27 Sep 2006

Once again the course of the Road World Championships was poorly selective: over 100 riders together before the last lap, done at 49.1 km/h, and over 60 in the peloton under the red flag of the last km.

The 700m hill at 10-14% gradient, where everybody tried to do a selection, was too short and was being climbed in just over 60 seconds: it allowed the sprinters to save the legs in the middle of the bunch, perhaps losing some positions, then easily catch up with the front again in the following fast descent. 

Paolo Bettini was clearly the strongest and most worthy of the victory, even though the decisive move was made by the Spanish team in the second to last corner of the circuit, with the "gap" deliberately made by Florencio to the advantage of Valverde.

In the Time Trial, on a rolling yet very fast course, Fabian Cancellara literally dominated the event: he was almost 2"/km faster than Zabriskie, corresponding to a difference in power output of 4-6%.

Cancellara pedalled with very high cadences, 100-105RPM going uphill, 110-115RPM on flat with a very forward position and a very pronounced "tip toe" pedaling style, making the saddle height seem low while pedaling.