29/09/2013

:00:10. > :00:15.Bradley Wiggins rides into the record books. Mark Cavendish has won

:00:15. > :00:29.the world title for Great Britain. Here he comes. Bradley Wiggins is

:00:30. > :00:32.the Olympic champion. Chris Froome crosses the line as the winner of

:00:32. > :00:46.the 2013 Tour de France! A very good afternoon to you,

:00:46. > :00:50.welcome back to Florence for the cycling World Championships. It is

:00:50. > :00:56.the men's road race today. Made even more dramatic by the apocalyptic

:00:56. > :01:01.weather, it has not stopped raining all day. Alongside me Lizzie

:01:01. > :01:06.Armitstead, silver medallist and wrote in yesterday's Road race. You

:01:06. > :01:14.must be delighted you were not racing today? Very much so. I think

:01:15. > :01:20.there has been more crashes in this race than in a long time at a World

:01:20. > :01:27.Championship. Yesterday you finished 19th, how content were you? I

:01:27. > :01:35.suppose I was content, obviously not very happy, but content will do. I'm

:01:35. > :01:40.looking forward to next season. Again another World Championships

:01:40. > :01:46.which may suit me. Chris, we always talked about this being a difficult

:01:46. > :01:53.course. It is now. How much difference does this make? It is an

:01:53. > :01:57.utterly different race now. Incredibly tough out there, the

:01:58. > :02:03.amount of time they have to spend on the circuit. We have been more

:02:03. > :02:06.crashes in the last hour than the last five World Championships.

:02:06. > :02:13.Absolute carnage with riders sliding off. The slightest mistake and you

:02:13. > :02:16.are down. Chris has been out on the course and here is his guide to what

:02:16. > :02:31.is an incredibly tough course. Although the racing started some

:02:31. > :02:36.calamitous from here, the racing proper only starts when they get to

:02:36. > :02:42.the finishing circuit here on the outskirts of Florence. It is a

:02:42. > :02:46.really tough 16.5 kilometres. Although the riders are going to

:02:46. > :02:53.have to tackle this 4.5: At a scent, a brutal ten times, on paper

:02:53. > :03:00.it is very much the toughest dissent on the circuit, but it is not where

:03:01. > :03:05.the final battle will be fought. As they reached the summit, the riders

:03:06. > :03:11.are already stretched out into a thin line. They certainly will be

:03:11. > :03:17.when they get here. Because the dissent starts immediately, there is

:03:17. > :03:26.absolutely no possibility of forming a chasing group. Showers will make

:03:27. > :03:30.that fast decent interesting having swooped down the five kilometre

:03:30. > :03:38.descent, the riders will arrive here. It might be just 600 metres in

:03:38. > :03:46.length, but with a 16% maximum gradient, it proves an excellent

:03:46. > :03:50.opportunity for a late attack. I think there is just one more chance

:03:50. > :03:54.around the corner. Before they arrive here there are one or two

:03:54. > :03:59.around the corner. Before they tiny amps. But their location in the

:03:59. > :04:07.final few minutes of racing could make them axed -- could make them

:04:07. > :04:11.absolutely pivotal. There are a lot of different scenarios which can

:04:11. > :04:18.play out. We can be certain of three things. The classical riders will

:04:18. > :04:22.want to keep their powder dry until the last possible second. Climbers

:04:22. > :04:27.will want to make life difficult for them the moment they get on the

:04:27. > :04:33.circuit. Combined, we are going to get an action packed very open day

:04:33. > :04:37.of racing. Really difficult day in the saddle. One rider not out there

:04:37. > :04:45.is Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. He pulled out earlier on this week. It turns

:04:45. > :04:50.out that the UCI, the International Federation, have asked for an

:04:50. > :04:53.explanation of a possible discrepancy in as biological

:04:53. > :05:01.passport. This is something which is relatively new. The biological

:05:01. > :05:05.passport is put in place for professional riders. It means you

:05:05. > :05:08.have a blood test every month and those values from your blood test

:05:08. > :05:16.are put into a database which gives you your blood passport. It is

:05:16. > :05:22.analysed, they look for trends. Then they look for anomalies within your

:05:22. > :05:27.passport. That is what he has been asked to explain. We understand it

:05:27. > :05:32.is an alarm -- and anomaly dating back to September. Chris, should we

:05:32. > :05:37.really be speaking about this at this point in the investigation? It

:05:37. > :05:42.has certainly become a trend in cycling if there is a positive

:05:42. > :05:47.sample, it is all over the press immediately. There is definitely a

:05:47. > :05:51.case to say, let it play through and trust the powers that be. Let them

:05:51. > :05:57.come to a conclusion then have a judgement. As you know, reputations

:05:57. > :06:02.can be utterly destroyed. There may be a reasonable explanation, so we

:06:02. > :06:06.should probably hold fire. It is not good news, it is not ideal for the

:06:06. > :06:12.British team. Not something they want to talk about on a day like

:06:12. > :06:17.this with fantastic racing. We have to reiterate that nothing is proven

:06:17. > :06:21.at this stage, there is no actual case he has done something wrong.

:06:21. > :06:24.The racing started at 9am this morning, it was raining then as

:06:24. > :06:36.well. This is the story so far. Here we are, the start of the men's

:06:36. > :06:42.elite road race. I think all bets are off if the weather is going to

:06:42. > :06:49.be like this all afternoon. Confirmation of our leaders. The

:06:49. > :07:05.Venezuelan is at the front. The rain is coming down heavily.

:07:05. > :07:11.am just hearing that the peloton has split up on the descent. The second

:07:12. > :07:16.half of the pack containing Bradley Wiggins is just making contact again

:07:16. > :07:22.now. Those riders were in the backpass as it is split on the

:07:22. > :07:29.descent. He has not been up towards the front with his team-mates.

:07:29. > :07:48.A small crash there that we can see. We will be seeing a few more of

:07:48. > :07:59.these crashes. The Lithuanian rider is in a difficult position. The

:07:59. > :08:00.British team chasing the breakaway, Mark Cavendish doing the vast

:08:00. > :08:07.majority of the work there. He has Mark Cavendish doing the vast

:08:07. > :08:10.dropped to the back now. We have had confirmation that Wiggins and

:08:10. > :08:20.Cavendish have abandoned the race. They are out. Not a great day for

:08:20. > :08:25.Bradley. Evans has been caught in the crash. Here we are, here is the

:08:26. > :08:42.aftermath of the crash and it looks nasty. On the front of the peloton.

:08:42. > :08:49.Is Chris Froome seeing his chances slip away? That leading group of

:08:49. > :08:55.five has been whittled down to two. Chris Froome is out of the race.

:08:55. > :09:00.Chris Froome is out of this World Championship race.

:09:00. > :09:08.We started this morning with high hopes of British success. Chris, it

:09:08. > :09:15.really has not worked out in the way we thought. No, we were talking in

:09:15. > :09:18.commentary earlier that that double was easier to do because that was

:09:18. > :09:24.when the World Championships were in August. You came out of the Tour de

:09:25. > :09:27.France and went straight into the World Championships. Now there is a

:09:27. > :09:30.France and went straight into the number of months and a lot of

:09:30. > :09:37.distractions. It is difficult to keep that motivation through to the

:09:37. > :09:42.end of September. It was a big challenge. As soon as we got to the

:09:43. > :09:50.circuit, it was not looking good for them this year. Lizzie, were you

:09:50. > :09:58.surprised? Chris Froome himself said he targeted this championship. Yes,

:09:58. > :10:01.but I think that is a case of accepting the pressure and giving

:10:01. > :10:07.the media what they want. No one wants to sit in an interview and

:10:07. > :10:10.say, I do not have good form. You going confident because that is the

:10:10. > :10:16.only way you would ever win a World Championship. You have to talk a

:10:16. > :10:27.good game. In terms of who was left, Chris, the Italians are going very

:10:27. > :10:32.well. They look good. To stay out of trouble and do the first couple of

:10:32. > :10:37.laps, they did a great job. They whittled the bunch down to around 50

:10:37. > :10:45.riders. They are doing a lot of work and in the last half an hour Belgium

:10:45. > :10:52.have come to the front. They are looking really good. And the Germans

:10:52. > :10:57.as well. There are several teams starting to show their colours.

:10:57. > :11:07.Cancer Lara has been present all day. He is looking for a victory. --

:11:07. > :11:15.Mike Fabian Cancellara. Who is your money on? I think I will go for the

:11:15. > :11:20.defending champion. He is coming into form at the right time. Let's

:11:20. > :11:35.handover to the final stages. Here we are with just over four laps

:11:35. > :11:45.to go. What a war of attrition it is.

:11:45. > :11:53.going win. Thunder is in the background. As the battle for the

:11:53. > :12:00.rainbow jersey really starts to hot up. We had a

:12:00. > :12:07.group, it has been whittled down to two.

:12:07. > :12:10.The Polish and the Czech Republic rider are working well together at

:12:10. > :12:24.the front. Most rider are working well together at

:12:24. > :12:27.contenders all still together. We can see the Italian team still with

:12:27. > :12:39.three on the front. The main man of course the winner of the Giro

:12:39. > :12:43.D'Italia this year. He feels he can win on this course but he knows he

:12:43. > :12:48.will have to leave everyone behind. He would have to win on his own. We

:12:48. > :12:51.have been trying to keep track of the British team for you. The only

:12:51. > :12:56.rider who may still be out there is the British team for you. The only

:12:56. > :13:01.Geraint Thomas. Everybody else has definitely abandoned. Not sure about

:13:01. > :13:07.Thomas, but we will bring you the news as soon as the. With bikes

:13:07. > :13:11.changes and various issues, not all of the bikes have got the

:13:11. > :13:16.transponders on now, it is not always possible to tell who is

:13:16. > :13:21.where. Peter Sagan is one of those not coming up on any of the time

:13:21. > :13:27.checks. This is where the Italian riders are at the moment, and a

:13:27. > :13:33.momentary problem there for one of them. His gear seemed to slip. That

:13:33. > :13:41.is actually a disqualification action there. Normally that is an

:13:41. > :13:46.instant disqualification. Let's see if the judges pick up on that. I

:13:46. > :13:48.think they would not get out of here alive if they disqualified one of

:13:49. > :14:03.the Italians for something like that. Marcus Burghardt have gone to

:14:03. > :14:08.the front. This part of the course is -- is short and sharp.

:14:08. > :14:14.Cumulatively, it really does sap the strength from your legs. You can see

:14:14. > :14:18.the second peloton. You can see the speed, just 13 kilometres an hour.

:14:18. > :14:23.It shows how steep this is. Well speed, just 13 kilometres an hour.

:14:23. > :14:32.over 12,000 feet of climbing they will have done today, broken into

:14:32. > :14:47.these chunks. There is Cancer Lehrer just going through the picture

:14:47. > :15:06.there. -- Cancer Lehrer. I suspect that he will not get up first.

:15:06. > :15:18.Alberto Contador goes through in the red of Spain. There is Fabian

:15:18. > :15:23.Cancellara. Alberto Contador crashed early in the race, we have to

:15:23. > :15:29.remember that. He needs to get back on terms and get into the race. We

:15:29. > :15:32.are seeing it start to heat up. Marcus Burghardt have gone to the

:15:33. > :15:39.front in the last couple of minutes. An experienced rider. And

:15:39. > :15:45.the winner of a classic as well in Belgium a few years ago.

