UCI Road World Championships 2007

 

Stuttgart, Germany

Report and pictures by Larry Hickmott

 

 

Wednesday, the 26th of September, the first day of the 2007 UCI World Road Championships will see the Under 23 Men’s and Elite Women’s Time Trial Championships of the World take place  in Stuttgart (Germany).

 

Great Britain will have three riders taking part with Ian Stannard riding the Under 23 Men’s Championship whilst Wendy Houvenaghel and Emma Pooley will carry the country’s hopes in the Elite Women’s event. Both events are over two laps of a course which varies for the different categories with the Women racing over 25 kilometres and the Under 23 Men over 38 kilometres.

 

The day before the action commences for the GB team started at 8.30 with breakfast for the riders and staff before preparations started in earnest for the Time Trial training day. Before I headed off with the mechanics Mark Ingham and Ernie Feargrieve, both David Millar and Bradley Wiggins came down to give their final wish lists to the mechanics. With the atmosphere in the camp very relaxed, they laughed and joked with the mechanics, with one of the biggest laughs reserved for Bradley as he tried on Ian Stannard’s T-Mobile top …

 

Luc de Wilde gives Bradley a choice of energy bars prior to training

 

It was then off to the circuit from the teams base just over 20 miles from the course. The traffic travelling into Stuttgart was quite horrendous showing that traffic chaos is something that affects towns and cities all over the Europe. The signage was not what it could have been and after a few wrong turns, the GB van turned up at the pits for the Time Trial. With no other teams around, there was a degree of uncertainty as to whether this was the right place but after a minutes nosing around, the van was parked up, the TT bikes unloaded and we waited for the GB riders to arrive.

 

As we did, the other teams started to arrive. The Germans were first followed by the Aussies, the Norwegians and so on. As they did, staff would saunter over to the GB pit and hands would be outstretched and shaken as team staff from different nations exchanged pleasantries and stories of what each had been up to were exchanged. It is one of the great things about the sport that at each competition staff come together like old friends and enjoy the time together.

 

At midday, the riders for the TT were separated into groups (Elite Men etc) and set off for a few laps of the course. The British riders found themselves some space and went off on their own with David Millar admitting later that it is so easy to find yourself in a group and chatting to friends rather than focusing on the job of looking at the course properly.

 

Whilst the riders did their stuff, I went off to get my accreditation and thanks to performance manager Shane Sutton, found myself back at the hotel well before the rest who came in and went straight to lunch at the team hotel. There, Wendy and Emma both had lengthy meetings with coach Dan Hunt going over the course mile by mile, section by section and forming their strategy of how they will tackle it.

 

Outside, because his road bikes had yet to be delivered by his trade team, David Millar got on the turbo and spent an hour and a half going nowhere in a session which he admitted felt like a day rather than 90 minutes.

 

GB riders relax in the pits prior to the training ride on the course.

 

In amongst the washing, David Millar spends 90 minutes on the Turbo...

 

David Millar

Elsewhere in the hotel, riders were going for a massage and the BBC were also there doing interviews with the riders for their coverage of the event. British Cycling also caught up with the riders one by one starting with David Millar who has had some excellent results of late including second in the Eneco Tour.

 

I started by asking how he found the course for the Time Trial? “We have grown over the last few years not to pay too much heed to the profile of the course. It did look hard but once we got on the circuit I actually found it really fast. It’s going to be a fun circuit to ride.”

 

Asked how his preparation has gone for the event, David explained not everything has gone to plan? “Matt (Parker, Endurance coach for GB) has been really good. Everything changed a few weeks ago before I went to Poland when I crashed and took a chunk out of my palm. That was a hiccup in the preparation, and in the space of 24 hours, I went from being up for Poland and having to remotivate myself as I looked forward to a week on my own instead.”

 

David warms up on the GB bike

 

“I couldn’t hold the hoods (brakes on the handlebars) for a week so I could only do TT stuff so it was not ideal and then I got tooth ache! But I got all my training done which was pleasing considering I had been feeling pretty rough for the last few weeks. So I am happy where I am at.”

 

“Maybe not doing Poland and a lot of K’s was a blessing in disguise because I got to do a lot of TT stuff which I think will help me more than anything else.”

 

Asked if has a preferred event, the road race or the TT, David replied “The road race is one of those odd ones, more a mental game than anything else because it is such a war of attrition. I have learnt that you have to suffer through the bad times and wait. It’s a waiting game and I actually enjoy the Worlds Road Race. So I take the same amount of pleasure from the two events.”

