Two days ago the Rusvelo duo of Artem Ovechkin and Ivan Balykin made use of their Worlds condition to finish of the podium in the two-rider time trial Duo Normand. The pair left the event with slight regrets as they had targeted the victory in the French event.

Ivan Balykin and Artem Ovechkin, soon after their UCI World Championships ride, made it to the podium of 1.1 Duo Normand in Northern France, covering 54 km at an average speed of more than 48 km/h. Norwegians  Truls Engen Korsaeth and Reidar Bohlin Borgersen clocked the best time, 2.20 faster than RusVelo duo.

Sports director Sergey Honchar said:

“The race topped up what had already been done in the World championships, in Ponferrada Ovechkin rode the ITT and TTT while Balykin represented Rusvelo in team time trial. Sure enough, they weren’t as fresh as their rivals, and apart from the top event stress, they were tired after multiple transfers. All in all, they did what they could at the moment, and being on the podium is not a bad result at all, although, frankly speaking, we had aimed higher. The season is not over yet for the guys, they join the team and will ride 1.HC Milano – Torino on Wednesday”.