For the third year in a row, the world championships kick off with a team time trial for trade teams and in its short existence, the new invention has gained plenty of prestige. While many teams just hope to get safely through the day, it is an extremely important event for the teams that really specialize in the discipline. A mostly flat course in Florence offers the perfect venue for the biggest specialists and there will be a fierce battle for the highly prestigious title as the world's strongest team.

 

When the UCI reintroduced the team time trial for the 2012 world championships in Limburg, it was a re-emergence of a historical and prestigious event that had disappeared. From 1962 to 1994, the beautiful discipline was an important part of the road world championships and carried huge importance. Like all other events at the global championships, it was, however, a match between national teams who battled it out with 4-rider rosters over often long distances of around 100km.

 

When the UCI decided to put the discipline back on the Worlds programme, it was not in its original format. The international federation listened to the sponsors that wanted to get increased exposure in one of cycling's biggest events and made it one for the trade teams. Instead of a stand-alone battle between the national teams, the event was introduced as an opportunity to find the world's best among the teams that regularly battle each other in the discipline.

 

UCI could probably not have wished a better debut than the 2012 event in Limburg. From the very beginning, many of the teams placed huge emphasis on the race and organized specific training camps to prepare for the big day. Similarly, the riders greeted its welcome return and many of the specialists made it one of their end-of-season targets.

 

For many teams who don't specialize in the discipline, the race remains one to get over with but for the squads that excel in the collective race against the clock, it is a clear target with plenty of meticulous preparation and careful roster selections. When the reintroduction was announced, Garmin-Sharp even signed riders with the specific purpose of getting onto the top step of the podium in late September and Orica-GreenEDGE have had specific training camps to prepare  on the event for the last two years. In that sense, the event is like a time trial in a grand tour: for many of the teams it's just about getting safely through the day but for the few select specialists, it's of huge importance.

 

Unlike the other world championships, there's no rainbow jersey on offer and the winning team only gets the less visible recognition of a print on their jerseys. Despite this criticized fact, it's a huge honour for the teams to refer to themselves as the world's strongest. While individual riders often get most attention in the usual races, this gives the teams and their sponsors a rare opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight and alongside the WorldTour ranking, it offers the only chance of gauging the trade teams against each other.

 

Team time trials are no unique event as many stage races have a collective race against the clock included on their route. However, the world championships TTT is a different beast to what the riders are used to. In times gone by, team time trials were often held over long distances of more than 60km but nowadays organizers prefer to keep them much shorter to avoid too big time differences that may eliminate many potential winners. Grand tour team time trials are usually no longer than 30km and in smaller stage races, they are even shorter.

 

As opposed to this, the world championships are held on much longer courses. In 2012, the winner was found on a 53,2km course in Limburg and last  year's 57.2km route is even longer. At 57.1km, this year’s course has the same distance. At the same time, the rosters are considerably smaller than in stage races where 8- or 9-rider teams are usually the standard. In the battle for the global honour, the teams can only select 6 riders with the time of the 4th rider being the one that counts. This makes cohesion and careful race planning even more important as the teams try to maximize their gains from each rider's strength.

 

In its first two years, the event has been dominated by Omega Pharma-Quick Step who remains unbeaten in the new race. In 2012, they became the first world champions in a thrilling battle with BMC. Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Tony Martin, Niki Terpstra, Kristof Vandewalle and Peter Velits waited nervously in the hot seat while BMC was about to produce a ride that could potentially better their performance. However, Tejay van Garderen rode too fast up the Cauburg towards the end of the race and as a result, the team had to slow down to wait for Taylor Phinney. In the end, they missed 3.23 seconds and had to settle for 2nd while Orica-GreenEDGE showed their strength in the discipline by finishing 3rd on a course that didn't do them many favours.

 

Last year Omega Pharma-Quick Step repeated the performance after one of the most thrilling battles in the team time trial history. This time they were up against archrivals Orica-GreenEDGE who had beaten them by less than a second a few months earlier in the Tour de France TTT. Despite the long distance, the race was again decided by fractions of a second and this time the outcome was the reverse. The Omega Pharma-Quick Step team of Chavanel, Martin, Terpstra, Vandewalle, Velits and Michal Kwiatkowski had been clearly the fastest at the first two time checks but at the third and final one, they suddenly trailed the Australians by a second. In the end, they finished the race strongly to defend their title with a winning margin of less than a second. A strong Sky team led by Chris Froome completed the podium, 22 seconds off the winning mark. This year all three teams will be back with ambitious plans for the opening event of the World Championships.

