29/09/2013 Cycling


29/09/2013

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Bradley Wiggins rides into the record books. Mark Cavendish has won

:00:10.:00:15.

the world title for Great Britain. Here he comes. Bradley Wiggins is

:00:15.:00:29.

the Olympic champion. Chris Froome crosses the line as the winner of

:00:30.:00:32.

the 2013 Tour de France! A very good afternoon to you,

:00:32.:00:46.

welcome back to Florence for the cycling World Championships. It is

:00:46.:00:50.

the men's road race today. Made even more dramatic by the apocalyptic

:00:50.:00:56.

weather, it has not stopped raining all day. Alongside me Lizzie

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Armitstead, silver medallist and wrote in yesterday's Road race. You

:01:01.:01:06.

must be delighted you were not racing today? Very much so. I think

:01:06.:01:14.

there has been more crashes in this race than in a long time at a World

:01:15.:01:20.

Championship. Yesterday you finished 19th, how content were you? I

:01:20.:01:27.

suppose I was content, obviously not very happy, but content will do. I'm

:01:27.:01:35.

looking forward to next season. Again another World Championships

:01:35.:01:40.

which may suit me. Chris, we always talked about this being a difficult

:01:40.:01:46.

course. It is now. How much difference does this make? It is an

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utterly different race now. Incredibly tough out there, the

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amount of time they have to spend on the circuit. We have been more

:01:58.:02:03.

crashes in the last hour than the last five World Championships.

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Absolute carnage with riders sliding off. The slightest mistake and you

:02:06.:02:13.

are down. Chris has been out on the course and here is his guide to what

:02:13.:02:16.

is an incredibly tough course. Although the racing started some

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calamitous from here, the racing proper only starts when they get to

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the finishing circuit here on the outskirts of Florence. It is a

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really tough 16.5 kilometres. Although the riders are going to

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have to tackle this 4.5: At a scent, a brutal ten times, on paper

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it is very much the toughest dissent on the circuit, but it is not where

:02:53.:03:00.

the final battle will be fought. As they reached the summit, the riders

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are already stretched out into a thin line. They certainly will be

:03:06.:03:11.

when they get here. Because the dissent starts immediately, there is

:03:11.:03:17.

absolutely no possibility of forming a chasing group. Showers will make

:03:17.:03:26.

that fast decent interesting having swooped down the five kilometre

:03:27.:03:30.

descent, the riders will arrive here. It might be just 600 metres in

:03:30.:03:38.

length, but with a 16% maximum gradient, it proves an excellent

:03:38.:03:46.

opportunity for a late attack. I think there is just one more chance

:03:46.:03:50.

around the corner. Before they arrive here there are one or two

:03:50.:03:54.

around the corner. Before they tiny amps. But their location in the

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final few minutes of racing could make them axed -- could make them

:03:59.:04:07.

absolutely pivotal. There are a lot of different scenarios which can

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play out. We can be certain of three things. The classical riders will

:04:11.:04:18.

want to keep their powder dry until the last possible second. Climbers

:04:18.:04:22.

will want to make life difficult for them the moment they get on the

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circuit. Combined, we are going to get an action packed very open day

:04:27.:04:33.

of racing. Really difficult day in the saddle. One rider not out there

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is Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. He pulled out earlier on this week. It turns

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out that the UCI, the International Federation, have asked for an

:04:45.:04:50.

explanation of a possible discrepancy in as biological

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passport. This is something which is relatively new. The biological

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passport is put in place for professional riders. It means you

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have a blood test every month and those values from your blood test

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are put into a database which gives you your blood passport. It is

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analysed, they look for trends. Then they look for anomalies within your

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passport. That is what he has been asked to explain. We understand it

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is an alarm -- and anomaly dating back to September. Chris, should we

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really be speaking about this at this point in the investigation? It

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has certainly become a trend in cycling if there is a positive

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sample, it is all over the press immediately. There is definitely a

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case to say, let it play through and trust the powers that be. Let them

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come to a conclusion then have a judgement. As you know, reputations

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can be utterly destroyed. There may be a reasonable explanation, so we

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should probably hold fire. It is not good news, it is not ideal for the

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British team. Not something they want to talk about on a day like

:06:06.:06:12.

this with fantastic racing. We have to reiterate that nothing is proven

:06:12.:06:17.

at this stage, there is no actual case he has done something wrong.

