The record books will say that Tom Dumoulin took this contest by nearly a minute, a simple sounding affair even for a stage of this magnitude, but that would tell nothing of one of the most dramatic, enthralling and uplifting day in the recent history of these World Championships, held on one of its finest courses.
This was a time trial that was full of drama staggered throughout the day, on a course that tested every single ability in the roster of a time trialist from power to climbing, and with the weather conditions to match. It started on the cobbles of Bergen, and finished with the exceptional spectacle of Mount Floyen, a 3.4-kilometre climb filled full of ecstatic Norwegian fans cheering riders from nations as far flung as Syria as if they were their very own creating a cacophony of noise and a safe environment for the stars of the show to pass through unharmed.
It started with Alexey Lutsenko of Astana setting off in sunny conditions, with him and the German setting strong times and dominating the riders from the first wave, with many here simply to compete and represent their countries with pride – a mission that was accomplished for all who rolled off the ramp today.
The Vuelta a Espana Stage winner was the first man to set off the ramp and the first to undergo one of the fascinating features of today, the bike change that the UCI restricted to a permitted zone, with a red carpet that would have been fit for the Oscars, watched by commissaries who all too often acted as bodyguard to ensure that the ‘talent’ did not get any more assistance than they needed to.
They needn’t have worried for Lutsenko, who took home the title of worst bike change in one simple go, having dislodged himself from his pedals halfway up the red carpet after a handover that will not rank highly for aesthetic purposes. He managed to get both feet into the pedals – eventually – before he got his due reward for the ordeal; the first roars of the day up Mount Floyen.
It was a stunning audiovisual experience from those there and not, a welcome contrast to the empty streets of Doha a year ago, for all that the UCI cannot be blamed for wanting to spread the joy of the World Championships to all corners of the globe. Lutsenko posted a time of 45:46.60, an early marker that would stand for about 20 minutes until Laurens de Plus, who did not stop to change his bike, the clock at 47:16, almost 30 seconds quicker than Lutsenko managed.
Plenty of riders, over a course that was short in distance, were giving their all early with Jan Tratnik holding a lead of half a minute as he went through the cobbles, a gap that he entered to 51 seconds by the line.
The first Brit to roll of the ramp was Tao Geoghegan Hart, who had a tough day, crashing on his way to a provisional 14th. He was also about to hearld the first of the serious time trialists with hopes of medalling, as Yves Lampaert would lead by 13 seconds over Niklas Arndt at the second-time check.
At the start, there was a glorious reception for Eritrea's Meron Teshome, matching anything the home crowd did that day, and Wilco Kelderman set off. The Vuelta Espana fourth ran a slightly negative split early on, although he was always going to thrive up the final climb and he made up his 17 second deficit on the climb with 9 seconds to spare, taking top spot.
By now the heavyweight names were on the road, however, and we were seeing real time trialling power. Gianni Moscon and Vasil Kiryienka set off and had their own private battle over the early parts of the course, never being more than 10 seconds part at the four-time checks before Mount Floyen. Both of them flew onto, and then up, the steep slopes to the roars of the crowd, neither opting for the bike change on the now rather damp red carpet – oh yes, there was rain in the air.
European Champion Victor Campanaerts went fastest at the 11km check, whilst ahead one of the storming rides of the day was coming from Alexis Gourgeard, with the Frenchman leading at the second check and having a slick bike change. Mount Floyen was not proving to be problem for him, but a mechanical midway up the climb was, and he finished a provisional ninth when so much more was awaiting.
At the time, 65% of riders had opted for the bike change, but we had the first time to see what could be done with a bike change when Nicholas Roche swapped machined as the base of the climb. He would eventually take third, having posted a very solid effort up the climb, suggesting that it was more man than machine that was likely to be the decisive factor.
The rain had been pouring for some time now and the course was indeed wet, whilst all of the big names were now off, including the three big favourites in Rohan Dennis, Chris Froome, and Tom Dumoulin. They were all still aiming at Nelson Olivera, who had posted the time trial of his career to set a time of 46:09, one that neither Moscon nor Kiyenka could haul themselves over.
Dennis started brilliantly, the Australian topping the times at the second check and hurtling towards Mount Floyen on the second lap until he came down, becoming the biggest victim of the wet roads. At that point he had 13 seconds in hand on Chris Froome, timing his effort presumably to peak on the final ascent.
However, behind there was a flying Dutchman, and it was to be Dumoulin that set the fastest times at each of the checks, putting an early statement of intent when he had a gap of 10 seconds on Dennis – after just 11.5km.
Up ahead, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic was pulling his best form – the power he had shown before the Tour de France – from the bag, ceding 22 seconds to Olivera before Mount Floyen, but making a smooth bike change and then climbing the 3.4 kilometres in just under 10 minutes to take top spot by 30 seconds, an effort so impressive that the Portuguese could only laugh an applaud as he had to move to the second spot.
Behind, Dennis fought manfully on his BMC time trial bike to atone for the loss of time cause by his crash, and his finishing effort of 46:18 was a hugely creditable one, although he may well have managed a medal if he’d stayed upright – he was 39 seconds down on Roglic.
However, this was about Dumolin, who was flying through the course, and by the time he went through the bike change zone it was clear that he could have changed onto a Pennyfarthing, he was that far clear. No such shenanigans occurred, however, and up Mount Floyen he rode so fast that he almost caught Chris Froome, who would ride himself into third once again with a typically stellar effort.
Behind, Tony Martin, the defending Champion, would honour his title with a brave performance, although the course was always getting the better of him. The German managed to smile whilst he was suffering up the final climb, a perfect metaphor for the perfect cycling day.