:15:45. > :15:55.Dropping back a little bit is the Italian. The latest information we

:15:55. > :15:59.are getting is Geraint Thomas has joined the rest of the British team

:15:59. > :16:12.on the bus. I think that is it from the British team. We were just

:16:12. > :16:16.talking with Jonathan Edwards, the British team set the bar so high

:16:16. > :16:20.everybody expects medals out of every single thing they write. It

:16:20. > :16:26.just shows how hard it is. At the end of a long season, weather like

:16:26. > :16:29.this, difficult to keep that level of performance. Official

:16:29. > :16:36.confirmation, there are no British riders in this elite world road race

:16:36. > :16:39.champ and ship -- championship. We have still got potentially a

:16:39. > :16:43.fantastic race to look forward to. There is the defending champion,

:16:43. > :16:48.Philippe Gilbert and he looks really good. Looking back just to see what

:16:49. > :16:51.shape everybody is in, are there any gaps, is it worth me committing to

:16:51. > :16:56.make some effort? That is the first gaps, is it worth me committing to

:16:56. > :17:01.time I have seen him starting to make the gap but he has been caught

:17:01. > :17:05.out here. How did he find himself back in this part of the field? That

:17:05. > :17:10.is a surprise, he has been right at the front every time we have seen

:17:10. > :17:15.him. I cannot believe there are physical reasons, he has looked so

:17:15. > :17:21.good in the last hour of race. Lizzie Armitstead's for the day.

:17:21. > :17:24.Huzarski from Poland leading Jan Barta of the Czech Republic. The

:17:24. > :17:31.long straight road towards the finishing line. They will still have

:17:31. > :17:35.four laps to go and live -- when they crossed the line. That is one

:17:35. > :17:39.four laps to go and live -- when hour 40 minutes of racing left, when

:17:39. > :17:45.they get back to us, still a long way to go. It's a short and use a

:17:46. > :17:51.four laps, but each one is over 25. -- its sounds short when you say for

:17:51. > :18:03.now -- for Belgium are well presented in this

:18:03. > :18:09.group. The only right that they have lost is Leukemans, who crashed on

:18:09. > :18:14.the descent from Fiesole quite a while ago now. Otherwise well

:18:14. > :18:21.represented towards the front of the race. He was the leading duo.

:18:21. > :18:26.If you have just joined our coverage, it has been like that

:18:26. > :18:40.pretty much for the entire day and they started at 9am UK time.

:18:40. > :18:47.The five rider lead group is down to two. The lead maximised at eight

:18:47. > :18:49.minutes, long time ago. I didn't think they would be anywhere near

:18:49. > :18:52.being out in front at this point in think they would be anywhere near

:18:52. > :18:56.the race. I thought they would have been caught up by all the

:18:56. > :18:59.infighting, probably helps they are both from the same professional

:18:59. > :19:30.team, of course. That little bit bigger than cash

:19:30. > :19:36.puddle and again every lap. Five and half hours in the saddle. There is

:19:36. > :19:49.quite a lot of action back in the group, everybody has decided now is

:19:49. > :19:59.the time. That will suit the Batley -- Nibali. There are the two leaders

:19:59. > :20:06.for the moment, we are not expecting them to be in the shake-up towards

:20:06. > :20:13.the end, a little gap opening up, that is Alex Howells of the United

:20:13. > :20:19.States. A bit further back maxi mum for -- maxi mum for.

:20:19. > :20:30.These tight camera shots are showing us the riders, we are not sure

:20:30. > :20:41.whether they are attacking. Gilbert just grabbing a snap behind the

:20:41. > :20:49.Polish rider who leads the way. Fabian Cancellara, tucked into the

:20:49. > :20:58.middle of that group. Why will find itself was that.

:20:58. > :21:06.Carlos Betancur in the white, from Columbia. The last thing you would

:21:06. > :21:10.want to do in a situation like this is eat that they have to eat a

:21:10. > :21:12.thousand calories in a race like is eat that they have to eat a

:21:12. > :21:19.this, critical to get the fuel on board. I just saw Cancellara tucked

:21:19. > :21:25.in behind one of his team-mates. The weather is not getting any better.

:21:25. > :21:39.Just under four laps to go. This remaining at over two minutes. They

:21:39. > :21:43.have been out that 190 millimetres. It is splitting up a little bit at

:21:43. > :21:55.the front of the race. The German, we saw him attack at the Via

:21:55. > :22:12.Salviati. The Austrian is fourth on the road, four seconds behind.

:22:12. > :22:24.Interesting time for him to attack, four laps to go, a long way out to

:22:25. > :22:33.start making the moves. If he did manage to get a gap of some fresh

:22:33. > :22:47.riders, a very difficult circuit to organise a chase.

:22:47. > :22:56.Still coming through in dribs and drabs, those left in the race. Right

:22:56. > :23:02.at the back of the group was Matthias Brandle who had been in the

:23:02. > :23:18.lead part for quite a long time. Fortier of France -- Gautier. He got

:23:18. > :23:22.into attacking day after day. He has got a similar style to Voeckler,

:23:22. > :23:27.which is a hard thing to do. Back with the leading to riders. A long

:23:27. > :23:34.day for them in the front. Not entirely a bad thing to be in that

:23:34. > :23:39.breakaway, the rain was so terrible earlier, it gives you a little bit

:23:39. > :23:45.more elbow room and a bit more of an opportunity to pick your own line. I

:23:45. > :23:49.don't think it is in any way an easy job to sit on the wheels. It has

:23:49. > :23:54.been a big advantage earlier, but with these conditions, expending

:23:54. > :23:58.some energy riding on the front has not been anywhere near as costly as

:23:58. > :24:02.it might have been in the dry conditions, just keeping yourself

:24:02. > :24:10.out of edition, right smoothly rather than constant acceleration

:24:10. > :24:26.is. A few seconds advantage for Gautier. Very prominent in the Tour.

:24:26. > :24:36.He will start the client in a kilometre. He will have had to have

:24:36. > :24:40.saved a bit of energy. The energy you expend to get the time gap,

:24:40. > :24:46.suddenly on the climb, it makes a huge difference if you are a little

:24:46. > :24:54.fatigued. All of the attacking will happen on the climb. On the

:24:54. > :24:58.descent, for a good defender like Gilbert or Cancellara, attacking on

:24:58. > :25:04.the descent could be a good move, or the final place, Via Salviati with

:25:04. > :25:10.3.5 kilometres to go. That was where both races were won yesterday. The

:25:10. > :25:17.junior men's race, and also Marianne Vos in the women's race. That was

:25:17. > :25:22.where she delivered the knockout blow and escaped to win on her reign

:25:22. > :25:28.ahead of Emma Johansson and Rossella Ratto. The weather is so different,

:25:28. > :25:36.just 24 hours difference. The entire week has been perfect, dry racing.

:25:36. > :25:43.Even last weekend they forecast this weather. It is utterly changed the

:25:43. > :25:53.landscape. Van Summeren on the front. 61 in the White with the gold

:25:53. > :26:05.and green for a stranger, Simon Clark. Gilbert just pushing Serge

:26:05. > :26:09.Pauwels in forward. Disappearing behind a tree. If that Alberto

:26:09. > :26:15.Contador we are looking up without the number visible? In the red and

:26:15. > :26:21.black with yellow stripe. Gilbert alongside him, the number one on his

:26:21. > :26:23.back. Looks to be working a little bit harder than he was earlier in

:26:23. > :26:33.back. Looks to be working a little the race. Have a marked looking very

:26:33. > :26:37.smooth still. He was an outsider, the kind of person who could take

:26:37. > :26:41.advantage. Germany with a couple of riders up towards the front,

:26:41. > :26:55.Burghardt, having been reeled back in. Serge Pauwels as they come back

:26:55. > :26:57.around to the coin. -- climb. Belgium starting to fill the role

:26:57. > :27:03.the Italians were a little earlier on. You wonder, the Italians came

:27:03. > :27:06.onto the circuit, so dominant, is this a strategic thinker where they

:27:06. > :27:14.have decided they are going to back off and sit back, or have they done

:27:14. > :27:19.too much work to early last remark number 90 in the red and white is

:27:19. > :27:27.Fabian Cancellara, and Norwegian there. 119 is the Ukrainian, he has

:27:27. > :27:36.been hanging around towards the front of the race. The lower slopes

:27:36. > :27:45.of the climb, two or 3% gradient, it slowly ramps up. A few Columbia

:27:45. > :27:49.riders in that group but none of them up towards the front so far.

:27:49. > :27:53.They are just riding on the back, that is Ruby Arno. -- with the

:27:53. > :28:08.anode. You can see the damage being done at

:28:08. > :28:15.the back of the field. The remaining struggling to hang on at the back of

:28:15. > :28:24.the peloton. Every lap we will lose more one to more people. We were

:28:24. > :28:31.down to 84 at the last check. I think we will have 40, 50 finishers.

:28:31. > :28:39.It is the Belgian team setting the pace. The climb proper has started

:28:39. > :28:44.now, 4.5% average before it gets down little bit and kicks up to

:28:44. > :28:51.nearly 8%. Fairly constant for the last kilometre and a half. The

:28:51. > :28:55.Belgians have decided they want control on the descent, I am

:28:55. > :28:59.wondering if they have decided to try something, is it too early? They

:28:59. > :29:00.have committed to keeping the whole team at the front? The French team

:29:00. > :29:05.coming forward as well. Thomas team at the front? The French team

:29:05. > :29:13.Voeckler in the middle of the three French riders.

:29:13. > :29:30.Thomas Voeckler up there, and the French national champion, the French

:29:30. > :29:34.are quite a few riders are there. The first time the French have come

:29:34. > :29:38.towards the front today, they were very tacking in the men's under 23

:29:38. > :29:40.race on Friday afternoon. One after the other having a go in the last

:29:40. > :29:46.race on Friday afternoon. One after three laps also, didn't quite work.

:29:46. > :29:50.The kind of pattern you normally see in a World Championships, you don't

:29:50. > :29:56.see people until the final few laps, and you remember they are actually

:29:56. > :30:05.in the race. Maxine Montfort taking up the pace for Belgium. Six riders

:30:05. > :30:08.left for Belgium, the big number at this stage of what has been an

:30:08. > :30:13.incredibly tough race, certainly since it they reached the circuit, a

:30:13. > :30:18.very difficult race, treacherous for sure, physically hard as well.

:30:18. > :30:23.Instigated by a team of Italy who have gone quite quiet at the moment,

:30:23. > :30:26.we're not sure whether they are just regrouping for the final couple of

:30:26. > :30:43.laps or whether they have spent too much energy earlier on. it looks

:30:43. > :30:55.like a rider from the United States there handing underneath their race

:30:55. > :31:00.cape. -- hiding. They have been riding well. They have not really

:31:00. > :31:12.lost contact with the front group as it has been splitting up. The

:31:12. > :31:19.Italians know they have got to get someone at the front. The third life

:31:19. > :31:25.-- the third rider in line is from Belgium. That is interesting, I am

:31:25. > :31:31.not sure who it is from Italy trying to close the gap there. They are not

:31:31. > :31:41.waiting to save their troops. They physically were unable to close the

:31:41. > :31:45.gap there. The Swiss rider is playing a waiting game. Marcus

:31:45. > :31:53.Burghardt there in the German jersey. An Italian rider, I am not

:31:53. > :31:58.sure who it is coming towards the front. Meanwhile, back with the

:31:58. > :32:10.leading duo. The next time check will be at the 212 marks. That

:32:10. > :32:22.little flurry has split the field a little. Not massively, three or four

:32:22. > :32:27.seconds. I think this will be the shape of things for the next few

:32:27. > :32:33.laps. When the front group sense of the selection is right, the pressure

:32:33. > :32:38.will stay on. They have just under four laps to go. What a tough, elite

:32:38. > :32:55.road race course this is. The French four laps to go. What a tough, elite

:32:55. > :33:07.man there, in second place. There is the American. Thomas, seventh in

:33:07. > :33:13.this event last year, quite a disappointing year by his standards.

