That's all for today
Watch out for Kieran Pender’s report from Innsbruck, which we’ll have for you soon. The TV coverage has cut out before we can see Valverde take his gong – but what a worthy champion he was, and what a race we saw there, building up to a remarkable climax. Those who took part deserve a rest; I’m going off for one now too. Thanks very much indeed for your company, as ever – enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Top 10 in full:
1 – Valverde
2 – Bardet
3 – Woods
4 – Dumoulin
5 – Moscon
6 – Kreuziger
7 – Valgren
8 – Alaphilippe
9 – Pinot
10 – Costa
Pete Kennaugh, another fine performer until the last, speaks: “I feel sick now! But what a race. I didn’t expect it to be so hard early on, the break took a while to go. It was really strange without radios, there was one point when I looked behind on the climb and there were 60 or 70 guys left. It was like a war of attrition all day.”
A deserving winner? I think so. Valverde just got stronger and stronger, earning the rainbow jersey. But there were so many fine performances there. Dumoulin came in from nowhere to push so hard at the end. Valgren really helped spice things up at the end. The members of that remarkably durable lead group, who kept going for so long, helped make this the right and totally unpredictable race this was. And we hardly even saw the favourite, Alaphilippe, until he entered the fringes of the chase at the end.
Valverde looks as if he can’t quite believe it. What a race that was! The final few kilometres were absolutely incredible. It thinned out like this at the end:
1 – Valverde
2– Bardet
3 – Woods
4 – Dumoulin
5 – Moscon
Alejandro Valverde wins the men's road race championships!
The 38-year-old is world champion at last! Twice second, four times third – and this time he’s done it!
Updated
0.5km to go: Valverde is leading this home - unless we get a late charge ...
1km to go: Don’t quite rule out Gianni Moscon yet ... meanwhile Dumoulin makes to attack but Valverde strikes out himself. He’s got this in the bag if he keeps going a few metres more ...
1.5km to go: It’s these four – Bardet, Valverde, Woods, Dumoulin – slugging it out at the last ...
2km to go: He’s clearly got an issue with his rear break, he’s fiddling with it there, but if he can attack those front three in the final two kilometres ...
Updated
2.5km to go: Hello, Dumoulin is catching up! What mechanical problems? He’s just three seconds behind and can scent blood! What a recovery!
3km to go: That’s better!
Bardet takes over. They’re near the bottom now – then it’s a sprint on the flat. Dumoulin is still about, but 10 seconds behind. Moscon is fifth I think.
Valverde is ahead, Bardet second, Woods third. He is strong on the descent and if he can stretch it out here ... and meanwhile there’s word that Dumoulin may have a mechanical issue! That’ll be it for him surely.
Yes, very impressive of the broadcasters to take the remaining distance off the screen right as we enter the last knockings. Alaphilippe is shown now but I don’t think he is going to feature here. We have Bardet, Valverde and Woods, with Dumoulin in pursuit, in the running as they begin their descent. Five or six kilometres left!
They’ve reached the top and Valverde, so often the bridesmaid, steps up before Bardet pushes clear! Woods is now a clear third, Dumoulin fourth. The kilometre count has disappeared from my screen, so apologies for a lack of precision.
8.5km to go: Woods has really come through here. The Canadian could even do this if he can make it to the top in front! The crowd roar them on. This is quite something; this is what we’ve waited seven hours or so for!
9km to go: It’s as if they are treading water. This is as brutal as everyone said. Michael Woods is currently in the lead. Dumoulin making a move too on him, Valverde, Bardet and – I think – Pinot.
9.5km to go: Valgren is caught up by the French contingent – and Romain Bardet takes charge! Valverde is in there too.
9.8km to go: The French are lining up to try and help Alaphilippe through; the peloton is starting to split again. Valgren has the face of a man who knows something unpleasant may be tailing him. He glances behind him. The gap is 18 seconds. I’m not sure he can hold on. This looks *so* painful, ascending these narrow mountain streets.
10km to go: What a finale we are in for here! Game ON!