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The racing started at 9am this morning, it was raining then as

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well. This is the story so far. Here we are, the start of the men's

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elite road race. I think all bets are off if the weather is going to

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be like this all afternoon. Confirmation of our leaders. The

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Venezuelan is at the front. The rain is coming down heavily.

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am just hearing that the peloton has split up on the descent. The second

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half of the pack containing Bradley Wiggins is just making contact again

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now. Those riders were in the backpass as it is split on the

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descent. He has not been up towards the front with his team-mates.

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A small crash there that we can see. We will be seeing a few more of

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these crashes. The Lithuanian rider is in a difficult position. The

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British team chasing the breakaway, Mark Cavendish doing the vast

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majority of the work there. He has Mark Cavendish doing the vast

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dropped to the back now. We have had confirmation that Wiggins and

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Cavendish have abandoned the race. They are out. Not a great day for

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Bradley. Evans has been caught in the crash. Here we are, here is the

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aftermath of the crash and it looks nasty. On the front of the peloton.

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Is Chris Froome seeing his chances slip away? That leading group of

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five has been whittled down to two. Chris Froome is out of the race.

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Chris Froome is out of this World Championship race.

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We started this morning with high hopes of British success. Chris, it

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really has not worked out in the way we thought. No, we were talking in

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commentary earlier that that double was easier to do because that was

:09:15.:09:18.

when the World Championships were in August. You came out of the Tour de

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France and went straight into the World Championships. Now there is a

:09:25.:09:27.

France and went straight into the number of months and a lot of

:09:27.:09:30.

distractions. It is difficult to keep that motivation through to the

:09:30.:09:37.

end of September. It was a big challenge. As soon as we got to the

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circuit, it was not looking good for them this year. Lizzie, were you

:09:43.:09:50.

surprised? Chris Froome himself said he targeted this championship. Yes,

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but I think that is a case of accepting the pressure and giving

:09:58.:10:01.

the media what they want. No one wants to sit in an interview and

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

:10:07.:10:10.

only way you would ever win a World Championship. You have to talk a

:10:10.:10:16.

good game. In terms of who was left, Chris, the Italians are going very

:10:16.:10:27.

well. They look good. To stay out of trouble and do the first couple of

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laps, they did a great job. They whittled the bunch down to around 50

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riders. They are doing a lot of work and in the last half an hour Belgium

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have come to the front. They are looking really good. And the Germans

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as well. There are several teams starting to show their colours.

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Cancer Lara has been present all day. He is looking for a victory. --

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Mike Fabian Cancellara. Who is your money on? I think I will go for the

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defending champion. He is coming into form at the right time. Let's

:11:15.:11:20.

handover to the final stages. Here we are with just over four laps

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to go. What a war of attrition it is.

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going win. Thunder is in the background. As the battle for the

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rainbow jersey really starts to hot up. We had a

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group, it has been whittled down to two.

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The Polish and the Czech Republic rider are working well together at

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the front. Most rider are working well together at

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contenders all still together. We can see the Italian team still with

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three on the front. The main man of course the winner of the Giro

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D'Italia this year. He feels he can win on this course but he knows he

:12:39.:12:43.

will have to leave everyone behind. He would have to win on his own. We

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have been trying to keep track of the British team for you. The only

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rider who may still be out there is the British team for you. The only

:12:51.:12:56.

Geraint Thomas. Everybody else has definitely abandoned. Not sure about

:12:56.:13:01.