:33:13. > :33:20.But he is going to like this sort of circuit and poor weather.

:33:20. > :33:27.Even if this move does not actually work, there is quite a large group

:33:27. > :33:32.there and we get an idea of who is strong and who is not. Who was

:33:32. > :33:40.capable to chase easily. I sense some holes in the Italian squad

:33:40. > :33:48.there. And back with the chasing group.

:33:48. > :33:58.The Norwegian is there wearing a red and white jersey. If you have just

:33:58. > :34:03.joined our coverage, the British team backing Chris Froome today, but

:34:03. > :34:11.not a good day for Great Britain. The whole of the British team out of

:34:11. > :34:19.the race. Two safely over the summer to yet again. Quite a lot of action

:34:19. > :34:22.going on behind them. Our camera shop there gives us a quick glimpse

:34:22. > :34:37.of who are struggling and who is comfortable. Just a little bit

:34:37. > :34:44.further down the climb. That group has really lined out. The group is

:34:44. > :34:49.thinning out very quickly. What is most courageous is having the legs

:34:49. > :34:54.and waiting and waiting. Watching people go up the road and not

:34:54. > :35:00.reacting to it. That takes a lot of experience and a lot of courage. We

:35:00. > :35:06.have seen on the other races, around the three laps to go mark, it has

:35:07. > :35:08.just been too early. No one has been able to get away and stay away for

:35:08. > :35:15.just been too early. No one has been that length of time. About an hour

:35:15. > :35:20.and a quarter of racing. It is inside the last hour that we will

:35:20. > :35:27.start to see it shape up. Gilbert still nicely tucked in the middle of

:35:27. > :35:36.that group. Another one of the Sky riders. Still about 54 riders left

:35:36. > :35:51.in this lead group plus some stragglers. Lots of riders there. A

:35:51. > :35:56.little short also of Diego, he has done a lot of work for Italy. It is

:35:56. > :36:10.no surprise he is running out of gas.

:36:10. > :36:18.His day is almost done. There is a lot more he can do to help the

:36:18. > :36:22.team. If you cannot stay with the front runners on the climb, there is

:36:22. > :36:29.not much flat to give any kind of assistance. It has been like that

:36:30. > :36:34.for some time. The Italians have done a lot of work in the early laps

:36:34. > :36:41.of this circuit. Pack with the leaders. The Italians heading back

:36:41. > :37:07.towards the front on the descent there.

:37:07. > :37:18.The overall winner of the tour of Denmark this year, just 22 years of

:37:18. > :37:21.age. It is quite a tough race. It is, quite a hilly race. He is in

:37:21. > :37:37.some great company here. Sure enough, we have only had 69

:37:37. > :37:42.riders go over the summit. It is just whittling down, a few at a

:37:42. > :37:48.time. They must be getting familiar with this descent right now. What

:37:48. > :37:54.will happen in the last two laps as people start to push it? A little

:37:54. > :37:59.bit of desperation creeping in. You might be able to hear the thunder on

:37:59. > :38:04.our microphones. Every now and then there is a huge clap. A flash of

:38:04. > :38:12.lightning just lit up our commentary position here. That cameraman's

:38:12. > :38:18.cloth was saturated hours ago, but he is still doing his best. It is a

:38:18. > :38:23.point in the race now where all the riders should be having those

:38:23. > :38:27.numbers uncovered. It is getting very difficult to take the capes

:38:27. > :38:33.off. They may be forced to go all the way to the finish wearing them.

:38:33. > :38:39.One of the Italian riders looked to be off the front of that group.

:38:39. > :39:13.Hopefully we can get closer and see who it was.

:39:13. > :39:25.It is who I thought it was. He has decided it is his lap to attack, it

:39:25. > :39:34.didn't happen the first time so he has driven on. He has decided, yes.

:39:34. > :39:43.He is more than capable of sticking it out at the front there. 56

:39:43. > :39:48.kilometres remaining. Interesting little turn of events. And something

:39:48. > :39:52.for the other teams to think about. They will have to commit themselves

:39:52. > :39:55.and because there are some quality riders at the front there. Do a fair

:39:55. > :40:03.and because there are some quality bit of racing to go, an hour and a

:40:03. > :40:18.quarter I think. Good descenders as well. I am trying to think if it has

:40:18. > :40:21.actually stopped racing -- raining on the race once today. I do not

:40:21. > :41:00.think so. Back with the front of the race now.

:41:00. > :41:07.Huzarski of Poland and Barta. The camera scans back down the incline.

:41:07. > :41:17.That is less than ten kilometres an hour. You can see how hard it is.

:41:17. > :41:32.The two chasers are probably only 200 metres behind now. Here come the

:41:32. > :41:38.chasers. Preidler is immediately behind Huzarski and Barta. Even if

:41:38. > :41:40.it does not work out of a forcing the hands of the opposition,

:41:40. > :41:53.Italians. You can just feel the pain from

:41:53. > :41:57.Barta as he strings to get to the top of this climb. I do not think

:41:57. > :42:06.you will have to worry for too much longer.

:42:06. > :42:18.Marcus Burghardt there on the left-hand side for Germany. Nobody

:42:18. > :42:23.is having an easy time up here. You are looking to see who is in good

:42:23. > :42:30.shape, but no one is having fun getting up here. Huzarski and

:42:30. > :42:50.Barta, the first to riders to reach the top. Preidler at 25 seconds.

:42:50. > :42:57.It is an interesting turn of events at this point of the race that they

:42:57. > :43:06.have been allowed to slip the peloton. I was just trying to decide

:43:06. > :43:11.what to call it now, is it a group? No, that is a peloton. Well, they

:43:11. > :43:19.have escaped the growth of favourites in many ways. Looking

:43:19. > :43:31.ahead at the race, some of the real big hitters, the fake Fabi and

:43:31. > :43:39.cancel error's of this world. -- Fabian Cancellara love.

:43:39. > :43:42.Switzerland is in trouble. If they give them much moreover it will

:43:42. > :43:54.become very dangerous indeed. Belgium have not got anybody up

:43:54. > :44:03.there either. Belgium and Switzerland. Belgium, the nation of

:44:03. > :44:14.the defending champion filly Jill there -- Philip Gilbert.

:44:14. > :44:26.-- Philippe Gilbert. Who's going to do some chasing? The Swiss are

:44:26. > :44:34.gathering at the front but not doing anything with it. They may be

:44:34. > :44:38.waiting for the climb. This is where experience comes in. Just wait and

:44:38. > :44:43.waiting for the climb. This is where let them ride away. You know if you

:44:43. > :44:48.chase now, you will get to the foot of the climb and you will get blown

:44:48. > :44:53.away. They have to wait until the climb before they start the chase,

:44:53. > :44:59.so everybody has got to pay a price for the chase. A good hour and a

:44:59. > :45:12.quarter to go before the finish line. We riding with Visconti and

:45:12. > :45:13.Gautier, they are fifth and sixth. Preidler and Kelderman are just in

:45:13. > :45:17.Gautier, they are fifth and sixth. front of them by about 17 seconds.

:45:17. > :45:23.If they can reach that that it is a powerful group of four. I don't

:45:23. > :45:31.think they have got a lot left to give. They have been out there for

:45:31. > :45:34.an awful long time. Kelderman and Preidler, not two of the bigger

:45:34. > :45:43.names to the wider public, but who really good young riders. Preidler

:45:43. > :45:57.is 23, just finished the vaulted Italia -- Vuelta a Espana. He needs

:45:57. > :46:20.him for the next hour. Becoming a dab hand at riding away

:46:20. > :46:28.roads, these two men. Plenty of practice today. Young Barta and

:46:28. > :46:34.Huzarski, just a couple of twists and turns before they turned down a

:46:34. > :46:39.very long finishing straight, a couple of climate as a weight from

:46:39. > :46:46.that finishing straight. That is the race at the front, very much under

:46:46. > :46:49.way. Just over three laps to go, but the whole of the British team out of

:46:49. > :46:54.the race already, no World the whole of the British team out of

:46:54. > :46:59.Championships jersey for the Tour de France winner Chris Froome today, he

:46:59. > :47:04.pulled out some while ago and after doing so

:47:04. > :47:10.Ceglar through that, disappointed enough to pull out. Definitely, big

:47:10. > :47:14.disappointment especially after having trained so hard and making

:47:14. > :47:19.this such a big objective, it would have been fantastic way to finish of

:47:20. > :47:23.the season. In these conditions here today, it just wasn't to be. Can you

:47:23. > :47:32.tell us what it is riding in the conditions last remark --? The first

:47:32. > :47:37.three maps, even before coming on the circuit, there were crashes

:47:37. > :47:44.everywhere. It's just the weather today. It hasn't let up all day,

:47:44. > :47:53.reigning solidly, and all the drains are flooded, at some points on the

:47:53. > :47:57.road we were that deep in water, that was what caused most of the

:47:57. > :48:02.crashes, people trying to move on the sides and getting stuck in the

:48:02. > :48:09.gutters. You dropped off the tracing group, when was the decision may you

:48:09. > :48:13.were going to pull out? After three laps this blitz started happening

:48:13. > :48:18.and I didn't really have any team-mates with me and I thought

:48:18. > :48:21.this was not going to happen today. Looking forward, this is something

:48:21. > :48:25.of a trial run, looking further Looking forward, this is something

:48:25. > :48:31.ahead towards Rio, is that something you can think about? This would have

:48:31. > :48:38.been a good exercise for that, but given we have come up empty handed

:48:38. > :48:43.we will have to go back to the drawing board. No Brits left in the

:48:43. > :48:51.race now, a significant way to go, pretty disappointing. The conditions

:48:51. > :48:53.are the same for everyone, we have got no excuse, we just went there

:48:53. > :49:05.today. -- were not there today. A disappointing day for Chris

:49:06. > :49:12.Froome, but he has had a pretty good year, several major victories. It

:49:12. > :49:14.isn't Britain's day-to-day in the rain in Tuscany at the World

:49:14. > :49:22.Championships. As we head into the rain in Tuscany at the World

:49:22. > :49:31.final 50 comet is, these two are still in the lead, the Chase is very

:49:31. > :49:33.much on. Preidler from Austria, Kelderman from the Netherlands,

:49:34. > :49:47.catching to close at five seconds since the

:49:47. > :49:56.last check, they are still motoring. It is not long now

:49:57. > :50:03.in a very good edition. Not had a massive year. A couple of wins in

:50:03. > :50:16.the Gia row. -- Jerry did Italia. Belgium have been forced to take up

:50:16. > :50:33.the chase. That is Johan Van Belgium have been forced to take up

:50:33. > :50:42.Summeren riding on the front. The group containing a lot of the

:50:42. > :50:52.favourites for the race. Mollema just having a bite to eat. Thomas

:50:52. > :51:00.Voeckler in the friend in the navy blue. We will see a lot of action on

:51:00. > :51:16.this next climb. They cannot let this go much further now.