 

“Last year I had the road form as I had that real strength and fatigue that can help you in a road race but I am in a much better position this year for the time trial. This course is quite similar to Hamilton (Canada) with big roads and a combination of everything. It is not as hard as last year which was hard physically and psychologically and I always seem to go well on the one that are circuits like Portugal when I was second.”

 

Asked if there is anything on the course that suits his ability in a TT, David replied “the long fast sections because of my size  and the fact I am so aerodynamic -- that’s a real advantage over the bigger guys. And there are no real super hard sections  where the climbing specialists can take a big advantage. So it is a course that suits me and Bradley as well. For one of the bigger buys, I do climb well so most of the course will suit me pretty well.”

 

David explained that he did two laps of the course quite hard, adding “if you do it easy, you don’t get a real feel so I had to go on my own. You have to be careful you don’t get sucked into conversations and stuff which defeats the purpose of it being a recce of the course.”

 

David's TT helmet...

 

“This is my last race of the season and it has become a big aim every season partly because I enjoy being on the GB team which is always like coming home as such and I love the Worlds. Next to the  Tour de France, it’s the best event we have in cycling. The whole atmosphere and ambience. Not so much for the time trial but the day of the road race it is just electric.”

 

Post worlds, he says he’ll go on holiday after the track nationals including a visit to see his dad in Asia. He then meets up with his new team in November and after that, will have two months to ride his bike and get ready for his first race next year. “Going to Slipstream next year is really motivating. It’s very exciting as I am playing a big part in the team and we’re trying to do something a bit different. It’s at home in Girona and I’m looking forward to racing with a bunch of friends. It will like being on the GB team to certain extent for me.”

 

The final question was about his connection with the GB team and especially, one of the mechanics Ernie Feargrieve. “It’s really good with Ernie. I can always call him even when I am with my team to verify my position and Ernie knows me so well. What I like with my bikes and I have 100 percent confidence in him. The bikes we have here, the SI ones, are just phenomenal, and we are very lucky to have such equipment as there is no other team in the world that supplies their riders with such special stuff.”  Good luck to David on Thursday.

 

Bradley and coach Matt Parker chatting in the morning today 

 

Bradley Wiggins

Already a double World Champion this year (Pursuit and Team Pursuit) and a fabulous 4th in the London Tour de France prologue, the Olympic champion is looking forward to the challenge of the Time Trial in Stuttgart.

 

“I didn’t do it last year because I didn’t think I’d do a good ride and I only want to come if I feel I am in the ball park of doing something. This year, I have carried a lot of form since the Tour de France surprisingly – I thought I’d be ready to stop after the Tour but the form is still good, and I am in still as a good a shape as I was in the Tour if not a little bit better.”

 

“I really feel from the tests we have been doing that I should be an outside chance of a medal. The top step is always difficult to predict but on a good day, there is no reason why I should not be in the top 5 with the objective being a medal. I have prepared pretty well the last six weeks for this where it has been the sole objective.”

 

Bradley has also taken charge of his own preparation. “When Simon (Jones) left at the start of this year, I took control of everything myself and have progressed from being reliant on one person, to in many ways, to being my own boss. It’s been a good year in that sense. I have been given the responsibility of looking after it myself with the full backing of GB  which has been good.”

 

Bradley has been working towards this goal for a while now, taking his SI bike home to Lancashire where he has had a few full on dress rehearsals over the same distance with the SRM cranks on the bike to collect the required data. “Today is the  first time I have been on the course but I had spoken to Doug (Dailey) who had seen it and from that I designed an almost identical course at home. And my course at home after today’s recce was probably more brutal than this one.”

 

“It’s a really nice course. Really fast. I went out today and thought are there any surprises and carried on to a K to go and thought ‘that ain’t so bad’. And then I did a second lap and thought, this is bloody good actually. It’s very similar to Madrid (Brad was 7th there) . In terms of the gradients although there is a nice flat section on the motorway section of this course. It is a bit shorter as well which tends to suit me and Madrid was at altitude a bit, 600 metres so everything is much more of an English time trial here.”

 

He will also be on the GB UK Sports Institute bike for this and is full of praise for a frame that still has many people looking at it enviously many years after it was revealed. “It’s the fastest bike out there really. The form I am in at the moment, I’d be silly not to use it because if I lose the Gold medal by 10 seconds, or any medal by 10 seconds, I’d always question that decision. Dave Brailsford’s  (GB Performance Director) whole programme is based on winning medals and they want me to ride it as well.”