Thomas, but we will bring you the news as soon as the. With bikes

:13:01.:13:07.

changes and various issues, not all of the bikes have got the

:13:07.:13:11.

transponders on now, it is not always possible to tell who is

:13:11.:13:16.

where. Peter Sagan is one of those not coming up on any of the time

:13:16.:13:21.

checks. This is where the Italian riders are at the moment, and a

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momentary problem there for one of them. His gear seemed to slip. That

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is actually a disqualification action there. Normally that is an

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instant disqualification. Let's see if the judges pick up on that. I

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think they would not get out of here alive if they disqualified one of

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the Italians for something like that. Marcus Burghardt have gone to

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the front. This part of the course is -- is short and sharp.

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Cumulatively, it really does sap the strength from your legs. You can see

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the second peloton. You can see the speed, just 13 kilometres an hour.

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It shows how steep this is. Well speed, just 13 kilometres an hour.

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over 12,000 feet of climbing they will have done today, broken into

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these chunks. There is Cancer Lehrer just going through the picture

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there. -- Cancer Lehrer. I suspect that he will not get up first.

:14:47.:15:06.

Alberto Contador goes through in the red of Spain. There is Fabian

:15:06.:15:18.

Cancellara. Alberto Contador crashed early in the race, we have to

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remember that. He needs to get back on terms and get into the race. We

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are seeing it start to heat up. Marcus Burghardt have gone to the

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front in the last couple of minutes. An experienced rider. And

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the winner of a classic as well in Belgium a few years ago.

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Dropping back a little bit is the Italian. The latest information we

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are getting is Geraint Thomas has joined the rest of the British team

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on the bus. I think that is it from the British team. We were just

:15:59.:16:12.

talking with Jonathan Edwards, the British team set the bar so high

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everybody expects medals out of every single thing they write. It

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just shows how hard it is. At the end of a long season, weather like

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this, difficult to keep that level of performance. Official

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confirmation, there are no British riders in this elite world road race

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champ and ship -- championship. We have still got potentially a

:16:36.:16:39.

fantastic race to look forward to. There is the defending champion,

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Philippe Gilbert and he looks really good. Looking back just to see what

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shape everybody is in, are there any gaps, is it worth me committing to

:16:49.:16:51.

make some effort? That is the first gaps, is it worth me committing to

:16:51.:16:56.

time I have seen him starting to make the gap but he has been caught

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out here. How did he find himself back in this part of the field? That

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is a surprise, he has been right at the front every time we have seen

:17:05.:17:10.

him. I cannot believe there are physical reasons, he has looked so

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good in the last hour of race. Lizzie Armitstead's for the day.

:17:15.:17:21.

Huzarski from Poland leading Jan Barta of the Czech Republic. The

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long straight road towards the finishing line. They will still have

:17:24.:17:31.

four laps to go and live -- when they crossed the line. That is one

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four laps to go and live -- when hour 40 minutes of racing left, when

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they get back to us, still a long way to go. It's a short and use a

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four laps, but each one is over 25. -- its sounds short when you say for

:17:46.:17:51.

now -- for Belgium are well presented in this

:17:51.:18:03.

group. The only right that they have lost is Leukemans, who crashed on

:18:03.:18:09.

the descent from Fiesole quite a while ago now. Otherwise well

:18:09.:18:14.

represented towards the front of the race. He was the leading duo.

:18:14.:18:21.

If you have just joined our coverage, it has been like that

:18:21.:18:26.

pretty much for the entire day and they started at 9am UK time.

:18:26.:18:40.

The five rider lead group is down to two. The lead maximised at eight

:18:40.:18:47.

minutes, long time ago. I didn't think they would be anywhere near

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being out in front at this point in think they would be anywhere near

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the race. I thought they would have been caught up by all the

:18:52.:18:56.

infighting, probably helps they are both from the same professional

:18:56.:18:59.

team, of course. That little bit bigger than cash

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puddle and again every lap. Five and half hours in the saddle. There is

:19:30.:19:36.

quite a lot of action back in the group, everybody has decided now is

:19:36.:19:49.

the time. That will suit the Batley -- Nibali. There are the two leaders

:19:49.:19:59.

for the moment, we are not expecting them to be in the shake-up towards

:19:59.:20:06.

the end, a little gap opening up, that is Alex Howells of the United

:20:06.:20:13.