11km to go: In pursuit are, mainly, Italian and Dutch riders at the moment. Now Valgren starts this much-trailed, utterly hellish-sounding climb with an advantage of half a minute. Is it enough?
12.5km to go: His advantage is now 29 seconds. Who would dare to strain every sinew to give chase at this point? There’s a climb to get ready for ... but a leader to close in on. It’s tight and tense and tactical!
13km to go: Valgren has completed his descent, now has to work the flat on the outskirts of the city, and then has to prepare for the climb on his own. He needs to really put something into this section.
16.5km to go: Pinot and Kennaugh are foremost among a pack of six who are chasing Valgren – the pressure could yet be on.
17km to go: Valgren has a chance here; you sense he knows it. One huge climb to go ...
19km to go: Valgren has opened himself up a four or five-second lead. The peloton is incredibly well staffed, this race has really taken a long time to thin out properly and that makes it so, so hard to call.
21km to go: Kennaugh probably can’t keep this up, he’s really gritting his teeth here, it’s now Michael Valgren in front. And the Dane is pushing on promisingly ...
22km to go: Wow! Pete Kennaugh makes one heck of a charge ahead of the entire peloton! Is he going to lead this race into its latter stages? He’s out there in front and now the big guns are going to have to do something!
22km to go: Laengen and Asgreen are, at long, long last, overhauled. What a day from them, though! Van Avermaet then slows up, that second charge having been one too many. It’s brutal climbing, this. Many of the big names are now starting to show, but some are yet to ...
22.5km to go: Yes, it’s the Dutch attacking the climb here. Ten seconds’ gap to the leaders ...
23km to go: Oh, Nibali drops from the front of the group! Is that him done? Never say never with him, but I’d be surprised if he was back.
How good is cycling #InnsbruckTirol2018
— Kieran Pender (@KieranPender) September 30, 2018
If you’ve been with us since the start of the day, you’re getting your reward now!
23.5km to go: Steven Kruijswijk makes an attack now, and Van Avermaet is back too! He seemed to have faded but he charges on now with the Dutchman. Thibaut Pinot is up there too. The Italians aren’t having it their own way anymore!
24km to go: We’re now down to one minute for the leaders’ gap. I think they’ll be overhauled soon enough, sadly, before they can genuinely have a tilt at an upset.
25km to go: Asgreen and Laengen are only one and a half minutes ahead now. Caruso and Brambilla drop back from the front of the chase, they’ve done their job there. That final climb could be quite special as things stand.
26km to go: Nibali is up there too. There are five or six of them. It’s some sight!
26km to go: Still no Alaphilippe. Still no Valverde. Will one of them just pelt it clear at the last? Are they saving it all until the final 10km? It’s the Italian team taking all the responsibility out there at the moment, in a mass break of their very own at the front of the peloton.
28km to go: Adam Yates is still in the first chase group – so he’s well in the mix ...
29km to go: That lead is now down to 2min 20sec though, and they’ll want to at least consolidate it before the climb. Caruso and Brambilla are the Italian contingent giving closest chase.
30km to go: The leading pair start their last lap – but it’s a bigger lap with the huge “road to hell” climb of 3km and a 28% gradient, remember. Neither of them is renowned for this sort of thing. They couldn’t ... could they?
31km to go: That Van Avermaet charge came to nothing, incidentally, but I think played an important part in stepping things up a notch or two.
33km to go: That last climb seemed to cull a lot of the peloton members although, in the descent, we might see one or two come back into play. It’s still a pretty big group in there and we’re still yet to see one of the major favourites make a big play for the front.
35km to go: If anything, those two at the front are stretching their lead (2min 42sec) very slightly. What is going to happen in the next 40 minutes or so?!
37km to go: It’s really getting busy now. The Italians are currently impressing, led by Caruso. They have a good chance here as we stand. Asgreen and Laengen are the two remaining from that front pack and at this point who on earth would completely discount them?
42km to go: There’s now a group of nine or so riders getting away, and they’re just two minutes and 40 seconds behind the rump of that lead pack.