 

 

The course

The 2012 course was highly unusual for team time trials which are often held on rather flat, non-technical courses that suit the powerful specialists. The organizers decided to send the riders up many of the climbs that characterize the Limburg province and like the road races and the individual time trials, the top of the famous Cauberg was located just 1km from the finish line.

 

Last year’s road races were very hard and the men’s race ended up being a highly selective affairs. However, the time courses for the time trials were completely different as they were held on almost completely flat road, marked by long, straights and virtually no climbing.

 

This year’s course for the team time trial is more along the lines of last year’s route than the unusual one used in Limburg. There are a two smaller climbs in the second half, with the hardest one coming just before the finish, but the main part of the route is flat with very few technical challenges. At 57.1km, it is a very long team time trial compared to the ones found in the grand tours but the distance is comparable to the ones used for the two previous editions of the race. Over that distance, there will be a total of 386m of climbing which clearly indicates that it’s a good course for the specialists.

 

For the first time in the history of this new event, the race will both start and finish in the host city. Right after the start, there a few turns but the first 9km mainly follow a long, slightly descending road to the city of Dehesas. From there, the riders head in a northwesterly direction towards the city of Villafrance del Bierzo and even though there are a few turns along the way, the roads are mainly straight and flat. After 15km of racing, the road is very slightly ascending.

 

Approaching Villafranca del Bierzo, there are a few, very small climbs as the terrain gets a bit more varied. Here the riders will get the first indication of how they are doing as the first intermediate time check is taken after 23.5km of racing. The time will be taken just after the riders have turned around to head back towards Ponferrada.

 

Exiting Villafranca del Bierzo, the riders to up the first of the two small climbs and then take on a slightly longer descent. From there, the road is mainly straight and slightly ascending until the riders reach Camponaraya after 36.1km of racing. This is where the second time check will be taken.

 

Instead of continuing straight back to Ponferrada, the riders head back in a westerly direction along slightly descending roads to Carracedo del Monasterio. Here they turn around to return to the start and finish are along a long, straight slightly ascending road. The final time check will be taken after 48.9km of racing, less than 10km from the finish.

 

However, it is important to save something for the final part as the race has a nasty sting in its tail. With 5km to go, the riders go up the hardest climb of race which is around 2km long and has an average gradient of around 5%. The top comes 3km from the line. This is where the riders turn left to leave the main road and head to the centre of Ponferrada. It’s a fast descent for 1km before 2 flat kilometres leads to the finish. There are a few roundabouts before the riders turn right to enter the 600m finishing straight.

 

The time trial specialist couldn't have asked for a better course and this is a race that will be decided by power and speed more than technical prowess and climbing skills.

 

Last year the team time trial was also a chance to preview the course for the individual time trial as the courses for the two races were virtually identical. This year, however, the ITT is significantly shorter and a bit hillier than the team time trial but still incorporates some of the same roads. The first 15km are identical and in the latter part of the races, the courses will again use identical stretches.

 

 

The weather

Everybody hopes that all teams will have the same conditions for a team time trial but unfortunately that may not be the case on Sunday. The weather in Ponferrada isn't great at the moment and all day there is a great risk of showers. Unfortunately, it seems that more constant rain will be falling in the afternoon but luckily it seems that all the ProTeams may be riding on wet roads. It will be pretty cold too as the temperature will reach a maximum of just 18 degrees.

 

There will barely be any wind, with just a light breeze blowing from an easterly direction. This means that the riders will minly hve a tailwin in the first part and a headwind as they head back to the finish in Ponferrada.

 

The favourites

For the third year in a row, the team time trial has been taken very seriously by the specialist teams and most of the usual top performers in the stage race TTTs have lined up very powerful rosters that have prepared specifically for the event. For some riders and teams, this is their main goal at the championships and hours of meticulous preparation have gone into giving the teams the best shot at the title. The UCI could hardly have wished a better start list as most of the greatest time trial specialists are prepared to lead their team in Sunday's collective race which also offers them a chance to preview the parts of the course for Wednesday's time trial.

