Fabian Cancellara takes record-setting win
On Thursday, Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara became the first ever four-time World Time-Trial Champion when he finished the 45.8km Men’s Elite course in Geelong, Australia in 58 minutes and nine seconds.
Indeed, he has become the first cyclist to ever be four-time world champion in any category.
“I am really, really happy,” said Cancellara. “I have won now four times and made history.”
Only the top four best performers finished the time-trial in under an hour, Cancellara followed by British silver-medalist David Millar 1:02 behind and German bronze-medalist Tony Martin 1:12 behind, finishing
on the podium despite puncturing before the end of the first lap.
“It is always hard to keep the motivation when you have a flat because you know every second is counting, especially when you are fighting for the win,” said Martin.
Australian Michael Rogers was holding the top time towards the end of the day, which ultimately earned him fifth place. Millar was the first of the final five starters, bringing one of best performances
in years to set the first finish in less than an hour, 1:22 less than Rogers.
“My tactic was the opposite to Fabian, which was to attack in the first lap and then hang on for dear life,” said the Brit. “The first lap I was going ‘God, this is going to hurt next time around’, and
it did.”
Sweden’s Gustav Erik Larsson was the next starter, but struggled in the hills to ultimately finish just inside the top 10. Next was Martin, who actually finished the second lap faster than Millar. If it
weren’t for the puncture in the first lap, the German would likely hold the silver medal.
With Millar still holding the best time, the second-last starter was local favourite Richie Porte. He couldn’t match the two top times, but it was clear early in his race that he would make it into the
top three. Unfortunately he couldn’t savour it for long, since Cancellara, the defending champion, was the next and final starter. The Swiss champion, who won the competition on home soil in 2009, handled the course expertly, using the full width of the road
to his advantage.
“I didn’t touch the barrier,” said Cancellara. “Every second counts. I tried to go really close, but not so that I would fall, as that is the last thing I want. In every metre of this race, you need to
try to find an advantage. In the end, I had a nice result with this fourth win.”
Cancellara is the first four-time World Champion, a feat that may be replicated by Oscar Freire in Sunday’s road race, if the Spaniard has his way.
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