On the opening day of the Road Cycling World Championships in Flanders it was not easy for Top Ganna to repeat the gold medal after last year's success in Imola, considering the quality of the opponents, but the arrow from Verbania achieved victory at the end of a thrilling race. The rather long but flat route suited him as well as Van Aert and Evenepoel, supported by an overflowing crowd of Flemish fans, and the Swiss Kueng, fresh from victory in the European Championships.
A hard-fought time trial
The talented Remco Evenepoel immediately posted a sensational time about an hour before the departure of the other favorites, and then sit in the hot-seat waiting for the best opponents who started last. It was immediately clear that Van Aert was in great shape when he took the lead in the first intermediate, leaving Evenepoel at 27 ", while Ganna paid 6".
At T2 Ganna recovered almost all the disadvantage (below 0:74) and therefore the decider was the third and final stretch, on long and fast straights, the ideal hunting ground for Top Ganna. Wout Van Aert reached the finish line clearly ahead of Remco, waiting for the Verbanese who started last. The world and Olympic champion did not deny his class, with an extraordinary final rush: he closed in a heart-pounding final in 47:47, just over 5 seconds better than the Belgian, extinguishing the illusions of the large and correct Belgian audience. A wonderful triumph, which seals Ganna's Olympic gold in the track quartet and makes him rightfully enter the legend of this specialty!
Filippo Ganna raced with the Pinarello bicycle, a time trial jewel: "I had good sensations but I didn't know how it would end", the first words of the world champion who had just arrived to raise his arms in triumph and then congratulate Wout Van Aert in a nice gesture of respect.
The race took place on an almost totally flat course of 43.4 km from Knokke-Heist to Bruges. Virtually all the big names in time trials were present at the start, with the exception of Primoz Roglic, obviously satisfied after the gold in Tokyo and who preferred to keep his energy for the stage title on Sunday. The long TT season goes to archive with Filippo Ganna winning 6 times, thing which consecrates him as number one in the world in this specialty. The UCI does not have a world time trial ranking (unlike online events, with a specific ranking), but makes up for it https://www.procyclingstats.com/rankings/me/time-trial, where Ganna leads in front of Kueng and Cavagna.
And now a week full of world titles
The Road Cycling World Championships, after this first day, will continue throughout the week until Sunday with the queen stage race , with arrival in Leuven. A total of 11 titles will be awarded, between men and women (including mixed relay), in all categories from Junior to Elite. Finally a complete world championship will be competed, after that last year the Covid-related problems had forced to move to Imola with the dispute of only the Elite tests. It will be a fundamental showcase for young people and will allow the crowning of the career on the road of some emerging Juniors and Under 23s before moving into the higher categories.
With regards to the Elite, we look forward to the women's competition that will take place on Saturday 25 September, with Marta Bastianelli and Elisa Balsamo captains, while on Sunday 26 September it will be the men's turn. The Italian national team led by Sonny Colbrelli, with Trentin, Ballerini and Moscon as possible protagonists, will try to beat a large batch of favorites, among which Wout Van Aert rightfully stands out after the great test in the time trial.
These are the WilliamHill odds of the top riders:
Wout Van Aert 3.00
Matthieu Van Der Poel 6.50 (participation in maybe or just pretactic?)
Colbrelli Sonny 11.00
Matej Mohoric 13.00
Julian Alaphilippe 13.00
Remco Evenepoel 15.00
Magnus Cort Nielsen 17.00
Marc Hirschi 19.00
Michael Valgren 21.00
Primoz Roglic 21.00
Kasper Asgreen 11.00 pm
Ethan Hayter 26.00
Trentin is given to 41, while the blue trio Moscon, Ballerini and Nizzolo to 67 ... maybe we want to make a profitable choice of heart?
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