Commonwealth Games time trial course has 'not a bit of flat'

The opening road event of the Commonwealth Games gets underway tomorrow at 10am when the men roll out from the starting box in Glasgow Green. The women start after the men to ride a shorter race , though the courses are substantially the same, with the men riding slightly longer on the loop before turning back and re-joining the ‘women’s’ route.

The riders were able to ride the route for the first time this morning on a course which one of the course designers, Alasdair Maclennan described as “quite free flowing, but containing hardly any flat, it’s definitely an up and down kind of course that has a bit of everything in it - the ride back into Glasgow is on fast dual carriageway but there are plenty of short, steep little climbs on the way out. It’s like the national time trial course in Stewarton last year, that Alex Dowsett won on, but probably harder and hillier.”

Defending Commonwealth Games champion David Millar, who rode the course with the Scotland team in the morning, said that he “had no problems at all” declaring it “a good course” which bodes well for a close race.

Apart from Millar and Dowsett, the Australian team of Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn and Rohan Dennis should be near the top of the time sheet. If both Canadian Svein Tuft and Welshman Geraint Thomas have recovered from their exertions in the Tour, Tuft and Thomas - the runner-up in the recent national time trial championship at Celtic Manor - could also get in among the medals.