The Men’s time trial of the 2014 UCI Road World Championships was the only event of the day in which 64 cyclists from 38 nations took part. Tomorrow brings a period of rest that all are looking forward to.
The Wednesday’s cycling event in Ponferrada, Spain had a field that faced an approximate 29.27 miles (47.1 km) course. The time trial started in the center of Ponferrada with a flat section of 19 miles until reaching Posada del Bierzo before rising from 1,800 ft to an altitude of 2,300 ft. there was another climb at the 25 mile mark which marked the highest point of the route 2,326 ft and ran for 2 miles before a fast downhill run to the finish back in Ponferrada.
It took 56 minutes 25 seconds for Sir Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain to reach that finish line for the gold medal. For him it was a bittersweet moment. He not only won for the elite men’s time trial but what would be his ending time trial world championships race.
It was bike spokes to spokes most of the course with Germany’s Tony Martin, whom many considered a favorite. However, Tony Martin fell 26 seconds behind across the finish and obtained the silver, followed by Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands with 14 seconds and holder of the bronze.
Wiggins has stated that his main targets for 2014 were the Paris-Roubaix one day Classic, the Tour of California and the road world championships, as well as riding the Tour de France in support of defending champion Chris Froome. Bradley Wiggins has now has won six world track titles, four Olympic gold medals, was the third place winner in the 2011 Giro and a winner of the Tour de France 2012.
Top Five in Men’s Elite Men’s Team Time Trial
1. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)
2. Tony Martin (Germany)
3. Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands)
4. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus)
5. Rohan Dennis (Australia)