45km to go: Michal Kwiatkowski is also having issues. Who’s going to be left at the end?!
46km to go: Haven’t mentioned the favourite, Alaphilippe, yet. He’s just couched in there, not making any kind of move yet. A bit of a concern here meanwhile about Simon Yates – he’s dropping off and I fear that probably means no way back on a day like this. He’s out of the running.
46km to go: The peloton is really starting to string out and split now. Van Avermaet has a few interested parties on his tail here. There’s all sorts going on up there. It’s time to attack!
48km to go: Damiano Caruso and Omar Fraile Materanz are up there now in that Van Avermaet break – it’s those three pushing at the moment, chasing hard. They’ll surely be joined soon.
49km to go: The Yates brothers are starting to make a bit of a move. Roglic is still with us by the way despite that earlier tumble, still looking strong, competing like the force that he is.
50km to go: Looks like four may become three up top. Britton is slowing up, so we seem to have Asgreen, Laengen and Van Rensburg up there now.
51km to go: There’s now a four-strong breakaway group from the peloton, Van Avermaet joined by Italian and Spanish riders. We still have those four riders at the top but the gap is narrowing. There are estimated to be about 80 riders left in the peloton.
54km to go: Two laps to go now for the peloton and Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet leads a bit of a charge. He’s really laid it down – now the attack is on.
56km to go: Ryan Mullen is now done. He spent much of the afternoon in the breakaway group but won’t continue. He can be happy with his afternoon’s work.
61km to go: That’s the biggest crash yet, involving four riders – Ben King is among them ... as is Primoz Roglic, the sixth favourite! He’ll get up and on again but has this dealt him a decisive blow?
63km to go: Cataldo looks behind him, hoping for a hand, but nobody else wants to push quite as hard as him just yet.
65km to go: I think Asgreen, Laengen, Britton and Van Rensburg are those front four. Leading the peloton for a long time there was Britain’s Tao Geoghagan Hart, but now the Italians and Spaniards have taken over – Dario Cataldo making the running here – and attacking at greater speed than we’ve seen so far.
Updated
68km to go: It’s less than six minutes now, that gap. They’re now down to just four up top and it’s getting harder and harder to keep going.
70km to go: The crowd is getting thick enough in some areas to cause some minor road encroachment, although there haven’t been any scrapes yet. Most of all they’re providing a really, really good cycling atmosphere.
71km to go: No, Koshevoy now pulls off the lead group and it’s down to six from its initial 11. Asgreen, the Dane, now leads the race.
The masses are gathering in the press room as the race moves towards the business end. It’s a multi-national media contingent befitting a world championships – some German spoken here, a bit of Italian there, some French over in the corner. The main topic of conversation is the lack of a press buffet. During the Grand Tours, finish towns at each stage ply media with delectable local delicacies – hoping to earn a mention in the race coverage and boost their tourism credentials. Either the Austrians are so confident with the charm of Innsbruck they don’t feel the same need to provide hospitality, or I have somehow missed a separate buffet room. Either way I don’t expect much sympathy from readers...
72km to go: Seven minutes, now, between the two groups. Will anyone else in that front pack start falling away? They’ve really lasted the pace formidably so far, though the faces look etched with pain.
74km to go: Fominykh, the Kazakh rider, looks like falling away from the lead group now – which would bring it down to seven. Adam Yates, by the way, remains right at the back of the peloton.
75km to go: The peloton now has three laps to go, and they just catch up with Mullen as they cross the line.
Paul Griffin is definitely wide awake: “Coincidentally of course, the Britton-Ludvigsson-Asgreen-Fominykh-Laengen-Hnik variation was the controversial, short-lived chess opening concocted in 1973 by the great Grand Master, Jazz saxophonist, and situationist arsonist Van Rensburg Koshevoy, which involved the unexpected deployment of an alto sax filled with paraffin, and a lit bellicoso cigar. Though initially successful, it was quickly proscribed by the International Chess Association causing viewing figures to plummet. Health and Safety gone mad.”
I knew all that.