:51:16. > :51:26.Just 12 seconds between Preidler and Kelderman, and Gautier and Visconti.

:51:26. > :51:32.If they come together it is a formidable group. A good number in

:51:32. > :51:42.weather conditions like this. We are now with Visconti. It is fair to say

:51:42. > :51:47.you can discard the clothing, the racing is underway and it will not

:51:47. > :51:58.let up. The race is really on for the world title. Visconti tucked in

:51:58. > :52:05.their behind Cyril Gautier. Preidler just different. They offered and

:52:05. > :52:10.forth on the road. As you say, when they get together, a lot of talent.

:52:10. > :52:16.Interesting to see how much cooperation there is. Generally you

:52:16. > :52:20.get good cooperation to make a solid before they start to look at each

:52:20. > :52:28.other and think about medals and the like. No disparity between the

:52:28. > :52:33.countries, all well represented. Refuelling is a key element. Pretty

:52:33. > :52:39.much the last possibility. Only the next few minutes. After that it

:52:39. > :52:43.doesn't matter what you eat, it will not be digestive until you finish.

:52:43. > :52:50.Most will have switched to liquid feeds so they can kill two birds

:52:51. > :52:56.with one stone. Probably about 70 grams of carbohydrates in each of

:52:56. > :52:58.the bottles. A big turn on the front from Van Summeren, Cancellara going

:52:58. > :53:13.through not taking anything on board. Simon Clark as well, Carlos

:53:13. > :53:20.Betancur going through. So many big names all in that group. I am

:53:20. > :53:25.interested to see who is going to do the chasing as they go on to the

:53:25. > :53:30.main slopes of the climb. Just got confirmation those four are together

:53:30. > :53:33.now. If they managed to stay together over the top of this next

:53:33. > :53:40.climb it becomes a dangerous move will stop surely we have got to see

:53:40. > :53:43.reaction from behind. Belgium and Switzerland are the two nations that

:53:43. > :53:51.everybody will be looking at more than anybody else. Philippe Gilbert

:53:51. > :53:54.and Fabian Cancellara. I cannot believe how long they have lasted. I

:53:54. > :53:58.thought a couple of laps they will be finished but they have been

:53:58. > :54:04.pacing themselves very well. Being team-mates outside of this on the

:54:05. > :54:11.professional team. They ride as team-mates throughout the year.

:54:11. > :54:23.Working very well together at the front. Nothing to lose. Dedicated

:54:23. > :54:27.crowd to be out in this today. So many umbrellas, everybody has come

:54:27. > :54:34.prepared with waterproofs. Those are in the posh seats, they have got a

:54:34. > :54:37.roof. We have been moaning a little bit about being really hot in this

:54:37. > :54:44.enclosed booth all week. Air conditioning not working. We are

:54:44. > :54:49.laughing now! Not saying a word. They are still having a good time.

:54:49. > :54:55.As we head towards the closing stages of this elite road race.

:54:55. > :55:02.Those two are holding the gap according to the GPS track which is

:55:02. > :55:10.phenomenal. Over four kilometres long, the climb up to fears of a. A

:55:10. > :55:21.strong right by Huzarski and young Barta -- Jan Barta. It was

:55:21. > :55:28.considered to be an open race but Fabian Cancellara, who has really

:55:28. > :55:32.targeted this world road race. I am wondering if they have lost some

:55:32. > :55:38.pictures momentarily, as much as I like flags, but it would be great to

:55:38. > :55:41.see the bike riders. We have a slight technical hitch here. That

:55:41. > :55:50.gave us the briefest of looks at Radley Wiggins legs. -- Bradley

:55:50. > :55:53.Wiggins' legs. One or two riders coming to grief. While we take this

:55:53. > :55:58.little rake we will hopefully get the technical sorted out. Let's find

:55:58. > :56:10.out about current Thomas' day. Was it like that then? Not the best

:56:10. > :56:17.day on the bike. Obviously we had Froome as a leader, he wasn't on a

:56:17. > :56:21.great day, the rain and cold, it wasn't to be. A bit of bad luck with

:56:21. > :56:27.Steve puncturing, not the weather for Brad, so they were our two

:56:27. > :56:35.strongest guys and we lost them as soon as we hit the circuit. Not

:56:35. > :56:40.ideal, not a lot we can do. The rest of us didn't have the legs to do

:56:40. > :56:42.anything in the final. You look at the teams, you would think the Great

:56:42. > :56:48.Britain 's would-be best suited to the teams, you would think the Great

:56:49. > :56:52.the rain. Not so much climbing. It was just carnage out there. As soon

:56:53. > :56:58.as you drift to the second half of the peloton, crashes everywhere. I

:56:58. > :57:03.saw five or six big crashes in front of me. As soon as that happens the

:57:03. > :57:08.people lose a wheel, you are chasing, get back on the climb, it

:57:08. > :57:17.offers Lee goes over the top again, once you are in that back half you

:57:17. > :57:24.are destined to get dropped. We all committed to trying, but it wasn't

:57:24. > :57:30.meant to be. Did everybody fully commit at the end? By the time you

:57:30. > :57:37.got to the circuit it was a decimated team. Luke and Cavendish

:57:37. > :57:44.did a great job earlier on. The first time at the client we will all

:57:44. > :57:51.their apart from Brad and Steve -- up the climb. When the Italians went

:57:51. > :57:56.we were still in a good position. It was just hard, not a lot we could

:57:56. > :58:11.have done, don't have the legs. Geraint Thomas talking to Jill

:58:11. > :58:14.Douglas reflecting on a disappointing day for the British

:58:14. > :58:18.team. There have not been many of those in recent years. Disappointing

:58:18. > :58:22.is an understatement, not what they would have hoped for to be out of

:58:22. > :58:25.contention so quickly. They will have two had a good thing. The

:58:25. > :58:32.weather conditions not sitting there. They would have definitely

:58:32. > :58:36.hoped to be in play at least until the state of the game. Visconti

:58:36. > :58:42.leading the chase. Two riders out in front. Huzarski from Poland and

:58:42. > :58:47.Barta from the Czech Republic. The Polish rider was just forging ahead

:58:47. > :58:53.little bit as resort. Towards the head of that peloton, the main

:58:53. > :58:56.chasing peloton, the Belgian team are starting to come to the front.

:58:56. > :58:59.chasing peloton, the Belgian team Van Summeren is driving it or he was

:58:59. > :59:09.only one, I am assuming it is the same person on the front. This group

:59:09. > :59:13.has formed, they have to start working together. Having said that

:59:13. > :59:16.it could quickly be a group of three because Kelderman is not comfortable

:59:16. > :59:23.at all. Visconti putting on the pressure. He is really driving on

:59:23. > :59:27.here. He senses and opportunity. Even if he doesn't pull it off he

:59:27. > :59:31.had is putting pressure on the other teams to chase this down which is

:59:31. > :59:36.helping his own team. The Italians have always astounded me, their

:59:36. > :59:42.ability to be able to put on a national jersey and worked as a

:59:42. > :59:47.cohesive strategy for stock they work very hard to make sure an

:59:47. > :59:53.Italian wins, not I win. Here is the front, Huzarski who is still hanging

:59:53. > :00:02.on there, going past the Polish wrangler corner. -- Fanclub corner.

:00:02. > :00:07.He has been holding on, this next time check will be fascinating. They

:00:07. > :00:17.have been out there for all but ten kilometres of the race. they were

:00:17. > :00:20.cleverer at the start, for the first 100 kilometres they kept it at a

:00:20. > :00:29.steady pace. That lulled the peloton 100 kilometres they kept it at a

:00:30. > :00:34.into a false sense of security. No chase was started, so they have

:00:34. > :00:43.saved some energy for the circuit. I think it will be over fairly soon,

:00:43. > :00:48.but it has been one massive effort. Visconti of going away, the Italian.

:00:48. > :00:53.but it has been one massive effort. He has left everybody behind, I did

:00:53. > :01:00.not think he would do this, but he has decided he can make more

:01:00. > :01:06.progress alone. He is about to catch Barta. He is a very dangerous rider.

:01:06. > :01:10.It has given the other teams something to think about. He has

:01:10. > :01:17.gone past Barta as though he was standing still. Visconti is a

:01:17. > :01:24.team-mate of... He is going like a standing still. Visconti is a

:01:24. > :01:34.train up this climb. He is a very good defender, so he will have a

:01:34. > :01:40.chance to take a breather. There is no way you can get a chase

:01:40. > :01:43.organised. Here is the leader once more. His advantage is around half a

:01:43. > :01:55.minute. The chase is further down the

:01:55. > :02:02.climb. Almost reaching the highest point on the circuit here. This is

:02:02. > :02:07.going to be a fascinating time check on the top of this climb. Everybody

:02:07. > :02:17.happy to let the Belgians get on with it at the moment. They are

:02:17. > :02:23.almost into the last hour of racing today, the gaps of one minute become

:02:23. > :02:28.very interesting indeed. Just looking in the background there.

:02:28. > :02:31.Just looking to see if Visconti is coming into view. He cannot be too

:02:31. > :02:44.far behind, surely. That is a group containing the big

:02:44. > :02:49.favourites for victory today. It is to quite large, this group. Despite

:02:49. > :02:58.the completely different weather conditions, we have seen large

:02:58. > :03:04.groups towards the end. It whittles down to 50, but since then it has

:03:04. > :03:31.not shrunk much further. Just under 44 kilometres to go.

:03:31. > :03:35.now. This will get the Italian crowds leaping up and down by the

:03:35. > :03:41.now. This will get the Italian side of the road. To ride through

:03:42. > :03:49.your home crowd, and be close to the front, what a feeling. And almost up

:03:49. > :04:01.to the top, the main chasing peloton. Gautier the third over of

:04:01. > :04:05.the time check. Now then, it gets interesting on the descent. There is

:04:05. > :04:10.a pressure to maximise the opportunity of a descent. Up towards

:04:10. > :04:18.the front there we just saw Rodrigue 's. Up the side last year's number

:04:18. > :04:29.one Philippe Gilbert. There really is pressure to push on with this

:04:29. > :04:32.descent. The fatigue is there. So easy to lose the advantages you have

:04:32. > :04:45.spent hundreds of kilometres gaining. Just over 1.5 minutes

:04:45. > :04:53.behind. 1.28 the official time gap. Visconti should probably be hour

:04:53. > :05:00.mark now. They do not have long now. Two more sense. Two laps to go when

:05:00. > :05:05.they crossed the line next time. It Two more sense. Two laps to go when

:05:05. > :05:11.has stopped raining now in the race for the first time today. The roads

:05:11. > :05:17.are still saturated, but the rain has actually stopped and I think we

:05:17. > :05:26.can see the sun in front of us. Do not get too excited. I had almost

:05:26. > :05:33.forgotten what it looks like. We know this country is an excellent

:05:33. > :05:46.defender. The motorbike is struggling to keep up with him here.

