Changes...

Change in crown holder.

Fabian Cancellara is no longer the man to beat as a Time Trial Specialist. He has abdicated his throne for German rider, HTC Specialized Time Trial beast and new king Tony Martin. Fabian rode hard in the Grand Tours, in both the Tour de France, and the Vuelta (Tour of Spain) and only relinquished his title in 2008 because of the Olympics, and a tough Grand Tour Schedule that year. This year, a well trained and very fit Tony Martin, had his way! not once but 5 times! Fabian had a few slips, trying to override, and his mistakes proved to be costly, but in all honesty, the slips that he had going all out, showed that he was determined but knew that Martin had swag for a reason! The Big Swiss did not go quietly, but nevertheless had to settle for a bronze medal this year. So my Win didn't win, and my show didn't show, but my place was dead on! I had a feeling that Wiggins was gong to be on fire, but just not have quite enough to pull off the major upset. Realistically I expected Martin to win, but as a Cancellara fan, and as a Trek fan, my bias blinded me. Here are the final results of the 2011 ICU World Championship Time Trial:

1	Tony MARTIN (Gold Medalist & new World Champion)	GER	GER	26	53:43.85
2	Bradley WIGGINS (Silver Medalist)	GBR	GBR	31	+1:15.83
3	Fabian CANCELLARA (Bronze Medalist)	SUI	SUI	30	+1:20.59
4	Bert GRABSCH	GER	GER	36	+1:31.76
5	Jack BOBRIDGE	AUS	AUS	22	+2:13.86
6	Richie PORTE	AUS	AUS	26	+2:29.54
7	David MILLAR	GBR	GBR	34	+2:45.62
8	Lieuwe WESTRA	NED	NED	29	+3:18.52
9	Alexsandr DYACHENKO	KAZ	KAZ	28	+3:19.76
10	Jakob FUGLSANG	DEN	DEN	26	+3:30.59
11	Jonathan CASTROVIEJO NICOLAS	ESP	ESP	24	+3:34.37
12	Gustav LARSSON	SWE	SWE	31	+3:34.62
13	Svein TUFT	CAN	CAN	34	+3:35.89
14	Janez BRAJKOVIC	SLO	SLO	28	+3:44.74
15	Taylor PHINNEY	USA	USA	21	+3:52.58
16	Andrew TALANSKY	USA	USA	23	+3:57.89
17	Nelson OLIVEIRA	POR	POR	22	+4:14.98
18	Jesse SERGENT	NZL	NZL	23	+4:26.31
19	Jack BAUER	NZL	NZL	26	+4:26.99
20	Stef CLEMENT	NED	NED	29	+4:33.93

Change in team.

Levi signs with Quickstep Merckx... This is not quite the Darrell Waltrip leaving Chevy, and going to Ford for me, but still wished that Levi could have finished his career with Trek. Not to say that he can't still, but at 38 and a two year deal... the Giro, Amgen Tour of Cali, Tour de France, USA Pro Cycling Challenge, or the Vuelta, will put the miles on a body in a hurry. Actually, in a months time with each race, or at the very least a very grueling week (Tour of Utah/California/Colorado) of it anyway!

Remember when franchise owners were loyal, and players were too? When you stayed in the city that loved you, raced for the fans that loved you? Well there are those fans again... The fair weather, manufacturer, player/driver, fan. I am a little partial to all the above. Levi being an American rider, is one of my favs, and I love the Trek brand! So this is a tough one for me, but I will still pull for Levi. It would be hard for me to pull against him. But then again, it is hard for me to pull against the guys and gals from Waterloo also!

Change of character?
The British are not shy in cycling in most cases, that's for sure, but was this Wiggins talking a bit out of class today? This is usually a trait displayed by Mr. Cavendish. Cavendish is usually the bold one, doing the trash talking or calling shots...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-suggests-tour-de-france-and-olympics-are-too-much-for-cavendish?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0

The Road Race is tomorrow, and there are plenty of men that could be World Champion.
Thor Hushovd, Andy Schleck, Phillipe Gilbert, Jakob Fulgsang could all come away with the title. Or could the Time Trial specialist do it, with the rolling hills? If so watch out for Wiggins, or TT Champion Tony Martin. And if it is not a rain soaked day, and the switchbacks don't affect them, then you could see the sprinters bring it home... Sagan, Bennati, or even Rui Costa. I am hoping for a close race, and a major upset! Bring on Trek and Mr. King!!! That would be a lovely week of UCI World Championships.