77km to go: Bit of a crash in the thick of the peloton there, where it’s really bunched up, and it’s Ruben Guerreiro going over. Fortunately there’s no harm to him and it’s so compacted that he can get back into the thick of it soon enough.
78km to go: Van Rensburg still leads overall, by the way. And still looks pretty good ... for now.
79km to go: Marcus Burghardt has a problem and seems to be having a bike change. It’s not a quick one – but on he goes and he’ll have some job catching back up with an increasingly speedy peloton.
80km to go: Still eight riders in that leading group, and still a good seven minutes ahead of the peloton.
81km to go: They’re dropping like flies – Lucas Postlberger and Georg Preidler, the two Austrians, both retire within seconds of each other. The peloton are enjoying a nice, relatively relaxing descent at the moment after all that hard climbing.
85km to go: Dumoulin is among those starting to move up near the front of the peloton, Nibali too, and in the next couple of hours these are among the guys you’d expect to start attacking hard.
Updated
88km to go: Three laps left and the peloton look pained as they ascend. Expect them to start thinning out considerably before long.
92km to go: I think Sagan will finish this lap, take the applause, than bow out. No shame for him – what a competitor he is and what a set of achievements in previous years.
92km to go: It looks as if we may be seeing the end of Sagan! His glorious reign seems to be over ... he’s dropping well away from the pace now and I wonder whether or not he’ll finish. The peloton is disappearing out of his view.
94km to go: Mullen has slowed up and, after a superb few hours’ effort from the Irishman, drops out of the lead group. It’s down to nine now. And, no, it’s down to eight – Dunne also slips away. He’s done brilliantly too.
95km to go: Barguil is done, he’s come off. No big surprise after that fall a few minutes ago.
95km to go: Connor Swift, the Briton, now takes his turn to lead the peloton. They’re cranking things up. Matej Mohoric is up there too.
96km to go: The gap is now down to about nine minutes. The pace is just starting to ratchet up a bit. I think we can say this race is starting ...
97km to go: Barguil is still with us, albeit going gingerly and – at the moment – with nobody really around him. Glad he is OK.
99km to go: The distance to cover is down to two figures! And the peloton are whittling that gap down closer to 10 minutes. Stannard has dropped back after leading it for some time.
Updated
102km to go: The leading pack of 10 pass the line and now have four laps to go. To remind you, those setting the pace are: Robert Britton, Tobias Ludvigsson, Kasper Asgreen, Ryan Mullen, Daniil Fominykh, Vegard Laengen, Conor Dunne, Karel Hnik, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg, Ilia Koshevoy.
104km to go: Now Barguil has come off! Ouch! That wheel change clearly didn’t go to plan – it looked like a slip and he skidded right along the tarmac there. It looks like a bang to the hip, a heavy fall, and I’m not sure whether or not we’ll see any more of him.
106km to go: Warren Barguil needs a front wheel change – that’s slowed him up slightly. It was a bit like an F1 pit stop, but rather longer!
110km to go: Still 12 minutes between the groups, although Didier’s slowdown suggests the gap may narrow as much down to the lead’s inability to keep up the tempo as the peloton’s step up in gear.
Updated
And this is a good, well-informed take from Robin Hazlehurst, too:
“That final climb is brutal and will be very hard to ride - 28% is quite steep - but if everybody is fresh and fit they’d all fly it quite easily. But after 250 km of work before that they will not be close to fresh and the shake up is much more decisive. You need to put the attritional exhaustion into the legs and have the mental fatigue from concentrating for so many hours to really find the winner. It’s like the Monument Classics, the race is as much against exhaustion and fatigue as against the other riders, which is why monument winners are so respected in the sport.”
@NickAmes82 I think the length of the event helps to demonstrate the strength of the best riders
— Simon Truett (@SimonTruett) September 30, 2018
Yep, I can definitely appreciate that.
115km to go: Yes, Didier has dropped back. Mullen and Dunne, the Irishmen, are still going very strong up there though. A few tired, straining faces are already evident. Yauhen Sobal, of Belarus, is among a few others to find it all too much – he’s just retired.