States. A bit further back maxi mum for -- maxi mum for.

:20:13.:20:19.

These tight camera shots are showing us the riders, we are not sure

:20:19.:20:30.

whether they are attacking. Gilbert just grabbing a snap behind the

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Polish rider who leads the way. Fabian Cancellara, tucked into the

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middle of that group. Why will find itself was that.

:20:49.:20:58.

Carlos Betancur in the white, from Columbia. The last thing you would

:20:58.:21:06.

want to do in a situation like this is eat that they have to eat a

:21:06.:21:10.

thousand calories in a race like is eat that they have to eat a

:21:10.:21:12.

this, critical to get the fuel on board. I just saw Cancellara tucked

:21:12.:21:19.

in behind one of his team-mates. The weather is not getting any better.

:21:19.:21:25.

Just under four laps to go. This remaining at over two minutes. They

:21:25.:21:39.

have been out that 190 millimetres. It is splitting up a little bit at

:21:39.:21:43.

the front of the race. The German, we saw him attack at the Via

:21:43.:21:55.

Salviati. The Austrian is fourth on the road, four seconds behind.

:21:55.:22:12.

Interesting time for him to attack, four laps to go, a long way out to

:22:12.:22:24.

start making the moves. If he did manage to get a gap of some fresh

:22:25.:22:33.

riders, a very difficult circuit to organise a chase.

:22:33.:22:47.

Still coming through in dribs and drabs, those left in the race. Right

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at the back of the group was Matthias Brandle who had been in the

:22:56.:23:02.

lead part for quite a long time. Fortier of France -- Gautier. He got

:23:02.:23:18.

into attacking day after day. He has got a similar style to Voeckler,

:23:18.:23:22.

which is a hard thing to do. Back with the leading to riders. A long

:23:22.:23:27.

day for them in the front. Not entirely a bad thing to be in that

:23:27.:23:34.

breakaway, the rain was so terrible earlier, it gives you a little bit

:23:34.:23:39.

more elbow room and a bit more of an opportunity to pick your own line. I

:23:39.:23:45.

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

:23:45.:23:49.

been a big advantage earlier, but with these conditions, expending

:23:49.:23:54.

some energy riding on the front has not been anywhere near as costly as

:23:54.:23:58.

it might have been in the dry conditions, just keeping yourself

:23:58.:24:02.

out of edition, right smoothly rather than constant acceleration

:24:02.:24:10.

is. A few seconds advantage for Gautier. Very prominent in the Tour.

:24:10.:24:26.

He will start the client in a kilometre. He will have had to have

:24:26.:24:36.

saved a bit of energy. The energy you expend to get the time gap,

:24:36.:24:40.

suddenly on the climb, it makes a huge difference if you are a little

:24:40.:24:46.

fatigued. All of the attacking will happen on the climb. On the

:24:46.:24:54.

descent, for a good defender like Gilbert or Cancellara, attacking on

:24:54.:24:58.

the descent could be a good move, or the final place, Via Salviati with

:24:58.:25:04.

3.5 kilometres to go. That was where both races were won yesterday. The

:25:04.:25:10.

junior men's race, and also Marianne Vos in the women's race. That was

:25:10.:25:17.

where she delivered the knockout blow and escaped to win on her reign

:25:17.:25:22.

ahead of Emma Johansson and Rossella Ratto. The weather is so different,

:25:22.:25:28.

just 24 hours difference. The entire week has been perfect, dry racing.

:25:28.:25:36.

Even last weekend they forecast this weather. It is utterly changed the

:25:36.:25:43.

landscape. Van Summeren on the front. 61 in the White with the gold

:25:43.:25:53.

and green for a stranger, Simon Clark. Gilbert just pushing Serge

:25:53.:26:05.

Pauwels in forward. Disappearing behind a tree. If that Alberto

:26:05.:26:09.

