then on the next stage, I missed out in the crosswinds to get to the break. I was really motivated for the 5th stage because I was 2nd and hoping to get in an early break and get in the points because the guy who was leading was in CSC and couldn't get in the break."

"But they didn't race that day and I had to work hard to get points to get second but it was quite hard when they are trying to stop you from racing. Then I won the prime on the last day to keep second so I was pleased with that."

"The course for the Worlds is not as hard as I expected but as its fast, I expect the race will be tough especially over the last few laps. It's going to be a challenging race and important to be near the front. Its one of those courses though where you never know what might happen."

"We know a lot of the riders because we race against the national teams so we know what the style of racing will be like. It's likely an early break will go but unlikely if our other races this year are anything to go that it will succeed. So we'll have to be confident in our tactics".




Great Britain Elite Women's Road Race Team Interviews
Before and after the training ride today, British Cycling grabbed a few minutes with the riders who will be racing with Nicole Cooke (Nicole Cook Interview) in the GB team for the Women's Road Race on Saturday afternoon.

Rachel Heal: "It's a tough course and I think one where positioning is vital because the climbs come close together and one where if you're at the front in the right place for the early laps, you're going to get an easier ride than those at the back having to deal with the concertina effect on the corners."

"My build up has gone well. The last stage race I did was quite a long time ago so the recent races have been shorter but in the areas I have been staying, I've been able to do a fair bit of training in the mountains. So a combination of my own training in the mountains with the short crits to keep the sharpness there has given me a pretty good build up."

"I have managed to stay upright for the last few months at least."

Talking about returning to ride for the GB team that stopped funding her this year, Rachel explains that "I wasn't about to finish my cycling career at that point. I understood the decision as to why they stopped funding me and where it came from. I may not have liked it, but I understood it. So there was never any bitterness and so never any reason not to come back and ride for them at the World Championships. I still believe I have a strong role to help Nicole win the race and of course its good to see Sarah (sister who is GB carer) who I don't see very often."


Tanja Slater: "It's been really good to come into the setup here. Everyone has been very supportive and welcoming and I seem to fit in fine. It's a similar setup to triathlon which I have been part of before. I was quite excited and nervous coming into this not knowing what to expect at the Worlds with Nicole being World number 1. Both climbs on the course are lovely climbs though and the course is great."

"I was bit nervous before we went out this morning but having been round I am a little more settled. I'm here to get stuck in as well as enjoy it." To prepare for the Worlds, Tanja has spent time in Belgium doing kermesses and then the Euregio Tour all of which she says were a real key for her prior to the Worlds. Tanja, riding for a Team Fat Birds UK composite team, finished 9th in the European stage race.


Helen Wyman: "My team (Team Fatbirds UK) is based in Belgium and has been racing in Europe all year in UCI races and has got some really good results. In July we went to a race in Britanny where we had a 3rd on the first day and also took the Mountains jersey on the first day and held that to the finish. We had four top 10 placings in all and two girls in the top 15 overall. We've also had a lot more top 10's in other races.

At the beginning of the year it took time for the team to get working and at the start it was a load of girls riding together whereas from June onwards we had got to know each other and it's been really good since then."

Asked about being selected for the Road Worlds, Helen says "Nicole has had awesome form this year. When we did our first World Cup as a team, Nicole was there and she really was awesome and it's a privilege to be part of the team to help her win that medal because I genuinely believe she can win it."

"My aims for the season have been to get good results for my trade team so it gets bigger and better and moves forward how we want it to. And to be selected for GB, it's always an honour."

"You never know whether you are going to get selected for the Worlds so the race programme we could have had for it wasn't the programme we had in the end because we didn't know at the planning stage. But the Euregio Tour for Women was a brilliant race though, one of the best races I have ever done. And having seen the course for the Worlds, a good preparation race.

"It was also good to have Tanja in the race with us as I got to know her and am rooming with her here." On the ride over the course in the morning, Helen says "I watched the time trial on tele and I did get quite excited. And after riding it, it is a really nice course, not too technical and the finish is good as well."