THE World Champion is...

UCI Elite Mens Elite Time Trial World Championship Shed - You'll (Schedule)

First Group starting with the first rider (Azzedine Lagab of Algeria) will start at 12:30pm. The last twenty riders and highest favored riders will start at 2:48pm and work their way out of the gate in a minute and a half increments.

20 HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus ESP
19 TUFT Svein CAN
18 RABON Frantisek CZE
17 FARIA DA COSTA Rui Alberto POR
16 KIRYIENKA Vasil BLR
15 BRAJKOVIC Janez SLO
14 BOBRIDGE Jack AUS
13 GRABSCH Bert GER
12 LARSSON Gustav SWE
11 WIGGINS Bradley GBR
10 PINOTTI Marco ITA
9  WESTRA Lieuwe NED
8  OLIVEIRA Nélson POR
7  FUGLSANG Jakob DEN
6  PORTE Richie AUS
5  PHINNEY Taylor USA
4  IGNATYEV Mikhail RUS
3  MILLAR David GBR
2  MARTIN Tony GER
1  CANCELLARA Fabian SUI

Tony Martin is heavily favored after dominating in the TT's in both the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) and the Tour de France.

I personally hope to see US rider Taylor "Mini" Phinney do well, and hope the Trek riders do well also. I don't know that Phinney is ready to pull off a World Championship victory just yet, but stranger things have happened. Win, Place, and Show pays bragging rights to your buddies. The exacta pays the big bucks and gets ya some big time pull. So here's my Exacta for the Top 7 finishers, and my Win (Gold), Place (Silver), and Show (Bronze) medalist: 

Some believe the rain will help the bigger more powerful riders, on the rolling streets of Copenhagen. Some say that the technical riders will fair better. Me personally I think the mind games have already begun, and it is now a matter of who handles the nerves best.

10. Canadian - Svein Tuft Canadian National Champion
9. Aussie - Jack Bobridge Australian Champion ***Road Race***
8. Swed - Gustav Larsson Swedish National Champion
7. Portuguese - Nelson Oliveira Portuguese National Champion
6. American - Taylor Phinney US National Champion
5. Australian - Richie Porte
4. German - Tony Martin German National Champion
3. Brit - Tony Millar (Bronze)
2. Brit - Bradley Wiggins (Silver) British National Champion
1. The Big Swiss - Fabian Cancellara (Gold) Swiss National Champion

Mostly National Champions, and winner of some very impressive stages. But that is my Exacta. Fabian is well rested, and has said that he believes that Martin is the winner, but that this is also a one day event, that he believes he can win. I think in the most humble way that he knew how to say it, he was truly saying: I am not 4 time World Champ for nothing...

Martin has ridden strong in TT's this year claiming two of the Grand Tour TT Stages. That is not to be taken lightly, but he also had the luxury of saving himself for just those stages. Wiggins put in a full Tour, and I believe he is still hungry. Their are a couple of experienced riders in this group that are 30 or better (Fabian Cancellara and Gustav Larsson), and you know what they say about age, and treachery versus youth and cockiness right? Well if you don't and my prediction comes to its fruition, then you will after tomorrow... I don't foresee a blowout, in fact I anticipate that this will be one of the closest races in the history of the World Championships. Again we shall see after tomorrow.

What Do You Do With...

What do you do with a bad stomach, a sprained elbow, a broken Droid and rain. You sit inside and think about how behind you are getting in your yard work. Then you abandon your phone grab your laptop, watch the best (known) bicycle riders on the planet do battle in the Pyrenees! Andy looked to struggle a bit at the end, or was he just saving the kick for tomorrow? Frank looked strong at Plateau de Beille in the end, and grabbed a couple of seconds today, but not near enough to take a chunk out of the general classification time to gain the yellow jersey. Limoux to Montpellier tomorrow. I think with a rest day Monday you will see a different group of riders if the weather is fair! Contador will force things tomorrow, or my hiney isn't butter pecan brown! Voeckler will also come out of the yellow tomorrow. Stage Fifteen is the last of the Pyrenean stages, however word has it that everyone that has won the stage involving the climb up La Plateau de Beille (this years fourteenth stage) has gone on to win the Tour de France in the same year. I'm thinking that changes this year. This time next week will tell me if I am correct or not. I could be wrong, I mean I did have Chris Horner (of Team Radio Shack) and Fabian Cancellara (Team Leopard Trek) being up front. Now that The Shack has half of their team left, I only have a chance at Fabian being up front in one stage and that will be the one where he wins the Individual TT! But being banged up how probable is that even? Wait this is Fabian Cancellara right? The man who has shattered every Time Trial record out there, and won the last what 20 million Time Trials around the globe, including the UCI World Time Trials the last Olympic Time Trials. OK I take him winning by half a minute in the 42km TT. Anyone dare to challenge that?

NASCAR in New Hampshire tomorrow at Loudon, and the Hendrick's guys were said to look strong. JG in seventh and everyone else lined up in the twenties, I hope they are strong, considering how far back the rest of the team is starting! Fortunately, there is a lot of racing to do in a Cup race so no biggie starting back as far as twenty-eighth.

I guess tomorrow will be much of the same, I will be sitting and healing. I may run and not put as much strain on the elbow, then again, I may sit and transfer the strain from the elbow to the eyes. (Smile) As for now, it's steak time again, I have fought not eating it for two long!