Contador we are looking up without the number visible? In the red and

:26:09.:26:15.

black with yellow stripe. Gilbert alongside him, the number one on his

:26:15.:26:21.

back. Looks to be working a little bit harder than he was earlier in

:26:21.:26:23.

back. Looks to be working a little the race. Have a marked looking very

:26:23.:26:33.

smooth still. He was an outsider, the kind of person who could take

:26:33.:26:37.

advantage. Germany with a couple of riders up towards the front,

:26:37.:26:41.

Burghardt, having been reeled back in. Serge Pauwels as they come back

:26:41.:26:55.

around to the coin. -- climb. Belgium starting to fill the role

:26:55.:26:57.

the Italians were a little earlier on. You wonder, the Italians came

:26:57.:27:03.

onto the circuit, so dominant, is this a strategic thinker where they

:27:03.:27:06.

have decided they are going to back off and sit back, or have they done

:27:06.:27:14.

too much work to early last remark number 90 in the red and white is

:27:14.:27:19.

Fabian Cancellara, and Norwegian there. 119 is the Ukrainian, he has

:27:19.:27:27.

been hanging around towards the front of the race. The lower slopes

:27:27.:27:36.

of the climb, two or 3% gradient, it slowly ramps up. A few Columbia

:27:36.:27:45.

riders in that group but none of them up towards the front so far.

:27:45.:27:49.

They are just riding on the back, that is Ruby Arno. -- with the

:27:49.:27:53.

anode. You can see the damage being done at

:27:53.:28:08.

the back of the field. The remaining struggling to hang on at the back of

:28:08.:28:15.

the peloton. Every lap we will lose more one to more people. We were

:28:15.:28:24.

down to 84 at the last check. I think we will have 40, 50 finishers.

:28:24.:28:31.

It is the Belgian team setting the pace. The climb proper has started

:28:31.:28:39.

now, 4.5% average before it gets down little bit and kicks up to

:28:39.:28:44.

nearly 8%. Fairly constant for the last kilometre and a half. The

:28:44.:28:51.

Belgians have decided they want control on the descent, I am

:28:51.:28:55.

wondering if they have decided to try something, is it too early? They

:28:55.:28:59.

have committed to keeping the whole team at the front? The French team

:28:59.:29:00.

coming forward as well. Thomas team at the front? The French team

:29:00.:29:05.

Voeckler in the middle of the three French riders.

:29:05.:29:13.

Thomas Voeckler up there, and the French national champion, the French

:29:13.:29:30.

are quite a few riders are there. The first time the French have come

:29:30.:29:34.

towards the front today, they were very tacking in the men's under 23

:29:34.:29:38.

race on Friday afternoon. One after the other having a go in the last

:29:38.:29:40.

race on Friday afternoon. One after three laps also, didn't quite work.

:29:40.:29:46.

The kind of pattern you normally see in a World Championships, you don't

:29:46.:29:50.

see people until the final few laps, and you remember they are actually

:29:50.:29:56.

in the race. Maxine Montfort taking up the pace for Belgium. Six riders

:29:56.:30:05.

left for Belgium, the big number at this stage of what has been an

:30:05.:30:08.

incredibly tough race, certainly since it they reached the circuit, a

:30:08.:30:13.

very difficult race, treacherous for sure, physically hard as well.

:30:13.:30:18.

Instigated by a team of Italy who have gone quite quiet at the moment,

:30:18.:30:23.

we're not sure whether they are just regrouping for the final couple of

:30:23.:30:26.

laps or whether they have spent too much energy earlier on. it looks

:30:26.:30:43.

like a rider from the United States there handing underneath their race

:30:43.:30:55.

cape. -- hiding. They have been riding well. They have not really

:30:55.:31:00.

lost contact with the front group as it has been splitting up. The

:31:00.:31:12.

Italians know they have got to get someone at the front. The third life

:31:12.:31:19.

-- the third rider in line is from Belgium. That is interesting, I am

:31:19.:31:25.

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

:31:25.:31:31.

waiting to save their troops. They physically were unable to close the

:31:31.:31:41.

gap there. The Swiss rider is playing a waiting game. Marcus

:31:41.:31:45.

