UCI World Road Championships 2007 

 

Elite Men’s Time Trial

September 27, 2007; Stuttgart (Germany)

 

 

Bradley Wiggins leaves the start house with 20 or more photographers capturing his every move.

 

On a cold and wet day in Stuttgart, Great Britain riders David Millar and Bradley Wiggins finished 18th and 10th respectively in the final time trial event of the 2007 World Road Championships. Wiggins tenth place meant it was job done for the riders as they both knew the team were looking for a top 15 to guarantee at least one Nation place in the Olympic Time Trial.

 

Qualification for the Olympics is complicated but put simply, there are two ways of qualifying places and as it stands, the second way looks like it won’t bring us a second place so Brad’s place today was quite vital to ensure we have the option of fielding a rider in the Beijing Time Trial which is said to be even tougher than the one in Stuttgart today.

 

Matt Parker, National Endurance coach, keeps track of the warmup sessions for both David Millar and Bradley Wiggins.

 

A wet day in Stuttgart
The day of the Elite Men’s Time Trial dawned wet and the promised rain that had not materialised on the first day of the time trials was falling out of the sky with a vengeance. On a course with tight corners on fast descents and in some places, tram lines, it was not a day to look forward on the bike. For a lot of people at least. The team were at breakfast for 8am and one of the early risers was David Millar who was soon rugged up and outside under cover and doing a turbo session at 9am.

 

As David was finishing, Bradley Wiggins came out and he was showing no pre-race nerves as he had everyone in stitches as he pulled out one of his many impressions before getting down to business and doing some turbo work as well.

 

Back inside the hotel, the Medical Control people from the UCI arrived to conduct anti-doping tests with Millar, Wiggins, and a few of the other riders in the team including Emma Pooley. Whilst performance manager Shane Sutton took care of the UCI and directed them to the appropriate riders, outside in the hotel garage, the GB mechanics Mark Ingham and Ernie Feargrieve did last minute work on the wheels and bikes. The rest of the staff on duty for the Men’s TT, carers Luc De Wilde and Gavin King, were also kept busy looking after the needs of the riders with each rider having been assigned a specific mechanic and carer.

 

Then,  well after the staff had left for the course at 10.30 that morning, at 1pm the riders left the hotel for the course and their date with destiny on this wet and horrible day in Germany. At least there was a warm and dry bus awaiting them, not something all the teams have the luxury of.

 

By the time the riders arrived, the skies were clearing and the roads starting to dry out which was actually bad news for at least one of the team, David Millar, who was reported to be looking forward to a wet time trial after having had quite a few this year including one in the Eneco Tour recently.

 

David Millar at the start of what he described as a horrible day in the saddle.

 

Both the British riders were in the last group of riders racing the Elite TT and first on the ramp was David Millar. There were loud cheers for the British Champion in the Road Race and Time Trial and soon he was counted down and on his way. At the first time check he was down in 22nd place and had climbed to 12th by the second check but slipped down to 23rd for the final check before the run in to the finish and 18th place. It had been a roller coaster ride and afterwards he was very disappointed and still so later at the hotel.

 

Speaking exclusively to British Cycling he says the ride was horrible. “I had a horrible time out there. It was a day where there was nothing there so it was a very long 44 kilometres.”  David was keen not to blame it on the weeks leading up to it where he crashed and had a hand injury which prevented him from doing the Tour of Poland.

 

“You know what, I haven’t felt too bad for the last three weeks even though I had to change my preparation. I think it was though a combination of not ideal preparation and a really terrible day.”

“It was purely a physical thing. Everything for the race was perfect. The support I had from the team was brilliant and the equipment fantastic and I have no excuses-  my body let me down!”

 

David then finished by saying he wants to redeem himself in the road race so he can finish the season on a good note and we know from the Tour de France just how special he can be when he feels like that and we wish him lots of luck for the big one on Sunday.

 

Gavin King, GB carer, gives David Millar a push after he finishes his time trial.

 

Six minutes after David started his race, Bradley came onto the starting podium and began his effort which over the two laps was more consistent as he kept his place around the top 10 for the whole of the distance and finishing in 10th place. For Bradley Wiggins, the ride was disappointing in that he wasn’t able to challenge for a medal but he also was not making excuses.

 

“Before the start, I thought I was an outside chance of a medal” he told reporters in the team bus later. “I still believe that but it just didn’t happen today for whatever reason. I am not too sure why and I certainly didn’t feel like I felt on Sunday at the Duo Normand in France. I could use all the excuses but plain and simple, I wasn’t good enough on the day.”

 

“I was though pleased with the effort. I started well, I stuck to the plan as we descended to the climb at 13k and had a little bit of a wobbly section on the technical sections but I knew it would be like that as I wasn’t going to push it on those sections (and risk a crash). I then had a bit of a down period through the finish line and up the hill to the start before I really got on it again.”

 

“I think I climbed the hill the second time pretty well and had a fantastic dual carriage way section  and really got on top of it. So in terms of the laps, I have two consistent laps so I was pleased in that sense. I don’t think I disgraced myself by any means.”

 

“I knew coming here I’d be either be fantastic or not good and didn’t have anything to lose and everything to gain. The climbs were not brilliant for me but I thought  I rode them well, and paced myself pretty well and carried good speed over the top each one.”

 

“It has been a good little project and extended my season. After the Tour I was ready to stop but in the races that followed I felt pretty good and told Shane I’d do the Worlds as I had nothing to lose and everything to gain for the sake of going flat out for an hour. And that is what  I did. I have prepared well for the last few weeks and I am pleased.” Thanks to his hard work, Great Britain has a place in the Time Trial at the next Olympics which all in all, makes the day a great success even without the medals.

 

 

 

Winner, Fabian Cancellara was at another level to the riders today.

 

Left: British based Gordon McCauley was also in action in Stuttgart whilst right: Bradley Wiggins focuses on the road that follows the start ramp as his minute man gets ready to go.

 

The mechanics Ernie and Mark burning the late night oil preparing the TT bikes. 

 

Each night, the staff have a meeting to plan the next days roster...

 

Wiggins

 

Millar

 

The climb past the finish and up to the start house slowed the riders and was quite a significant climb.

 

Results
1. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) 55.41.3 (48.380 km/h)
2. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hungary) 0.52.1
3. Stef Clement (Netherlands) 0.57.8
4. Bert Grabsch (Germany) 1.12.2
5. Sebastian Lang (Germany) 1.17.5
6. Vladimir Gusev (Russia) 1.47.0
7. José Gutierrez Palacios (Spain) 1.56.2
8. Andrey Mizurov (Kazakhstan) 2.02.7
9. Vasili Kiryienka (Belarus) 2.03.5
10. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) 2.10.8

 

18. David Millar (Great Britain) 2.40.1
49. Gordon McCauley (New Zealand) 5.11.5

 

Check 1: 8.39km
1. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)               11.11

7. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)                0.18
22. David Millar (Great Britain)                  0.30

 

Check 2: 22.2km
1. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)               27.12
11. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)               1.00
12. David Millar (Great Britain)                  1.03

 

Check 3: 31.12km
1. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)               39.57
9. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)                1.21
23. David Millar (Great Britain)                  1.51