 

With small 6-rider rosters, the importance of every single rider increases and it's almost impossible to win the event with a weak link. A win requires every rider to be able to make a solid contribution. At the same time, the individual rider may play a bigger role as there are fewer riders to share the workload. This means that the main powerhouses will be able to make a bigger difference. Finally, the longer distance makes it more about attrition and less about high speed than the traditional grand tour time trials.

 

For the second year in a row, the course is very flat with very few technical challenges and only two smaller climbs. This means that it’s a race for the specialists who can push a big gear along the long, straight roads. In Limburg, climbing skills were important but here it is all about speed. This is reflected in the line-ups as most teams have designed very powerful rosters for the event.

 

Like last year, the race shapes up to be a battle between Orica-GreenEDGE and Omega Pharma-Quick Step, with a few key outsiders that could get close to the win. Last year the two teams were almost equal, with only 0.8 seconds giving Omega Pharma-Quick Step a second title. This year it should again be a close fight but the outcome could very well be the opposite.

 

While Omega Pharma-Quick Step have been forced to change half their roster as Sylvain Chavanel, Peter Velits and Kristof Vandewalle have both left the team, Orica-GreenEDGE will line up an almost identical team. The changes have weakened the Belgian team considerably but the fact that Daryl Impey has been substituted by current U23 world champion Damien Howson should make no big difference for the Australians.

 

In our opinion, those changes turn the tables and put Orica-GreenEDGE in the role of favourites. No one can argue that Omega Pharma-Quick Step has the same allround strength as they had 12 months ago and they will be hugely reliant on Tony Martin. As opposed to this, Orica-GreenEDGE can present a very homogeneous team that is made up of excellent time triallists and have prepared specifically for the event.

 

Svein Tuft is one of the best team time triallists in the world and he has been the driving force in Orica-GreenEDGE’s main achievements. The loyal Canadian showed great condition when he finished second in the Tour du Poitou-Charentes time trial. He is joined by a trio of youngsters that have all finished on the podium at the U23 World Time Trial Championships. Luke Durbridge and Michael Hepburn were both part of last year’s successful team while Damien Howson has been brought in in his first year with the team.

 

Durbridge may not have been time trialling at his usual level but he remains a very powerful rider. Hepburn has clearly stepped up his level in 2014 and even though he has not managed to live up to his outstanding start to the season, he is strong in this kind of team event. Howson has had a difficult start to his professional career but the fact that he has been selected for the team means that he must be riding strongly. The roster is completed by veterans Brett Lancaster and Jens Mouris who were both on last year’s team and Lancaster was riding solidly in the Vuelta.

 

While Omega Pharma-Quick Step has not had the same kind of specific preparation for the event as their riders have all been racing at different places, Orica-GreenEDGE have gathered their team for specific training. This means that most of their riders have done no racing recently but they have all perfectly geared up for this very specific kind of effort. They have been riding together for several weeks now and know exactly how to cooperate.

 

Orica-GreenEDGE were perfectly suited to last year’s very flat course and even though this year’s route is slightly more undulating, it is still a great fit for the Australians. With no major climbs and very few technical challenges, they should be able to benefit perfectly from their immense power and homogeneity. Those skills should be enough for them to complete their 3-2-1 by finally stepping onto the top step of their podium.

 

Their biggest rivals are of course Omega Pharma-Quick Step who will love to make it three in a row. Without Chavanel, Velits and Vandewalle, however, the team has been considerable weakened. Julien Vermote may be a solid rouleur but he is no match to the likes of Chavanel and Vandewalle. Pieter Serry may have improved a lot in this event but he is more of a climber than a time trial specialist. Finally, Tom Boonen is of course a very powerful rider who was part of the winning team in 2012 but in this kind of effort, he has a hard time replacing Chavanel and Vandewalle.

 

Furthermore, the team has not had the same kind of meticulous preparation as Orica-GreenEDGE as they have split all over Europe doing different races. If one adds the fact that Niki Terpstra is no outstanding time triallist, it will mostly come down to the effort of Tony Martin and to a lesser degree Michal Kwiatkowski.