Burghardt there in the German jersey. An Italian rider, I am not

:31:45.:31:53.

sure who it is coming towards the front. Meanwhile, back with the

:31:53.:31:58.

leading duo. The next time check will be at the 212 marks. That

:31:58.:32:10.

little flurry has split the field a little. Not massively, three or four

:32:10.:32:22.

seconds. I think this will be the shape of things for the next few

:32:22.:32:27.

laps. When the front group sense of the selection is right, the pressure

:32:27.:32:33.

will stay on. They have just under four laps to go. What a tough, elite

:32:33.:32:38.

road race course this is. The French four laps to go. What a tough, elite

:32:38.:32:55.

man there, in second place. There is the American. Thomas, seventh in

:32:55.:33:07.

this event last year, quite a disappointing year by his standards.

:33:07.:33:13.

But he is going to like this sort of circuit and poor weather.

:33:13.:33:20.

Even if this move does not actually work, there is quite a large group

:33:20.:33:27.

there and we get an idea of who is strong and who is not. Who was

:33:27.:33:32.

capable to chase easily. I sense some holes in the Italian squad

:33:32.:33:40.

there. And back with the chasing group.

:33:40.:33:48.

The Norwegian is there wearing a red and white jersey. If you have just

:33:48.:33:58.

joined our coverage, the British team backing Chris Froome today, but

:33:58.:34:03.

not a good day for Great Britain. The whole of the British team out of

:34:03.:34:11.

the race. Two safely over the summer to yet again. Quite a lot of action

:34:11.:34:19.

going on behind them. Our camera shop there gives us a quick glimpse

:34:19.:34:22.

of who are struggling and who is comfortable. Just a little bit

:34:22.:34:37.

further down the climb. That group has really lined out. The group is

:34:37.:34:44.

thinning out very quickly. What is most courageous is having the legs

:34:44.:34:49.

and waiting and waiting. Watching people go up the road and not

:34:49.:34:54.

reacting to it. That takes a lot of experience and a lot of courage. We

:34:54.:35:00.

have seen on the other races, around the three laps to go mark, it has

:35:00.:35:06.

just been too early. No one has been able to get away and stay away for

:35:07.:35:08.

just been too early. No one has been that length of time. About an hour

:35:08.:35:15.

and a quarter of racing. It is inside the last hour that we will

:35:15.:35:20.

start to see it shape up. Gilbert still nicely tucked in the middle of

:35:20.:35:27.

that group. Another one of the Sky riders. Still about 54 riders left

:35:27.:35:36.

in this lead group plus some stragglers. Lots of riders there. A

:35:36.:35:51.

little short also of Diego, he has done a lot of work for Italy. It is

:35:51.:35:56.

no surprise he is running out of gas.

:35:56.:36:10.

His day is almost done. There is a lot more he can do to help the

:36:10.:36:18.

team. If you cannot stay with the front runners on the climb, there is

:36:18.:36:22.

not much flat to give any kind of assistance. It has been like that

:36:22.:36:29.

for some time. The Italians have done a lot of work in the early laps

:36:30.:36:34.

of this circuit. Pack with the leaders. The Italians heading back

:36:34.:36:41.

towards the front on the descent there.

:36:41.:37:07.

The overall winner of the tour of Denmark this year, just 22 years of

:37:07.:37:18.

age. It is quite a tough race. It is, quite a hilly race. He is in

:37:18.:37:21.

some great company here. Sure enough, we have only had 69

:37:21.:37:37.

riders go over the summit. It is just whittling down, a few at a

:37:37.:37:42.

time. They must be getting familiar with this descent right now. What

:37:42.:37:48.

will happen in the last two laps as people start to push it? A little

:37:48.:37:54.

bit of desperation creeping in. You might be able to hear the thunder on

:37:54.:37:59.

our microphones. Every now and then there is a huge clap. A flash of

:37:59.:38:04.

lightning just lit up our commentary position here. That cameraman's

:38:04.:38:12.

cloth was saturated hours ago, but he is still doing his best. It is a

:38:12.:38:18.

point in the race now where all the riders should be having those

:38:18.:38:23.

numbers uncovered. It is getting very difficult to take the capes

:38:23.:38:27.

off. They may be forced to go all the way to the finish wearing them.