:05:46. > :05:50.18 seconds between them. He has taken another seven seconds from the

:05:50. > :06:00.Polish rider. He is eating into the advantage. Sweeping left-hander

:06:00. > :06:09.coming up. Listen to the breaks. We have all had a good chance to check

:06:09. > :06:15.this out. The Belgian back on the front. You can see the third Belgian

:06:15. > :06:26.rider. Just happy to leave a bit of a gap there and maybe let team-mates

:06:26. > :06:37.slip away on this descent. 40 kilometres remaining. From the

:06:37. > :06:41.height of the helicopter I thought that was two Belgian jerseys, it is

:06:41. > :06:58.in fact one of the Italians on the wheel. Back to Visconti. Now, can he

:06:58. > :07:07.close the gap on the next passage? Surely he is going to get close.

:07:07. > :07:13.Despite being out there for so long, Huzarski is still riding strongly.

:07:13. > :07:22.Visconti is a commended wild card to throw in there from Italy. -- a

:07:22. > :07:26.tremendous. When he had been towards Florence again, there will be a wall

:07:26. > :07:40.of noise either side of the road cheering him on in proceeds of

:07:40. > :07:46.Huzarski from Poland. The gap is still 17 seconds. Perhaps Visconti

:07:46. > :08:02.is playing the long game and aiming for the finish line. Without the

:08:02. > :08:06.shine of the rain on the roads, it gives you the sense it is actually

:08:06. > :08:24.dry now, but surely that is not the case. Simon Clark is still riding

:08:24. > :08:39.strongly. He has been quietly getting on with it all day. There is

:08:39. > :08:46.now a 12 second gap. Huzarski has done the ride of his life here.

:08:46. > :08:59.Being warned about the right-hander coming up. There is Simon Clark from

:08:59. > :09:09.Australia. What a stupendous effort. Number 48 just sorting out his back

:09:09. > :09:13.pocket. Our leader has about a minute and a half of pain and

:09:13. > :09:17.torture now, he is about to do this climb. An anxious glance behind, and

:09:17. > :09:41.here is Visconti. Panda lies in the close now, but the

:09:41. > :09:50.speed has dropped. 100 metres is still quite a long way. A lot of

:09:50. > :09:57.motor bikes on the roads, both of them are riding with similar styles

:09:57. > :10:03.and cadence. There is no style involved. It is a struggle after

:10:03. > :10:16.this long in the saddle. Look at that. A push from the crowd there.

:10:16. > :10:23.The crowd doing their best to roar on the home rider from Italy. Look

:10:23. > :10:33.how close they are now, but that gap is still around ten seconds I would

:10:33. > :10:37.say. Nine: It is an hour. The women's race actually went up here

:10:37. > :10:47.considerably quicker. You are seeing the effect of the rain and all that

:10:47. > :10:49.extra distance. Just think, they have got to do that twice more

:10:49. > :10:57.before they are done today. Surely have got to do that twice more

:10:57. > :11:06.it is going to kick off soon in the main field. There is Gautier back

:11:06. > :11:24.with that group. This conte coming through now in second place. --

:11:24. > :11:32.Visconti. 200 and 34 kilometres completed it has got to kick off on

:11:32. > :11:33.the next percent of the main climb. -- the next ascent of the main

:11:33. > :11:57.climb. Let's see what kind of condition

:11:57. > :11:59.people are in. At the back of that group, the remaining riders still

:11:59. > :12:33.hanging on there. Gilbert, just if you wield behind.

:12:33. > :12:41.Visconti now joining with Huzarski at the front of the race. Just

:12:41. > :12:52.backing off a little bit, happy to stay in second place at the moment.

:12:52. > :12:59.I will have to get a time check for you off the race radio, because the

:12:59. > :13:05.GPS signals did not trigger on that lap. Probably full of water, just

:13:05. > :13:09.like everything else around here. The most important thing is we know

:13:09. > :13:17.who is at the front of the race and it is that man there. He is showing

:13:17. > :13:21.no signs of weakening, even now. Also a tremendous effort from the

:13:21. > :13:26.Polish rider to be in that lead breakaway group and stay at the

:13:26. > :13:32.front of the race for so long. There we are, our two leaders. We could do

:13:32. > :13:36.with confirmation of the gap. They we are, our two leaders. We could do

:13:36. > :13:40.are three kilometres away from the finishing line and then they will

:13:40. > :13:54.have two more laps of the circuit to go. The last incline.

:13:54. > :14:01.Cycling heartland, many of the professional cyclists living in this

:14:01. > :14:03.region. This is the first time the championships have ever been held in

:14:03. > :14:10.Tuscany. Amazing really, when it is championships have ever been held in

:14:11. > :14:20.considered the heartland for bike riding. You can see why. Amazing to

:14:20. > :14:26.rain, culture and food. In the World Championship is in Spain next year.

:14:26. > :14:35.The gap we have been given is one minute 15. It is all going to happen

:14:35. > :14:41.on the climb. 1.15 is a sizeable gap. In a race with decent chasing

:14:41. > :14:49.roads and big teams to do the chasing, 1.15 would be not much of a

:14:49. > :14:54.problem, but this is not the same thing at all. There has been a crash

:14:54. > :15:01.at the back. We have not had one of those for quite awhile now that it

:15:01. > :15:09.has down. It is Vincenzo Nibali who has gone down, which would be

:15:09. > :15:11.disastrous for the Italian team. Is that Nibali sitting on the floor in

:15:11. > :15:20.the background? That is the second that Nibali sitting on the floor in

:15:20. > :15:24.time we have had a crush on that part

:15:24. > :15:33.Dan, Luca Paolini from Italy. A disaster for the Italian team,

:15:33. > :15:36.everything was working out well for them, everybody else on the back

:15:36. > :15:45.foot and they have lost major players. So many white lines on the

:15:45. > :15:50.circuit. It has done quite some damage to the group. I think that

:15:50. > :15:53.what they're worried looks like Nibali has come off was exactly the

:15:53. > :15:57.same place where a number of riders felt earlier in the afternoon when

:15:57. > :16:05.Cadel Evans was forced out of the race. He is getting back on his

:16:05. > :16:12.bike. He doesn't look unreadable. It will take him a while to get back in

:16:12. > :16:20.touch. A long, hard JC has got in front of him. Doesn't look like he

:16:20. > :16:24.has got himself going. What a disappointment for the home crowd.

:16:24. > :16:28.Nibali, the winner of the Duro Italia this year, one of the

:16:28. > :16:36.favourites for victory dashed Jiro Italia.

:16:36. > :16:45.It is not the riding they were hoping for but it is the one they

:16:45. > :16:50.have got, he is doing a great job. Nibali is out of contention in this

:16:50. > :16:59.race now. As Visconti pushes on at the front. This has become a very

:16:59. > :17:00.important break for Italy, they are probably just getting the news

:17:00. > :17:07.important break for Italy, they are passed across now. There are no race

:17:07. > :17:11.radios. There is nothing he can do, he is already committed to this

:17:11. > :17:22.course of action. It is not a decoy any more, this is going for the

:17:22. > :17:29.victory. 1:10 the gap. Too early to start driving for home. All the

:17:29. > :17:36.British team are out of the race, all of the Irish riders are out as

:17:36. > :17:41.well. It will still be a tremendous battle for this world championship

:17:41. > :17:48.jersey. Two laps to go, just over six and a half hours racing already.

:17:48. > :17:55.Italy have a man at the front, not the one they were expecting, Nibali,

:17:56. > :18:01.their big star, having just crashed. Visconti leads the way along with

:18:01. > :18:06.Huzarski who has been part of the leading group throughout the day.

:18:06. > :18:10.The last man standing from an original five man leading group. If

:18:10. > :18:16.you are wondering why he is sitting at the back, I think he deserves it.

:18:16. > :18:21.He has done 230: That is out in front to date. -- 230: That is out

:18:21. > :18:32.in front Van Summeren drag them up the climb

:18:32. > :18:41.and he is turning himself inside out.

:18:41. > :18:49.The speed the front two riders, Visconti and Huzarski, are going,

:18:49. > :18:53.they made it look fairly steady but the inroads they are making, they

:18:53. > :19:00.are getting there, it is slow and steady. It will be about one minute,

:19:00. > :19:04.just over a minute difference. Peter Sagan in a bright green crash helmet

:19:05. > :19:08.and a royal blue jersey in the middle of your picture, alongside

:19:08. > :19:15.Tim Fabian Cancellara. Gilbert is also there, they are probably the

:19:15. > :19:20.biggest names going into the race, Alejandro Valverde is still up

:19:20. > :19:26.there. They will not wait till the last descent, the tax will come

:19:26. > :19:36.thick and fast. -- the attacking. One: seven the gap. Trying to pick

:19:36. > :19:44.out some of the contenders at one minute and seven.

:19:44. > :19:54.Boasson Hagen, Burkhardt. Boasson Hagen is hanging in there well. You

:19:54. > :20:00.wouldn't want to get him -- let him get over the top. 12 kilometres of

:20:00. > :20:03.climbing left in this race to make the difference to get across. You

:20:03. > :20:11.have got to assume they will be roughly neutral on the descent. They

:20:11. > :20:20.have got about 20 parameters of chase a ball road to get back --

:20:20. > :20:25.kilometres. The action has to start on this next climb. Inside the last

:20:25. > :20:35.two laps of the finishing circuit of the men's elite road race at the

:20:35. > :20:37.world Championships. Jan Barta let's -- back... Takes off and outer

:20:37. > :20:47.layer. We might get a replay of the crash.

:20:47. > :20:55.The pedestrian crossing that causes it. That is a terrible feeling. That

:20:55. > :21:03.is the Luca Paolini crash, I think. That was Paoli knee. -- Luca

:21:03. > :21:10.Paolini. It also involved the Norwegian and Roman bar day France.

:21:10. > :21:14.The crash before the crash, so many to choose from. At one moment we

:21:14. > :21:19.were having great radio calling a crush every two or three minutes.

:21:19. > :21:25.Then it can't down for the last hour or so. With the pressure going on we

:21:25. > :21:35.might see one or two more. Just over one minute. All the medallist last

:21:35. > :21:42.year or in contention, Alberta, Boasson Hagen and fell 30. --

:21:42. > :21:46.Alejandro Valverde. Twice world bronze medallist, two other top-10

:21:46. > :21:51.finishes over the years, will this finally be his year for Spain in the

:21:51. > :22:01.World Championships? He is still in contention. He has team-mates in the

:22:01. > :22:05.chase group as well. Van Summeren has peeled off, his day is done.

:22:05. > :22:19.Gilbert still looks strong, in third position. I am just looking for who

:22:19. > :22:25.is left out of the Italian team. There is Peter Sagan, number nine.

:22:25. > :22:32.Contador from Spain. Skype only is still there. -- Michaelis Carboni

:22:32. > :22:49.still there. Still chasing, he hasn't given up.

:22:49. > :22:56.It is so hard now, they are already on the climb and riding hard. Here

:22:56. > :23:00.we are with the leaders, Visconti at the front. Belgians on the front,

:23:00. > :23:04.we are with the leaders, Visconti at possibly the moment they will make

:23:04. > :23:09.their move or at least it will be the first selection that decides the

:23:09. > :23:22.medals. 30 kilometres to go until the finish.

:23:22. > :23:29.A story with another chapter or two left in it. The fight for the

:23:29. > :23:41.rainbow jersey really hots up. There is the chasing peloton on the

:23:41. > :23:49.lower slopes of the climb. It looks like one of the Colombian riders has

:23:49. > :23:56.gone to the front, is that Betancur? It is Atapuma. This is where

:23:56. > :24:01.sometimes we get a little bit of crossover with professional team

:24:01. > :24:04.responsibilities. That is why sometimes it can look a bit odd, who

:24:04. > :24:12.is working on the front and who are they working for? I think that was

:24:12. > :24:17.Darwin Atapuma. Visconti doing a lot of the work there. There are the

:24:17. > :24:22.gaps. Nibali chasing for all his worth to get back with the peloton.