 

However, Martin has almost been able to win team time trials on his own and his importance is very hard to overestimate in this kind of long effort. In the Vuelta, he showed that he is in good condition and he will have improved since that race as he has been building form for the time trial. Unlike Orica-GreenEDGE who are very reliant on their homogeneity, Omega Pharma-Quick Step will be built around a big powerhouse.

 

Finally, the slightly hillier course should be an advantage for the Belgians. Orica-GreenEDGE is mostly made up of heavy time triallists while riders like Martin, Kwiatkowski and Serry are great climbers too. Omega Pharma-Quick Step should be able to go faster in the second half but this time it may not be enough to take the win.

 

A very strong outsider for the title is Trek who line up a very strong team that can be said to combine the homogeneity of Orica-GreenEDGE with Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s inclusion of a powerhouse. Fabian Cancellara may no longer be the time triallist he once was but he remains one of the best in the business. This year he beat Martin and Bradley Wiggins in Tirreno-Adriatico and last year he beat Martin in the Vuelta. He has had a fabulous career as a time triallist and even though he has never been able to translate his power into much team time trial success he can still make a massive difference in this discipline.

 

Cancellara will join forces with Kristof Vandewalle and Jesse Sergent who have both improved massively in the time trials over the last year. On a long, flat course, Vandewalle is now one of the best in the world as he proved when he won the TTs in Austria and Poland. The Belgian is strong in the collective discipline too as he has been part of the winning team twice in a row and he rode strongly in the Vuelta. Sergent has been close to the big TT win and he did two great time trials in Spain, finishing a close second on the final day in Santiago de Compostela. He may be better over a shorter distance but he has been strong in the long time trials too.

 

The loss of Bob Jungels is a big one as the in-form Luxembourger would have been a very strong asset for the American team. This means that the final half of the team may not be as strong as the first one but it is still made up of riders that are strong in the discipline. Yaroslav Popovych has always been known as a very good TTT riders and Markel Irizar is a good time triallist in his own right as he proved with his great performance in the penultimate stage of the Tour de France.

 

The surprise inclusion is Jasper Stuyven who may not be known for his TT skills but who rode strongly in the final time trial of the Vuelta where he even beat Vandewalle. Whether the youngster can handle this long, very special kind of effort, remains to be seen but he is obviously in great condition.

 

With Cancellara combining forces with Vandewalle and Sergent, Trek have one of the most powerful rosters for this flat course. Until now they have not had a lot of success in TTTs but they rode strongly in the Vuelta where the technical course didn’t suit them and where the entire team had crashed during the warm-up. The American team is definitely capable of taking a surprise win.

 

Surprisingly, Team Sky didn’t select Chris Froome for the team. Even though it’s clearly a disadvantage not to have the Brit on the roster, the team is still formidably strong. With Bradley Wiggins, the team has one of the biggest engines on the team and the Brit has prepared specifically for this kind of effort as he aims at becoming the world time trial champion.

 

Wiggins will be joined by Vasil Kiryienka who is coming out of the Vuelta in outstanding condition. The Belarusian finished fourth in the final time trial which was way too short and too technical to suit him perfectly and he did a great first time trial too. He is usually very strong at this time of the year as he has finished in the top 4 in the Worlds TT in the last two years and his contribution to the team will be massive.

 

Kanstantsin Siutsou is coming out of the Vuelta in good condition too and like Kiryienka he rode strongly in the Vuelta. Dario Cataldo is another excellent time triallist who will do a massive contribution but the Italian’s condition is highly uncertain. He crashed out of the Vuelta and even though he would have liked to have continued, the doctors advised him to abandon the race. However, he had shown solid form before his withdrawal and if he hasn’t lost too much, he should be an important factor. Those four riders will be the core that will try to deliver Sky to a second consecutive medal.

 

On paper, Geraint Thomas should also be a strong asset but the Welshman is clearly tired and in Canada he was for from his best condition. Salvatore Puccio is the final rider on the team but he is no real specialist. There is no doubt that the team has a few very powerful riders that should put them up among the best but the main question is whether the rest of the team is strong enough to contend for the win. On small 6-rider rosters, all riders have to be strong and so a medal is probably the maximum achievable for the British team.