 

“The UK SI is rigid like no other bike I have ever ridden. It’s the one thing other frame manufacturers are always asking, what do you like about certain bikes and I say the rigidity and they never seem to be able to get it the same as the UK SI or they get it at the start and after a few months it starts flopping a bit.”

 

“Me and Dave (Millar) reckon its got to be 45 seconds over the next best bike out there.”

 

“Its good to be racing with Dave. It’s the first time we have been together on the British team for a long time and the last time I raced at a World Championship he was at was 10 years ago when it was his first Pro Worlds and I was in the Junior race. We bounce ideas off each other and we get on well. It would be great for both of us to get on the podium”.

 

Bradley gets the tape measure out on his position on the SI Bike

 

Bradley was also quite open about changing trade teams, going to T-Mobile next year. “They have been in contact with me for a while and Cav was keen for me to go there as well. At one point during the Tour I was ready to stay with Cofidis but then the talks got put on hold as events unfolded at the Tour and post Tour we didn’t really know what was happening with the team so I signed with T-Mobile”.

 

“My heart wants to go there as well.  I had a few options and in the end I had sat down with Brian Holm and Bob Stapleton a few times and really liked their ideas. And some of the riders they have coming there like Hincapie is quite exciting”.

 

Brad also explained the team are buying into his programme for next year which will include the World Track Championships (Manchester) and the Olympic Games (Beijing). “That was a big factor as well. The biggest thing was I was not riding the Tour next year and they were the one team who could guarantee me that.”

 

Post worlds, Bradley has a three week break before a busy winter that will include a dress rehearsal at Beijing where he is expected to ride for GB at the first World Track Cup there. “In terms of the bigger picture (The Olympics) I really need to rest up now and then start the process of building up to Beijing.”. Good luck to Bradley on Thursday.
    

The SI Bikes which are much praised by the GB riders.

 

Wendy Houvenaghel (Time Trial)

Well known for her World Class form in the Pursuit, Wendyk, the British Time Trial Champion is upbeat about her form for the World Championships. “I have had a very consistent summer of training and have been racing since about July and racing well. So I am here in the best shape I can be and very much looking forward to racing tomorrow.”

 

“I have been predominantly based at home in Cornwall and there hasn’t been any pressure on me what so ever. I have been following a particular schedule specific to the time trial which will compliment my Pursuit training and vice versa. It was a result of putting more endurance work into my programme and doing the time trial has given me a different aim for my summer work”.

 

Wendy has been doing some quite fast times recently, a 19 minute 10 and 52 minute 25. Asked about these, she explains “that weekend was a scheduled racing weekend, I hadn’t tapered for them, and it was part of my on going training at that point. So it was good indicator of where my training has been going and I was very pleased to have broken that competition record just off the back of regular training.”

 

“I much better prepared for this time trial than others in the past like the Commonwealth Games in 2006. I am as well prepared as I can be and this has been a target whilst the Commonwealth Games TT was not a target (the Pursuit was).”

 

Wendy talks to mechanic Mark Ingham about some changes to her bike

 

On the course, Wendy explained “I thought it was going to be very hilly but in actual fact it is a rolling type course and I don’t feel the hills are particularly challenging. It is quite a fast course and I am quite looking forward to racing on it. It is quite similar to the British Nationals to a certain extent.”

“I have broken the course down to certain aspects and I now know how I am going to approach those aspects of the course.”

 

Finally, I asked about the bike she will be riding, the Cervelo. “my bike is something my husband Ian takes care of and he is the one who provided me with the bike with the help of Ricci Cycles in the south west. Liz and Rick very kindly helped us with that. I don’t really get involved in the fine tuning of the equipment, my husband  is more the specialist in that area. I just ride the bike!” Good luck to Wendy on Wednesday.

 

Wendy's bike for the World Championships.

Emma Pooley

A young lady who has been making quite a name for herself in Europe this year is Emma Pooley. When I got here to the British camp there was a story going about where on a  climb in Italy recently, a British male professional  put the hammer down and starting shedding riders from his back wheel only to find Emma still there at the top. She is quite special and is riding both the Time Trial and Road Race.

 

“This year has felt different success wise to previous years. At the beginning, I was here or there about whether I should I bother and I went to Australia. I did a few months training and it just made such a difference. Mentally, I was enjoying riding and racing again and in some ways it was almost good I had a bad year last year  because there was no pressure.”

