The World Championships time trial tomorrow in Geelong, Australia, will be won by someone who can manage changes in pace says Britain's David Millar.
The circuit "is closest to Lisbon [2001] due to the technicality of the pace changes. Not technical in the corning sense, but in the pace sense, small and big ring the whole time," said Millar today.
"It is going to suit more of your road rider. If you have just been training for a time trial the last month, you are going to take a bit of a beating here. You need to be able to go over your threshold and then recover. It is a dynamic and physical course."
Tomorrow's course is 45.6 kilometres: two laps of 22.8 kilometres, each with one long climb (100 metres of climbing) and a shorter one (60m). Today, American Taylor Phinney won the under-23 men's race and Brit Emma Pooley won the women's race.
Forty-three cyclists will participate in the time trial tomorrow. Millar is in the fourth of four waves, the fifth from last, departing at 16:10. Home favourite, Australian Richie Porte starts at 16:16 and defending champion, Swiss Fabian Cancellara departs last at 16:18.
Porte said today that his strategy would be to try to stay on his aero bars as much as possible heading up the climbs.
"Everyone has their own style. I normally try seated most of the time. It just depends on how you want to pace it," said Millar.
"As Fabian [Cancellara] said, you have to be kind of strategic about. If you want to go fast the first lap and just try to hold it on the second, or if you hit out hard, go hard on the hard bits and easy on the easy bits. It will depend a lot on the conditions, as well. If Fabian has kept his weight off, he will be at his best and those climbs will give him no problems at all."
Millar explained that he is feeling confident and better than he has for in recent times. The extra week after the Vuelta a España helped him, he said.
"I am not coming in here testing myself to see how I am going. I am in a healthy place for the start of the Worlds," added Millar. "I have not been in this sort of position for some time."
Millar won the 2003 World Championship time trial in Hamilton, Canada, but later admitted to doping and the cycling union stripped him of his title. He finished ninth in Varese, Italy, in 2008.
This year, he won the Critérium International time trial stage in France and the Three Days of De Panne overall classification in Belgium thanks to a win in the final time trial stage. He finished 10th at the final time trial at the Vuelta a España two weeks ago, behind Worlds favourites Fabian Cancellara, Swede Erik Larsson and American David Zabriskie.
Related links
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