117km to go: Van Rensburg leads the race at the moment but there are signs that the front 11 are about to become 10 – Laurent Didier is having problems on the climb and I think will fall away now.
119km to go: Great Britain’s Ian Stannard heads the peloton as they finish their second lap.
120km to go: I’m all for long-form sports, I really am – I hate the dumbing down on the assumption of short attention spans that we’re seeing in cricket, for example. But could they run events like this over half the time and/or length? Would it lose anything? This strikes me as 75% shadow boxing, but maybe that just adds to the suspense. I genuinely don’t know – please let me know what you think.
121km to go: At current rate it would take the peloton nine laps to catch the break. They don’t have nine laps! So they’ll need to get cracking pretty soon.
122km to go: The lead pack have started their latest climb; the peloton, just a little below them and firmly in view, head into town on the flat. The gap is currently 14 minutes, 35 seconds.
124km to go: Serghei Tvetcov, the sole Romanian here, appears to have abandoned. Not sure what was up there, but his race is run. I think there’ll be more of those as we go.
125km to go: Another lap down for the breakaway group – five to go! Surely they can’t keep this up? But if even one or two of them do, then that could be a spanner in the works for the favourites.
126km to go: Sensing some concerted movement amid the peloton now. The Yateses and Dumoulin, among others, have hung back for the most part but the big hitters are starting to drift forwards. It needs to begin happening.
127km to go: The German Maximilian Schachmann has a bit of an issue, coming off for a bit in a pretty crowded area, but makes an adjustment or two – much like Dumoulin earlier – and seems back on track.
Updated
130km to go: On the other hand, the peloton may just have judged this perfectly. Why expend even a drop more energy than you need to? Just seeing some pretty cool footage from Tom Wirtgren’s camera, presumably attached to the back of his bike, right in the middle of the pack.
It’s quite the day of sport. If you like four wheels as well as two then you can join Will Unwin for the Russian Grand Prix:
138km to go: As Kieran ponders, could the peloton have misjudged this? Probably not, but a grandstand finish is set up now whatever happens. Drama beckons.
This is starting to look a little dicey for the peloton. The gap from the breakaway is coming down but not fast enough. My money would still be on a catch but they’ll need to get moving. The lead group’s size gives it an advantage - if it was just a few riders the peloton would be confident they won’t make it to the end, but with 11 of them - anything could happen. If the winner comes from the breakaway it would be a huge shock, and show a serious collective error of judgment from the big-name riders and their teams in the peloton.
As trailed ...
WOW 😦#InnsbruckTirol2018 pic.twitter.com/04d2ZUHdWM
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 30, 2018
143km to go: They’re climbing again now, it’s a gentle-looking gradient but it goes steadily for about 8km. Somebody is tightrope-walking beneath a bridge across a river; good job it’s a still day.
144km to go: That leading group in full is: Robert Britton, Tobias Ludvigsson, Kasper Asgreen, Ryan Mullen, Daniil Fominykh, Vegard Laengen, Conor Dunne, Karel Hnik, Jacques Janse Van Rensburg, Ilia Koshevoy, Laurent Didier.
The gap is about 16 minutes, 45 seconds. So it’s reduced, but at this stage that is quite a lot. How and when will it be decisively whittled down?
158km to go: Just nipping out for a snack before things get really exciting – bear with me for 15 minutes – and get your mid-race thoughts over to me in the meantime!
There’s a strong possibility that the 2018 rainbow jersey will be determined on the final climb, the Höttinger Höll. With sections featuring a gradient of 28% - twenty eight per cent! - it really will be the highway to hell. Only the very best climbers in the peloton will be a chance: Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, the Yates brothers for Great Britain, Julian Alaphilippe or his French compatriots, Dutchman Tom Dumoulin. After the opening Gnadenwald climb and seven laps of the tough Olympic circuit, there won’t be much left in anyone’s legs. It promises to be an exhilarating finale.