 

Handshakes between friends -- Emma and fellow TT rider at training today.

 

In a recent Time Trial she finished around 40 seconds behind Karen Thurig, a noted Time Trial Champion and that was on a flat course. “I used to think I was good at time trialling when I was a triathlete but when I rode international races I realised I wasn’t that great. This year though I am stronger, have got better kit and in the last few months I have been concentrating on developing it a bit more.”

 

“Road racing is still my focus but I have given some time to time trialling.  At the Worlds, I will give everything to both the disciplines because you can’t do any less for a World Championship. There is no reason to hold back in the Time Trial because of the road race because its only half an hour and there is no time to recover.”

 

“The talk with Dan here at the hotel was more the admin of the ride. It is my first time trial with the GB squad and everything is well organised and I like to know where I stand in what I should be doing as well as let them know how I like my turbo set up and so on just so they know what to do.”

 

“This time trial is more challenging than the one I rode against Thurig before. That was quite open and windy on the day. Riding around this one today felt like there was more down than up. There is so much of the up that is hidden away in the false flats.” Emma admitted she is looking forward to the road course with the hills in the road course because she does like hills, the bigger the better.”

 

“I have definitely had more experience this year in international road races than ever before. I have done a lot of racing in Germany and France and know a lot of the German riders. I am a lot more happier about riding in a peloton than I was two years ago.” Good luck to Emma in both the time trial and road race.

 

Ian Stannard (Under 23 Time Trial)

Representing GB in the Under 23 Time Trial as he has before is T-Mobile apprentice Ian Stannard. Talking to us he says of the circuit “It’s nice, the profile looks hard but it’s a good course and suits me quite well. Last year I had quite a big focus on the time trial but this year being a stagaier with T-Mobile, I have been focusing on that and doing the best I can with that.”

 

“I didn’t know what to expect when I came here and I’m now really up for it. I haven’t done any specific preparation for it this year like I did last but to be honest riding on the front in the pro races is pretty hard and its certainly built up my power quite a bit and I feel stronger.”

 

“I like the time trial but I still do prefer the road race. The TT is something I can do and do well so I enjoy it. From what I have seen of the TT course, the road race looks like it is going to be pretty fast too so I am also really looking forward to that. I came out of the Tour of Britain a bit tired what with the travelling back to Italy and so on. Last week I had an easy week and now I am feeling in quite good shape because of that.” Good luck to Ian in the Road Race and Time Trial.

 

Lunch time at the GB hotel

 

Wendy and Dan Hunt go over the TT course.

 

BBC's Jill Douglas talks to Wendy by the lake at the team hotel as John gets the film footage.

 

Mark Ingham gluing tubs after training today

 

Ernie makes sure the gears on Emma Pooley's road bike are running sweetly.

 

PROGRAMME
  
Wednesday 26 Sept Time Trial
9am Men U23 38.28 km (2 laps)
1pm Elite Women 25.14 km (2 laps)

 

Thursday 27 Sept Time Trial
12:30 Elite Men 45 km (2 laps)

 

Saturday 29 Sept Road Race
9am Elite Women 7 laps – 133.7 km

1.30pm Men U23 9 laps – 171.9 km
  

Sunday 30 Sept Road Race
10:30am Elite Men  14 laps – 267.4 km

The Road Race takes place on a 19.1 km. The start is at Killesberg Exhibition Centre, Stuttgart, and takes the riders through four districts of Stuttgart. The course has two main hills:
Herdweg (700 metres with a maximum gradient of 13%) and the Birkenkopf which is 1.5km in length and has a maximal gradient of 8%). The climbing doesn't finish there as the final 2000 metres is also a continual drag up to the line of 4%. The women do seven laps (133.7 km); the Under 23 men nine laps (171.9 km); and then the men’s elite riders do 14 laps (267.4km).

 

RELATED LINKS
http://www.radwm2007.com/

GREAT BRITAIN RIDERS
Elite men
Mark Cavendish (Road Race)
Roger Hammond (Road Race)
David Millar (Road Race & Time Trial)
Bradley Wiggins (Time Trial)

 

Elite women
Elizabeth Armitstead (Road Race)
Catherine Hare (Road Race)
Rachel Heal (Road Race)
Wendy Houvenaghel (Time Trial)
Emma Pooley (Road Race & Time Trial)
Tanja Slater (Road Race)
Helen Wyman (Road Race)

 

Under-23 Men
Ian Stannard (Time Trial)
Ben Swift (Road Race)

Jonny Bellis