:24:22. > :24:24.It is still possible but it will take an awful lot out of him. You

:24:24. > :24:28.It is still possible but it will have got no choice when you are

:24:28. > :24:33.racing on and soil. -- home soil. There he is. Vincenzo knew Billy --

:24:33. > :24:46.Vincenzo Nibali. He is driving through the cars now.

:24:46. > :24:51.If they are taking the time checks on the front of the group he might

:24:51. > :24:56.be a handful of seconds of the back. It may be closer than we think. Get

:24:56. > :25:00.a helicopter shot we will be able to see how he is getting on. It will be

:25:00. > :25:06.quite something if he manages to get through that group of the Belgian

:25:06. > :25:08.striving hard. Back Lance was at the front last time we saw it. And the

:25:08. > :25:20.Colombian. Really strung out on the climb.

:25:20. > :25:33.Quite a big group. They are driving hard. Be careful. A little problem

:25:33. > :25:47.with the break. Identity they will like that at all. Really taking some

:25:47. > :25:53.risks. I heard them shouting on race radio, no, they don't want to have

:25:53. > :25:54.to take action against an Italian at an Italian World Championships, you

:25:54. > :26:05.wouldn't get out of here alive for is coming down fast enough? I am

:26:05. > :26:14.surprised nobody has made a move yet. Cancellara starting to move up.

:26:14. > :26:25.That is Nibali, right in behind Cancellara. Iran is still in there

:26:25. > :27:03.as well. Uran. Everybody is not waiting until

:27:03. > :27:11.the last possible climb. Ken Tana there as well.

:27:11. > :27:32.Up the climb to Fiesole for the penultimate time. All of those

:27:32. > :27:36.riders there still in contention. It is a very big group, we didn't think

:27:36. > :27:40.we were going to see that. It is how it has played out in the juniors and

:27:40. > :27:44.the women's World Championships a large group contesting it on the

:27:44. > :27:52.last lap. The Via Salviati has been decisive in more than one race.

:27:52. > :27:56.Marianne Vos went away in the final three, it is to take care race. Nine

:27:56. > :28:02.seconds is the gap being shown. I have just had 20 on race radio or

:28:02. > :28:09.the GPS is probably more accurate. It is coming down very rapidly. I

:28:09. > :28:14.think that is Atapuma leading the peloton with half the Belgian team

:28:14. > :28:18.behind him. Back Lance has been dropped from this team.

:28:18. > :28:31.-- Bakelants. Survived over the top? Their time is numbered. Suddenly it

:28:31. > :28:43.is all looking very shaky for the Italian team. I just saw a large

:28:43. > :28:48.flag about 30 seconds or so ago. He might be champion of the hill that

:28:48. > :28:55.it will not be the world champion. The gap is almost closed now. What

:28:55. > :29:00.are the Italians going to do? It looked so good for them, so strong

:29:00. > :29:02.when I entered the circuit, and then that crash with Nibali has utterly

:29:02. > :29:07.when I entered the circuit, and then change things. The other thing is

:29:07. > :29:22.they have still got Pozzato in that lead group. He is back up to the

:29:22. > :29:25.front. They have also got, that is Nibali, not just got back on but

:29:25. > :29:31.worked his way right back up to the front. He has been there for a

:29:31. > :29:42.little while, alongside Cancellara and the careless Carboni. --

:29:42. > :29:59.Michaelis Carboni. There is Pozzato with betting colour on his wheel.

:29:59. > :30:10.Simon Clark from Australia. He has done a really good ride. And the

:30:10. > :30:15.silver medallist from a year ago. I thought he was an outsider, just

:30:15. > :30:23.drifting off the back but he has managed to stay in this group may be

:30:23. > :30:28.the distance is working in his favour it is not just physical

:30:28. > :30:36.ability, it is endurance as well. What a final lap this is going to

:30:36. > :30:50.be. And another rider to keep an eye on, the Portuguese man. Another

:30:50. > :30:58.rapid finisher who has stayed near the front is the German. He is still

:30:58. > :31:04.right up there at the business end of the race. This group is slimming

:31:04. > :31:19.down. We have probably the best part of 35, 40 riders there. Even with

:31:20. > :31:24.1.5 laps to go in this race, I would not want to call who it is that is

:31:25. > :31:29.going to take this championship. There must be ten names who could

:31:29. > :31:40.win. Luck will play a big part in this. This next passage, maybe

:31:40. > :31:47.someone will use it to launch an attack. That would be an audacious

:31:47. > :31:51.move. They would have to survive the climb and the next main climb. It

:31:51. > :32:03.will probably come down to the next two climbs. It it is still a long

:32:03. > :32:20.way. 42 riders still in contention today. It is Pawels leading them

:32:20. > :32:29.down the descent. There is Visconti who led just a few minutes ago. His

:32:29. > :32:35.day is done. He did a good job at drawing the other teams out. It was

:32:35. > :32:57.certainly not a breakaway that could be ignored. I think that is Serge

:32:57. > :33:04.Pauwels at front. All happy to stay on the wield at the descent. This is

:33:04. > :33:12.going to be some final lap. It will have to be. I am surprised the

:33:13. > :33:18.action did not start sooner. I think the climb was so ferocious that no

:33:18. > :33:24.one felt able to attack. We have not seen Fabian Cancellara, only to

:33:24. > :33:30.identify the fact that he is here, all day. He has lost a lot of

:33:30. > :33:34.weight. It seems this was the main objective for him in these

:33:34. > :33:40.championships despite his courageous effort in the time trials a few days

:33:40. > :33:54.ago. But he is right there in this work of ten or so in that group.

:33:54. > :34:01.Just the one win this year for the Dutchman, in the Tour of Spain, but

:34:01. > :34:06.that is the right time to have it in the run-up to these championships.

:34:06. > :34:14.This group is really stringing out now. There is an opportunity for

:34:14. > :34:21.attacking because you get everything strong out like this, fifth or sixth

:34:21. > :34:25.in line, just launch one. Everyone can see you attack but they cannot

:34:25. > :34:40.do anything about it until they get onto the flat roads. Here we are at

:34:40. > :34:46.the back of the group. The Lithuanian rider bringing up the

:34:46. > :34:52.rear. You are utterly at the mercy of the bike handling skills of your

:34:52. > :34:57.colleagues in a race like this. Everybody has to take the same

:34:57. > :35:20.line. There is no room for error. Anybody who does make an error, we

:35:20. > :35:27.have seen the consequences of that. Only the three riders from Norway in

:35:27. > :35:50.the race. Alongside each other up towards the front. There is

:35:51. > :35:56.Gilbert, number one. 23.6 kilometres remaining in this race. Everybody is

:35:56. > :36:02.easing, everybody is worried about the climb. Having a look around, a

:36:03. > :36:13.chance to regroup. A dangerous time somebody slips off the foot. I

:36:13. > :36:21.suspect this is going to be a ferocious climb up here. Probably

:36:21. > :36:27.neutralise though, everybody now with the bit between their teeth.

:36:27. > :36:36.Kilometres kicking down -- ticking down fast. 272 kilometres, this race

:36:36. > :36:45.today. 42 riders went over the top together. Inside the last 23

:36:45. > :36:59.kilometres. Pauwels still on the front. Marcus Burghardt in second

:36:59. > :37:05.place. Pauwels has spotted the danger, if we let this slow down too

:37:05. > :37:10.much someone will hit us hard. Gilbert making his way back to the

:37:10. > :37:20.front. So he can have something of an advantage at the corner.

:37:20. > :37:28.Will someone launched a savage attack here or will it all happen in

:37:28. > :37:37.the final lap? The Spanish time trial champion is on the side. They

:37:37. > :37:44.are at the foot of the climb. Visconti looked poised, watching for

:37:44. > :37:51.anybody to make a move. Is anybody going to launch one now? Marcus

:37:51. > :37:59.Burghardt is a big figure in the centre in the white jersey. His

:37:59. > :38:03.team-mate is there as well. It is such a short climb, if you want to

:38:03. > :38:09.make use of it you need a team-mate at the front. I do not think it is

:38:09. > :38:13.long enough on this lap, I think it will take too much energy to make a

:38:14. > :38:22.break, too much energy to sustain it and then you would get swamped on

:38:22. > :38:28.the final main climb. Everybody is just going to wait and watch each

:38:28. > :38:31.other. No one is making a move. These riders have been in the saddle

:38:31. > :38:36.for so long there is nothing left in the tank. We are left with the

:38:36. > :38:43.clever riders and they know what they can do. You can get sucked into

:38:43. > :38:47.the trap of going too early and World Championships is finished.

:38:47. > :38:53.They know it comes down to the final two climbs. If there is any small

:38:53. > :39:00.group, the final selection will be made right here in about 25 minutes

:39:00. > :39:07.time. Just going over the summit for the penultimate time.

:39:07. > :39:31.Visconti there who led half a lap ago. 250 kilometres in the bag now.

:39:31. > :39:45.I do not think the Frenchman has much of a chance at all. That really

:39:45. > :39:54.is the longest of long shots, that one. The right move, but too late in

:39:54. > :39:58.the climb. Marianne Vos only had 34-macro seconds over the top, but

:39:58. > :40:14.she did not have an extra laps to go. I think he is just showing his

:40:14. > :40:31.face really. Bardet, here he is at the front.

:40:31. > :40:37.Vincenzo Nibali, after his crash, backed up with the leading riders,

:40:37. > :40:50.were the leading contenders I should say. Was that Bardet at the front?

:40:50. > :40:56.Yes. They have to push it to the limits on these wet roads. The

:40:56. > :41:02.riders have to assume that everything is wet. The white line

:41:02. > :41:06.stay wet even longer, so you can think you are safe, then you hit one

:41:06. > :41:14.of the white lines and it goes from under you. So treacherous. That

:41:14. > :41:24.Swiss jersey you saw at the front is not Fabian Cancellara, it is one of

:41:24. > :41:32.his team-mates. I will be interested to see if Fabian Cancellara has the

:41:32. > :41:37.ability to get over the final climb. Marcus Burghardt there from Germany

:41:37. > :41:37.at the front. Inside the last 20 kilometres of this World

:41:37. > :41:45.Championship race. Probably half an hour of racing

:41:45. > :42:05.remaining in the 2013 championships. That was the sight of the crash,

:42:05. > :42:11.wasn't it? Yes. So many white lines, right where you do not need them.