 

BMC finished a close second two years ago and last year the lined up with the clear goal of winning. In the end, they didn’t even finish in the top 3 which was a big disappointment. This year they miss their main rider Taylor Phinney who is out with a broken leg but that doesn’t mean that the Americans don’t line up a fabulous team.

 

Rohan Dennis has only joined the team recently but he is one of the very best time triallists in the world. This year he has finished second numerous times and he seemed to ride himself into good condition during the Vuelta. In the final time trial, he was third and he would definitely have done even better if he hadn’t been hampered by wet roads in the finale.

 

Manuel Quinziato has been time trialling excellently all year and in the Vuelta he seemed to be riding stronger than ever before. Tejay van Garderen is known for his excellent time trial skills and even though his improved climbing may have cost him a bit of power on the flats he should be able to make a solid contribution. Peter Velits was part of the winning team in 2012 and 2013 and even though he may no longer be as strong as he once was, he has lots of experience in the discipline. Daniel Oss is pretty powerful too but his form is a bit uncertain while neo-pro Silvan Dillier has done some great time trials in his first year as a professional

 

BMC have a very powerful team with no really weak links and that will bring them far in this race. They may lack the outstanding powerhouse to be in contention for the win and their team may not be as homogeneous as the formidable Orica-GreenEDGE roster. However, the American team should be within shouting distance of a medal.

 

Movistar has always been performing solidly in time trials but this one may be a bit too much for the specialists. The Spanish team usually performs best when the course is hilly or technical and this one is more about power. Nonetheless, their provisional 7-rider roster contains lots of time triallists that should combine well.

 

Adriano Malori will be the main powerhouse and he is clearly in great condition following an excellent performance in the Vuelta. Alex Dowsett was a constant aggressor in the Tour of Britain and even though he performed pretty poorly in the time trial, he is definitely riding well. Those two riders will provide the team with lots of power on the flats.

 

Ion Izagirre, Jesus Herrada and Andrey Amador are all known for their time trialling skills but they would probably have needed a bit more undulations to provide maximal support. Imanol Erviti has been time trialling surprisingly well all season while Jasha Sütterlin may have had a hard time in the time trials in his first time at the professional level but definitely has the talent to excel in this kind of effort.

 

One of those 7 riders won’t make the cut but regardless of the choice, Movistar will have a very homogeneous team. There are no really weak links but to be in contention for the win, they would have needed a different course. However, the Spanish team definitely has a medal within reach.

 

Finally, we will select a few jokers. In the past, Giant-Shimano usually finished last in the team time trials but as they aim to make more of an impact on GCs, they have started to seriously focus on the discipline. They showed great improvement in the Vuelta a Espana and in this race they have an even stronger team. Tom Dumoulin will be able to make a massive difference and he will supported by TT specialists Chad Haga and Tobias Ludvigsson.

 

Nikias Arndt and Marcel Kittel may be known as sprinters but they are actually great time triallists too. Unfortunately, they may suffer a bit with the distance and on small 6-rider rosters that is a big disadvantage. Finally, Georg Preidler is more of a climber than a TT specialist and he will probably have a hard time in this race. The team may lack a bit of depth but with no really weak links and Dumoulin as a big powerhouse, they may create a surprise.

 

In the past, Garmin-Sharp focused a lot of team time trials but in recent years they have changed their strategy. Hence, they are no longer in contention for the wins in the discipline but in this race they may create a surprise. Their team hasn’t been announced yet but on paper, lots of time triallists are in contention.

 

Ramunas Navarduaskas and Dylan van Baarle have both delivered great results recently and Andrew Talansky seemed to be getting better as the Giro went on. Jack Bauer rode strongly in the Tour of Britain where young Lasse Norman also showed great improvement. David Millar is no longer the time triallists he once was but he has lots of experience in this discipline. On paper, Sebastian Langeveld should also be strong but the Dutch champion is no longer in his best condition. Finally, Tyler Farrar has done well in team time trials in the past. The Americans can definitely select a strong roster and if everything goes well, they may finish in the top 5.

 

***** Orica-GreenEDGE

**** Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Trek

*** Sky, BMC, Movistar

** Giant-Shimano, Garmin-Sharp

* Tinkoff-Saxo, Astana