Nelson Oliveira returned to the top of the time trialling world when he led the Worlds TT for most of the day before finally ending the race in 7th. The Portuguese is proud of his performance after having prepared specifically for the event and now aims at supporting his friend Rui Costa in his bid at another Worlds title.

In 2009, Nelson Oliveira finished second in the U23 World Time Trial Championships. The result created lofty expectations for the talented Portuguese who was seen as one of the great time triallists of his generation.

Since joining the professional ranks, however, Oliveira has had a hard time living up to the lofty expectations. Apart from a national championships title in 2011, he rarely featured near the top in the time trials and his name gradually disappeared from the list of contenders for the TTs.

Today Oliveira proved that he still needs to be taken seriously in the biggest races when he spent nearly the entire day in the hot seat at the World Championships. Being an early starter, he posted a time that the next 41 riders were unable to beat. Only the final six riders – all regarded as pre-race favourites – did better than the Lampre-Merida rider who finished the race in 7th.

“I have trained a lot for this,” he told CyclingQuotes after the race. “Since the Tour, I have trained specifically for the TT. I came here with a great condition. I knew that I had to go full gas and in the end the 7th place is great for me. I am very proud.”

The result signals his return to form. All year he has been riding very strongly in support of his teammate and compatriot Rui Costa and has made a reputation as the bodyguard of the world champion. He has enjoyed some personal success too, winning both the Portuguese road race and time trial titles.

“After Mendrisio, I have had problems with my health,” he said. “This year my body has started to work really well. I have not had any problems and so I have been able to improve my performance.

“I don’t have bad days which is important in training. You can be regular. I came here with the top 10 as an objective and this was great.”

Despite his improved condition, Oliveira doesn’t harbor greater personal ambitions.

“My job here is to work for Rui Costa,” he said. “I am proud to help him. I am proud to help the world champion. On Sunday, I hope he will do well.”

Oliveira’s next race at Costa’s side will be Sunday’s Worlds road race where Costa aims to defend his title. Oliveira admits that it’s going to be hard to make it two in a row.

“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It is a really hard parcours. There are two climbs and the downhill is not easy. I hope it will not rain because then it will be difficult. We will see what happens.”

For Costa to win, the race needs to be hard. Despite their role as defending champions, Oliveira doesn’t see the Portuguese team as the one to try to drop the sprinters.

“We haven’t thought about that yet,” he said. “We will talk about it in the next few days. We don’t have to take the responsibility in the race. Other teams have to do that. We just have to follow the wheels. In the end it is 250km. We don’t know what will happen.”

Oliveira knows Costa better than most and he feels confident that his friend is ready for the challenge.

“He feels really good. He is very professional. He has trained for one goal: the Worlds. I think he will do really well again.”

Oliveira was not a part of the team that helped Costa take the title 12 months ago.