:42:11. > :42:15.You can see what it is doing to the peloton. There is an opportunity to

:42:15. > :42:21.make a break here, but it is just too costly. I am sure somebody is

:42:21. > :42:25.going to attempt it because a lot of these guys have nothing but a long

:42:25. > :42:34.shot possibility and you may as well have an attack rather than wait for

:42:34. > :42:40.it to be doled out. Interesting to ride the entire race with long

:42:40. > :42:44.bottoms, long arms and a jacket on. It may look quite pleasant now, but

:42:44. > :42:51.the weather has been awful for the cyclists all day. Rain is falling

:42:51. > :42:59.again outside. Just spitting a little bit. It will be damp roads

:42:59. > :43:04.all the way, for sure. The sun just peeking out for the closing stages

:43:04. > :43:10.of this road race. With a little over a lap to go, it is still

:43:10. > :43:15.anybody's race. We just have not seen anything that gives the a

:43:15. > :43:20.decisive idea who is playing for this world title. We can come up

:43:20. > :43:27.with five, six, ten names that have a possibility. They are playing such

:43:27. > :43:33.a cagey game. Experience is clear by the fact they are not doing anything

:43:33. > :43:40.right now. Just two kilometres from getting back to the finish line. And

:43:40. > :43:46.with Marcus Burghardt of Germany. He is trying to keep the speed up to

:43:46. > :43:53.discourage the attacking. I think there is a Spaniard behind him. His

:43:53. > :43:57.job is to keep it together now. There will be several team riders

:43:57. > :44:05.whose last activity is to keep it together until the climb. It is not

:44:05. > :44:17.a big group now at all. Maybe 30 riders. Whittled down throughout the

:44:17. > :44:24.day, and in the next few minutes the big guns are going to go to to toe.

:44:24. > :44:31.When they use like this, this is when surprise attacks can come from

:44:31. > :44:38.the back. There is Marcus Burghardt. The Croatian rider is alongside him.

:44:39. > :44:53.They are being rapidly followed by Visconti. And right behind him as

:44:54. > :45:00.number 34. We have just seen a small gap form, it may have been the

:45:00. > :45:05.camera angle. Is Marcus Burghardt still in front? One kilometre from

:45:05. > :45:15.the finish we have an attack being launched.

:45:15. > :45:23.Several team riders whose duty it is to stop this kind of thing

:45:23. > :45:28.happening. The card just driving along -- Burghardt. Good if we could

:45:28. > :45:33.get an idea of where everybody is lying. One of the Slovenian riders

:45:33. > :45:39.having a go. It is the wrong place to attack, one and a half kilometre,

:45:39. > :45:42.you start the climb, it will be a very costly attack. The Slovenian

:45:42. > :45:49.you start the climb, it will be a rider who won the man's -- men's

:45:49. > :45:55.under 23 race. They have got a bright future ahead of them. Seven

:45:55. > :46:03.hours in the saddle as they prepare to take the bell. The way he is

:46:03. > :46:09.writing, I wondering if he thought it was a lap shorter because he was

:46:09. > :46:29.driving there. 16.5 kilometres plus 50 metres.

:46:29. > :46:42.Of the 208 starters we have just 42 riders remaining. This will be some

:46:42. > :46:46.final lap. They have all been waiting, longer than I thought, it

:46:46. > :46:52.has got to happen inside the next three or four kilometres. The first

:46:52. > :46:58.selection. It might not be completely decisive but they will

:46:59. > :47:04.have to whittle down this Greek -- route. Rodriguez, haven't heard much

:47:04. > :47:09.from him. Boasson Hagen, if you let him get over the climb you wouldn't

:47:09. > :47:12.get against him. Pietersen gang, again we haven't seen much of him --

:47:12. > :47:38.Peter Sagan. The climb rapidly approaching. There

:47:38. > :47:41.is Castroviejo, leads them through. A bit late for picking up a bottle

:47:41. > :47:54.now. Anything that you drink will not be digestive in time. Late

:47:54. > :48:03.problem for the Austrian. Such a terrible day, all that work. I'm

:48:03. > :48:10.problem for the Austrian. Such a done by an untimely puncher. This

:48:10. > :48:21.race will wait for nobody. The Germans investing.

:48:21. > :48:28.What a finale it is going to be. Six: It is uphill. Castroviejo is

:48:28. > :48:55.digging in a bit on the front. It will be uphill all the way to

:48:55. > :48:59.Fiesole now. The Italians with a couple of riders up towards the

:48:59. > :49:08.front. Michaelis Scarponi is one of them. This will be such a good last

:49:08. > :49:14.few kilometres, the Italians have invested so much in this race, on

:49:14. > :49:21.home territory, decimated the field, suffered crashes in the last

:49:21. > :49:31.half hour with Nibali, their favourite. What can they do with it?

:49:31. > :49:48.Paolo Bettini hasn't presided over a win, he would desperately like to

:49:48. > :49:55.see an Italian victory. He is not giving ground, 107 is Marcus

:49:55. > :50:04.Burghardt. Philippe Gilbert, King followed by Cancellara, marking his

:50:04. > :50:12.every move. He seldom picks the wrong will. Visconti, his last job

:50:12. > :50:19.of the day, public got hundreds of metres of left. Hasn't got a lot

:50:19. > :50:28.left to give. Just a few more metres before he peels off. There you go.

:50:28. > :50:40.Denmark taking it up. Scarponi the furthest forward rider for Italy.

:50:40. > :50:53.Just have a look from when they come out from behind those trees. The

:50:53. > :50:58.Danish rider up there. Sorensen is used to playing this key role.

:50:58. > :51:06.Castroviejo has been dropped, he has done his job for the day. They have

:51:06. > :51:19.got to make it hard early on in this climb, it is only a third category

:51:19. > :51:22.climb. Maximum of about 9%. Just on the lower slopes now. Just backs off

:51:22. > :51:27.for a few moments before it ramps up the lower slopes now. Just backs off

:51:27. > :51:37.again. They need to use all of this climb, that is why Sorensen is

:51:37. > :51:43.driving so early. The Danish rider, some people mentioned as one to

:51:43. > :51:48.watch a. Scarponi is on his wheel. Sorensen is really having a go.

:51:48. > :52:08.Dishing out some pain to himself and everybody else behind. Fuglsang

:52:08. > :52:15.looks relatively comfortable. Nibali is not too many riders behind. Lots

:52:16. > :52:19.of warnings coming over the radio to the camera motorbikes, don't get too

:52:19. > :52:21.close, I think they are so enthusiastic to capture the action.

:52:21. > :52:25.close, I think they are so They are becoming part of the

:52:25. > :52:36.action. Also there, about fifth or sixth is in the Royal blue... It is

:52:36. > :52:39.Peter Sagan. If he gets over this climb he will be a difficult one to

:52:39. > :52:44.shift and nobody will but against him in the spring. He has been on

:52:44. > :52:52.his own for some time, had some issues with the bike anyone the race

:52:52. > :52:59.-- earlier on. Sorensen, Fuglsang, Scarponi, Eglin ski from Kazakhstan,

:52:59. > :53:10.and then Peter Sagan. Rui Costa on his wheel, Philippe Gilbert, and

:53:10. > :53:20.Peter Sagan looks good. Valverde, twice silver medallist, then Carlos

:53:20. > :53:26.Betancur from Columbia, also up there is Fabian Cancellara.

:53:26. > :53:31.Everybody is just waiting, just too shallow to start the attacking.

:53:31. > :53:36.Somebody has got to make it hard otherwise everybody will be able to

:53:36. > :53:38.dig deep enough to stay in contact. Scarponi has decided it is time for

:53:38. > :53:44.him to make it hard and opens up a Scarponi has decided it is time for

:53:44. > :53:48.bit of a gap over Fuglsang. That is the job he is doing. Between an

:53:48. > :53:52.bit of a gap over Fuglsang. That is attack and riding on the front, just

:53:52. > :54:09.driving hard stop I will just keep going. That is Carlos Betancur ,

:54:09. > :54:15.also Sergio Hanau. Joaquim Rodriguez in the red and black of Spain. The

:54:15. > :54:17.gaps are starting to form already. The race is really on on this climb

:54:17. > :54:22.gaps are starting to form already. up to Fiesole. Once they get over

:54:23. > :54:26.the top they have just got the descent and the climb up Via

:54:26. > :54:34.Salviati. It is starting to break appear in the final lap. But rejects

:54:34. > :54:40.-- Rodriguez has decided now is the time to commit. It will only be

:54:40. > :54:45.small gaps, not enough distance to make big gaps. But they are starting

:54:45. > :54:50.to form. He is in contention? There is Nibali disappear behind a tree

:54:50. > :54:57.but when he comes back out at him short at is Vincenzo Nibali there.

:54:57. > :55:00.He is without the number on his short at is Vincenzo Nibali there.

:55:00. > :55:06.right hip having fallen. Suddenly it is Scarponi has been for a trying to

:55:06. > :55:09.keep up with the Spaniard. This could be a selection, quite a few

:55:09. > :55:14.riders caught out, the gaps are not big. Some great descenders a bit

:55:14. > :55:21.further back. Peter Sagan has not managed to go with them. Nibali

:55:21. > :55:24.looks good. Right there with Michaelis Scarponi. The crowd will

:55:24. > :55:44.be going wild. This will stick. They're just losing touch, Boasson

:55:44. > :55:50.Hagen. The front group have possibly got about a six second gap as they

:55:50. > :55:57.head the final summit. Scarponi and Nibali and Rui Costa from Portugal

:55:57. > :56:06.in the white journey in their place. Nibali is going. Scarponi has done

:56:06. > :56:11.his work. Valverde is on his wheel. We thought these would be reduced on

:56:11. > :56:15.his nations. It will come down to who descends the best. There will

:56:15. > :56:20.only be fractions between them as they get over the summit. Nibali is

:56:20. > :56:24.a good ascender. He said leading into these championships he felt he

:56:24. > :56:28.could win but he felt he would have to get rid of everybody else. Nibali

:56:28. > :56:36.on the front, the rider on his wheel is Joaquim Rodriguez from Spain. He

:56:36. > :56:43.has shown himself as the strongest of the opposition. Two gaps he has

:56:43. > :56:50.closed. He will do well on Via Salviati. He just has to stay with

:56:50. > :56:56.them. Behind him, Valverde on the back of the group and union.

:56:56. > :57:02.Rodriguez launching an attack. Leading up towards top of the

:57:02. > :57:08.climb. He was the time check, Valverde is also in that group.

:57:08. > :57:13.Riding on the front, Nibali in second place, Rodriguez at the

:57:13. > :57:17.front. Look at the gap they have opened, everybody else was riding in

:57:17. > :57:25.the red, they had to pause. A gap has opened. Rodriguez was always on

:57:25. > :57:32.the outside. Perfect race for him. Climb like this. Which of the two

:57:32. > :57:42.would you back on Via Salviati? Rodriguez and Nibali lead over the

:57:42. > :57:45.top. The leading five separated by just five seconds. With a gap so

:57:45. > :57:50.top. The leading five separated by small, how you can fit to motorbikes

:57:50. > :58:01.in behind them is outrageous, it helps to close the gaps behind. Some

:58:01. > :58:05.good descending is an understatement. They have got to

:58:05. > :58:07.descend better than they ever have in their life if they want to keep

:58:07. > :58:12.descend better than they ever have this gap. The potential to make an

:58:12. > :58:17.error is very high. They have got the feel of this descent, for sure,

:58:17. > :58:24.but it is patches of dry starting to appear. What a race we have got on

:58:24. > :58:29.our hands. We will stay for the conclusion of this men's road race,

:58:29. > :58:35.coverage of the America's Cup will follow immediately after this

:58:35. > :58:40.programme. We with the rainbow jersey on the line, we are watching

:58:40. > :58:44.Vincenzo Nibali and Rodriguez leading the descent down from

:58:44. > :58:52.Fiesole on the final lap of the race. Five second lead, from Rui

:58:52. > :59:00.Costa from watchable, Alejandro Valverde from Spain. -- Portugal.

