The Time Trial - The Race of Truth

I'm going off topic from triathlon, just for one post. The World Championships of cycling are currently under way in Stuttgart, Germany, and today was the time trial. The time trial is called "the race of truth", as it pits individual riders against the clock on a set course, usually 40-60km in length.

Each rider starts at two-minute intervals, so there are no draft packs to hide in, just each rider against the clock, and the elements. The strategy therefore is, warm up properly, then go ride the distance as hard as you possibly can. However, just like in triathlon, you must pace yourself; start out at a brisk pace, but keep some in reserve for a strong finish. The three or four time splits on a time trial course validate this strategy; without exception the winning time trialists increase their time gap over the next-fastest rider at every split.

Most Ironman triathletes are wanna-be Pro Tour cyclists, and we imitate everything they do (with the exception of, I hope, doping!) We ride the same bikes and wear the same equipment, but our time trial is 112 miles in length, and we have to run a marathon at the end of our bike ride. Often a new cycling innovation from the Tour de France will be seen next on the bike of a pro triathlete on the pier in Kona. We spend five hours plus, or fifty percent of the race, on the bike, so it makes sense to use equipment that has been proven by professional cyclists.

Today, Switzerland's Fabian Cancellera won the World Time Trial championship for the second straight year. Cancellera also won the prologue at this year's Tour de France, surprisingly won a sprinter's stage, and wore the yellow jersey for the first eight days of the Tour. Not a great climber, he moved into a support role for Team CSC for the remainder of the Tour, and did some strong work in the mountains, bringing eventual fourth-place finisher Carlos Sastre to the foot of the big climbs. Here are some photos of the World Time Trial champion from today's action:

Above, Cancellera leaves the start house. He is riding a Canadian-designed Cervelo P3C, of which there will be several dozen on the pier in Kona. He represents Switzerland, but wears much of his Team CSC-branded equipment.

That's the face of maximum effort; not a smile, but a grimace of pain. His speed averaged 48.4 km/h, covering 44.9 km in just under 55 minutes.

Cancellera wears the rainbow stripes and stopwatch logo of the UCI World Time Trial champion, and a second consecutive gold medal, for cycling in its purest form: Man against Clock.