164km to go: Lots of excitement now as the leaders pass a narrow stretch where the crowds are far, far thicker than an hour ago. They can bed in for the day – this is the second of seven laps. There are flags everywhere and a real carnival atmosphere.
166km to go: Now Norway’s Vegard Laengen goes out in front. Remember, it doesn’t really mean a lot yet. But it’s a strong early performance from those 11 leaders, who have given the peloton something to think about on this most enervating of courses, of which around 58km is spent ascending.
Updated
167km to go: Now we see the Britons edge towards the front of the peloton for the first time – there are the Yates brothers, who we’ll surely be writing more words about later on! There’s still an 11 kilometre gap to make up between the two groups. Tobias Ludvigsson, of Sweden, is the man leading at the moment.
If you like some football to go with your cycling, Daniel Taylor’s weekly column is up and worth a read as ever:
173km to go: Now that leading group have gone back through the centre of Innsbruck – that’s the first lap over.
175km to go: That gap between leaders and peloton is down to 17 and a half minutes now.
I have spent some time with the Australian camp this week. Since losing star climber Richie Porte to illness after the Vuelta a España, the Aussies have been discounted as possible challengers by most observers. But inspired by the world time trial triumph of Rohan Dennis earlier this week, and Amanda Spratt’s silver in the women’s road race yesterday, the Brad McGee-coached team have a few wildcards up their sleeve. Simon Clarke won stage 5 of the Vuelta while young gun Jack Haig helped Simon Yates to the red jersey in Spain and is in ominous form himself. It is unlikely the Australians will be involved at the business end, but never say never.
184km to go: And there’s a clear step up in intensity from the peloton here, who have just started to eat away into that lead despite beginning their climb. They obviously don’t want the leaders to get any further ahead at this point in proceedings.
186km to go: Now the peloton start their climb – the leaders are firmly on their way down now. Still some time before we will get much idea of who the real contenders are here.
191km to go: The breakaway are nearly 19 minutes ahead now and the peloton probably won’t let that go on much longer. The guys up front aren’t really specialist climbers so the imminent gradients will narrow that gap pretty sharpish. But it’s bright and hot out there so who’d want to give themselves ... pardon the pun ... a mountain to climb?
193km to go: Just caught a glimpse of Alaphilippe, who’s still back in the chasing pack of course. Is there any chance that one of those leaders might stay the course? If it seems like we’re slowing up a bit, it’s because there’s currently a bit of a climb.
Updated
You’re definitely awake now and definitely a couple of coffees down – so get those emails and tweets in!
194km to go: The leaders are passing a big crowd at the moment along one wooded stretch – horns, bells, flags, whoops, cheers. Nice to see a bit of that as it’s been fairly sparse so far. There’s a man wearing a strange furry hat with horns. The lead is still going up, it’s nearly 17 minutes now – the peloton are giving themselves a bit to do!
Updated
196km to go: Several of the peloton riders are having a “natural break”, apparently, which I presume involves relieving the bladder. Might as well get that out of the way now!
Do you like golf? Doesn’t really matter if you do not: the Ryder Cup is just pure sport at its best and we’re in for quite a day today. You can follow that with Scott Murray:
198km to go: For whatever it’s worth, the lead group are now a full quarter of an hour ahead of the peloton, although the latter’s pace has upped a little bit and it’s stretching out a tad. Still not a great deal happening at the moment though, don’t you worry. Like any lazy Sunday, we’re waking up slowly.
204km to go: There are two Irishmen in the breakaway group – Ryan Mullen and Conor Dunne. It’s 11-strong, remember.
208km to go: The pack are now heading past Matzen Castle, a 13th century structure, It looks impressive. Shall we all go on holiday?
Should have posted this at the top of the show, but if you’re joining now, here’s a nice overview of the course:
We're an hour away from the Men Elite Road Race! #InnsbruckTirol2018 🌈
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 30, 2018
Do you reckon @petosagan will be able to defend his title on this course ? 👇
🔴 258.5 km
🔴 4670 m ↗
🎥 @relivecc pic.twitter.com/TKc1EbgpuC
212km to go: Goodness, those mountains look beautiful. I used to go on holiday around this region when I was a kid – staying near Kitzbuhel. Some of the walking is top-class. Nobody is walking here though and especially not in the leading group, who are closing in on a 13-minute lead. Most of the British team are around the back of the peloton at the moment.