:59:00. > :59:04.Four seconds in it now, a very fragile lead. They have already

:59:04. > :59:11.showed themselves to be the strongest two. Nibali has only

:59:11. > :59:16.showed themselves to be the one number on because he crashed. A

:59:16. > :59:21.crash there. It is Rigoberto Uran who has gone down. His chances of

:59:21. > :59:25.being watch Albion have gone in an instant. What a drama, a disastrous

:59:25. > :59:30.outcome, the silver medallist in the instant. What a drama, a disastrous

:59:30. > :59:32.Olympic Games a year ago, he was going so well, then suddenly

:59:32. > :59:33.everything just slipped going so well, then suddenly

:59:33. > :59:56.grasp in a moment. We talked descent is just as important as the

:59:56. > :59:57.climb in part, when it is wet like this temptation to overcook it is

:59:57. > :00:14.very high. I would like the camera to pan out

:00:14. > :00:23.so we could see where Vincenzo Nibali is. Roderigo leading the way.

:00:23. > :00:28.Valverde leading the way as well. They have actually got back

:00:28. > :00:34.together. Just to reiterate the America's Cup highlights will follow

:00:34. > :00:41.the coverage of this on the BBC. We are looking at a Vincenzo Nibali.

:00:41. > :00:47.Leading the way is Rodriguez. He just made a bit of a gap on the

:00:47. > :00:53.descent. He thought, I am going to make the most of this descent and

:00:53. > :00:57.see how much time I can put into it. With a rider like Rodriguez he has

:00:57. > :01:06.shown he can win in this sort of situation. He showed it by winning

:01:06. > :01:14.in the past, and Valverde perfectly poised. Vincenzo Nibali has been

:01:14. > :01:19.outmanoeuvred here. He started it, it was a great move, and suddenly

:01:19. > :01:24.there is two Spaniards. He cannot just sit in the wheels and wait to

:01:24. > :01:34.recover, he has got to do all the work. I tell you what, after all the

:01:34. > :01:37.talk and watching this afternoon, Philippe Gilbert and the Belgian

:01:37. > :01:43.team are not here. They went quite Philippe Gilbert and the Belgian

:01:43. > :01:48.quickly on that climb when it started and I am surprised. I

:01:48. > :01:51.thought there would be a larger group at the top of that climb. The

:01:51. > :01:58.Italians brokered apart. Vincenzo group at the top of that climb. The

:01:58. > :02:05.Nibali can shout all day about Valverde, but Valverde is not

:02:05. > :02:11.interested at all. I think he is asking cost if he will help him out

:02:11. > :02:21.and he is saying, no thanks. While that squabble is going on, Rodriguez

:02:21. > :02:25.is stealing the time. He has got to pace himself very carefully. He

:02:25. > :02:32.cannot get to the bottom of this final ascent overcooked or he could

:02:32. > :02:35.lose it all. They are down -- they were down to less than ten

:02:35. > :02:42.kilometres an hour on the previous lap. If you overcook it you could

:02:42. > :02:48.come to a standstill. Costa not helping at all. He is playing a

:02:48. > :02:56.dangerous game, one where he is probably going for a medal. 11

:02:56. > :02:59.seconds now the advantage for Rodriguez. Vincenzo Nibali is going

:02:59. > :03:04.to have to go for it on his own on this climb. The Italians started

:03:04. > :03:12.this move and they did a great job of it. What has Vincenzo Nibali got

:03:12. > :03:18.left? What has this man got left? He can see the gold medal before his

:03:18. > :03:23.eyes. You have got to not panic in a situation like this. Do not go into

:03:23. > :03:29.the climb too hard, ride it steady and then sprint the last 200 metres

:03:29. > :03:35.of this ascent to get you onto the downhill section. What have they got

:03:35. > :03:40.left? This is it for a Vincenzo Nibali. The world title is in

:03:40. > :03:47.sight. I think he could be outsprinted. We should not forget

:03:47. > :03:52.that he was on the seat of his pants not so long ago on the side of the

:03:52. > :03:59.road looking as if he was out of it. He has had to chase really hard, and

:03:59. > :04:06.here he is, contending for a medal. Valverde on his wheel and Costa just

:04:06. > :04:11.a little bit behind. He is staying at one bike length and looking

:04:11. > :04:16.behind. It does not looked like any of them have the legs to attack

:04:16. > :04:21.Vincenzo Nibali. There is not a lot of distance between the top two

:04:21. > :04:26.riders. There is no way they should be a motorbike between those two

:04:26. > :04:31.groups either. Great for our pictures but really starting to

:04:31. > :04:35.interfere with the racing. What a finish to this race. There is

:04:35. > :04:38.nothing in it as they come to the top of the climb. What a tussle for

:04:38. > :04:46.nothing in it as they come to the the world champion jersey. I would

:04:46. > :04:50.say that is about 2.5 seconds. Vincenzo Nibali have got him in his

:04:50. > :04:56.sights. He has decided, I am not going to get any help. I'm going to

:04:56. > :05:02.have to do the work," gap and take the chances. Valverde will instantly

:05:02. > :05:10.counterattack. Rodriguez is still in front. If the gap is closed down,

:05:10. > :05:16.Valverde is in the box seat to become world champion. Spain have

:05:16. > :05:21.played a fantastic game. They have kept themselves in contention and

:05:21. > :05:26.out of sight. It has come together beautifully for them. The slight

:05:26. > :05:31.surprise for me was that Rodriguez had got that 11 second advantage and

:05:31. > :05:35.was not able to stretch that to another four or five seconds. I

:05:36. > :05:40.thought that might be where he confirmed his victory. I think it is

:05:40. > :05:48.going to come back together and it absolutely has. The danger here for

:05:48. > :05:52.the Spanish riders is they have to use that advantage. Valverde strewed

:05:52. > :06:00.instantly counterattack now. He is probably the better sprinter here.

:06:00. > :06:05.Vincenzo Nibali have had to do all of the work. Do not give him a

:06:05. > :06:09.chance to recover. They are staying on the wheels, maybe they are

:06:09. > :06:17.confident on the sprint. kilometres to go. What about Costa,

:06:17. > :06:26.do you think he will try a flyer? Rodriguez have gone again. Rodriguez

:06:26. > :06:37.having another go for Spain. Once more Valverde sitting on

:06:37. > :06:48.Rodriguez's wheel. Costa is playing a very cool game here. Are they

:06:48. > :07:01.going to let it come down to a sprint. What a finish to this race.

:07:01. > :07:05.Three medals between four riders. Three kilometres remaining now. This

:07:05. > :07:11.is the last little rump that we talked about at the beginning of the

:07:11. > :07:16.show. Sure enough, Rodrigue 's have another go. He is forcing Vincenzo

:07:16. > :07:32.Nibali to do all the work. -- Rodriguez. A little bit of a gap

:07:32. > :07:41.there. Vincenzo Nibali being forced to chase again. Rodriguez pretending

:07:41. > :07:47.to set up. Vincenzo Nibali being forced to do all of the chasing.

:07:47. > :07:52.Here's the one doing all the work as they come into Florence. It is a

:07:52. > :08:00.beautiful piece of tactics because they know Valverde is a better

:08:00. > :08:05.sprinter. He is starting to go away with only two kilometres to go. I

:08:05. > :08:08.wonder if Costa is going to do something about this? Vincenzo

:08:08. > :08:14.Nibali doing all the chasing while something about this? Vincenzo

:08:14. > :08:22.the others try to work him over. Valverde stuck on his wheel. Costa

:08:22. > :08:27.loitering on the back of the four. Any minute now Vincenzo Nibali is

:08:27. > :08:32.going to say, I cannot do this, I will start to wait and try and see

:08:32. > :08:38.what I can do in the sprint. Surely enough he has backed off. Rodriguez

:08:38. > :08:44.has got the bit between his teeth for Spain. At the end of such a long

:08:44. > :08:49.day for the cyclists, the weather was awful for most of the day,

:08:49. > :08:55.finally the sun is shining and the roads are beginning to drive. Five

:08:55. > :09:03.seconds the gap. Costa has decided to have a go. Is Valverde going to

:09:03. > :09:08.close the gap? If I was Vincenzo Nibali I would say, if it is going

:09:08. > :09:18.to be for a bronze, I will fight you for it. At the moment, if Vincenzo

:09:18. > :09:26.Nibali does that he will be beaten in the sprint. Costa knows he is

:09:26. > :09:33.going for the gold-medal, can he get there? Can he take the rainbow

:09:33. > :09:41.jersey? Surely Rodriguez has nothing left. It is going to be a chase up

:09:41. > :09:44.the finishing straight with about a three second advantage for

:09:44. > :09:50.Rodriguez. Costa is going to chase him all the way to the line. An

:09:50. > :09:58.absolute slow motion sprint. He is closing that gap ever so slowly. He

:09:58. > :10:03.is into the slipstream now. These two riders are slugging it out to

:10:03. > :10:12.the finish. I think Costa is going to get it. Costa is chasing, he is

:10:12. > :10:18.closing and he is closing. Rodriguez looks into his eyes. The pair of

:10:18. > :10:27.them are going to contest the gold-medal, surely. Vincenzo Nibali

:10:27. > :10:35.is out of contention. The world title is on the line. Will it go to

:10:35. > :10:40.Portugal or Spain? It is all going to come down to this, the game of

:10:40. > :10:46.cat and mouse. Who has got anything less? Elbow to elbow and at the

:10:47. > :10:52.moment it looks like Portugal are going to have a world champion.

:10:52. > :11:01.Rodrigue 's is not beaten yet! -- Rodriguez. Finally it is gold to

:11:01. > :11:07.Portugal and to Costa. He has not hit the front once all day, but he

:11:07. > :11:14.hit the front when it mattered. He is the new world champion. For the

:11:14. > :11:18.third time in his career Valverde get the bronze medal and Vincenzo

:11:18. > :11:23.Nibali, the Italian winner of the Giro D'Italia did everything he

:11:23. > :11:28.could but finished just outside of the medals. What a finish that was

:11:28. > :11:38.and it literally came down to the line. Costa took advantage of the

:11:38. > :11:42.infighting between the favourites. Valverde absolutely got it. The

:11:42. > :11:51.podium again. That was a great ride by him. There was nothing he could

:11:51. > :11:56.have done, really. Valverde, that is twice he has finished second and

:11:56. > :12:01.three times he has finished third. A few of the others crossing the

:12:01. > :12:07.finishing line. No British finishers in this race. The British team had

:12:08. > :12:14.all retired long before the end. There is Valverde. A bronze medal

:12:14. > :12:19.for him. A silver medal also goes to a Spanish rider, but the gold medal

:12:19. > :12:30.goes to Portugal, one by Costa in a time of seven hours, 22 minutes.

:12:30. > :12:35.Here is the finish once again as they went toe to toe towards the

:12:35. > :12:41.line. Costa just found that little bit extra. Amazing ride by Rodriguez

:12:41. > :12:54.there. What a dramatic end. Next up the America's Cup

:12:54. > :13:01.highlights. Straight after that the rugby league play-off highlights of

:13:01. > :13:06.Huddersfield against Warrington. And then from Thursday it is the

:13:06. > :13:14.world's gymnastic Championships, the men's all-round live on Thursday and

:13:14. > :13:19.the highlights on Friday. Then the women's all-round live on BBC Three

:13:19. > :13:24.at 7pm. That is it from Florence. A

:13:24. > :13:29.disappointing race for the British. The Italians threw everything at it,

:13:29. > :13:30.but in the end it was Costa who took the rainbow jersey.