215km to go: There’s a bit of a debate among the commentary team about the sheer length of this race. We do get this – let’s be honest – pretty boring bit at the start that stretches it out and does nothing for the spectacle. But then again does it make the dramatic bits more rewarding? What do you think?
217km to go: The breakaway pack are now 10 and a half minutes ahead ...
218km to go: The peloton are gliding along past a field of, at my count, 16 cows. Some of them are wearing what look like UCI t-shirts! They’re lolling lugubriously as the riders go past.
220km to go: Can Vincenzo Nibali make waves here? He didn’t have a good Tour de France, of course. But if he has a good day then you’d feel he is capable of anything. He’s going along nicely enough at the moment, but the big challenges are to come.
222km to go: Our lead pack are amid the first climb of any significance, and are now over eight minutes ahead.
In the meantime, if this is inspiring you to get out on two wheels then do I have a link for you – these are the top cycle rides in Britain!
Send your emails and tweets in by the way. I’d love to know how you think the next ... oooh ... six or seven hours might pan out, and why. It’s going to be epic!
226km to go: We can currently see Romain Bardet, one of a very strong French contingent. He might fancy his chances of a strong run. The leaders are now six minutes ahead; no dramas just yet but when it gets to the 10-minute mark then perhaps we start racing a little.
Guten morgen from Innsbruck. It is an absolutely delightful day in this scenic Austrian outpost. The sun is shining, the mountain air is filling me with life. Less enamoured with their current surrounds will be the riders, who have a very very very long day ahead. This is one of the toughest world championship courses in recent memory. It will be a huge surprise if any more than a handful of riders are left to contest the final Höttinger Höll climb - for everyone else, their hopes will be prematurely ended at some point on the tough Olympic circuit. It promises to be an epic day of racing – strap yourselves in.
231km to go: We have a breakaway group of about 11 riders, who are about four minutes ahead. They include Canadian, Kazakh, Swedish and Belarusian riders. The peloton aren’t really pelting it so far. Dumoulin is at the back of it and still not quite looking content.
Updated
233km to go: We do have a man out there on the ground, by the way – the excellent Kieran Pender has faithfully promised me an update or two as we go. He’s in there among crowds and the cowbells, the lucky boy!
235km to go: Does Tom Dumoulin have a problem? He’s just tinkered a little with his bike by the side of the road, but it looks like a simple brake rubbing issue. At this point in the race there’s plenty of time and scope to stop and make little tweaks.
237km to go: They’re not going to hit any significant climbs for an hour or two. It’s flat at the moment. We have a lead group at the moment and then another eight seconds or so behind. But little indication yet as to how things will pan out.
239km to go: OK, here we are then, we’re nearly 20km in. The first thing to say is that this course looks *beautiful*. It’s a wonderfully sunny, verdant day in central Europe and anyone who is there to watch is incredibly lucky.
Hello
Brutal, epic, tough, horrendous. Those are some of the words I’ve heard used about the course we’re about to experience – some say it’s four decades since a world championships has laid on anything this gruelling and one thing is for sure: whoever comes through the next few hours on top will have earned it, and then some!
So what are we to expect? Once they’re done with a 258.5km course that includes 4,670m of climbing, the Yates brothers should be there or thereabouts. Simon, fresh – or not – from his triumph at the Vuelta, is third favourite but it might take a superhuman effort to take the honours here. The bookies’ tip is Julian Alaphilippe, the Tour of Britain champion, and Alejandro Valverde second. But there shouldn’t be much in it and, in the words of BBC pundit Chris Boardman, the field “is going to be in absolute pieces” by the time we are all done here.
So let’s get on with it – the race began at 8.40am UK time, so they’re well underway already. Who can write themselves a place in history after what, on paper, is one of the trickiest races we have ever seen?