:38:27.:38:33.

One of the Italian riders looked to be off the front of that group.

:38:33.:38:39.

Hopefully we can get closer and see who it was.

:38:39.:39:13.

It is who I thought it was. He has decided it is his lap to attack, it

:39:13.:39:25.

didn't happen the first time so he has driven on. He has decided, yes.

:39:25.:39:34.

He is more than capable of sticking it out at the front there. 56

:39:34.:39:43.

kilometres remaining. Interesting little turn of events. And something

:39:43.:39:48.

for the other teams to think about. They will have to commit themselves

:39:48.:39:52.

and because there are some quality riders at the front there. Do a fair

:39:52.:39:55.

and because there are some quality bit of racing to go, an hour and a

:39:55.:40:03.

quarter I think. Good descenders as well. I am trying to think if it has

:40:03.:40:18.

actually stopped racing -- raining on the race once today. I do not

:40:18.:40:21.

think so. Back with the front of the race now.

:40:21.:41:00.

Huzarski of Poland and Barta. The camera scans back down the incline.

:41:00.:41:07.

That is less than ten kilometres an hour. You can see how hard it is.

:41:07.:41:17.

The two chasers are probably only 200 metres behind now. Here come the

:41:17.:41:32.

chasers. Preidler is immediately behind Huzarski and Barta. Even if

:41:32.:41:38.

it does not work out of a forcing the hands of the opposition,

:41:38.:41:40.

Italians. You can just feel the pain from

:41:40.:41:53.

Barta as he strings to get to the top of this climb. I do not think

:41:53.:41:57.

you will have to worry for too much longer.

:41:57.:42:06.

Marcus Burghardt there on the left-hand side for Germany. Nobody

:42:06.:42:18.

is having an easy time up here. You are looking to see who is in good

:42:18.:42:23.

shape, but no one is having fun getting up here. Huzarski and

:42:23.:42:30.

Barta, the first to riders to reach the top. Preidler at 25 seconds.

:42:30.:42:50.

It is an interesting turn of events at this point of the race that they

:42:50.:42:57.

have been allowed to slip the peloton. I was just trying to decide

:42:57.:43:06.

what to call it now, is it a group? No, that is a peloton. Well, they

:43:06.:43:11.

have escaped the growth of favourites in many ways. Looking

:43:11.:43:19.

ahead at the race, some of the real big hitters, the fake Fabi and

:43:19.:43:31.

cancel error's of this world. -- Fabian Cancellara love.

:43:31.:43:39.

Switzerland is in trouble. If they give them much moreover it will

:43:39.:43:42.

become very dangerous indeed. Belgium have not got anybody up

:43:42.:43:54.

there either. Belgium and Switzerland. Belgium, the nation of

:43:54.:44:03.

the defending champion filly Jill there -- Philip Gilbert.

:44:03.:44:14.

-- Philippe Gilbert. Who's going to do some chasing? The Swiss are

:44:14.:44:26.

gathering at the front but not doing anything with it. They may be

:44:26.:44:34.

waiting for the climb. This is where experience comes in. Just wait and

:44:34.:44:38.

waiting for the climb. This is where let them ride away. You know if you

:44:38.:44:43.

chase now, you will get to the foot of the climb and you will get blown

:44:43.:44:48.

away. They have to wait until the climb before they start the chase,

:44:48.:44:53.

so everybody has got to pay a price for the chase. A good hour and a

:44:53.:44:59.

quarter to go before the finish line. We riding with Visconti and

:44:59.:45:12.

Gautier, they are fifth and sixth. Preidler and Kelderman are just in

:45:12.:45:13.

Gautier, they are fifth and sixth. front of them by about 17 seconds.

:45:13.:45:17.

If they can reach that that it is a powerful group of four. I don't

:45:17.:45:23.

think they have got a lot left to give. They have been out there for

:45:23.:45:31.

an awful long time. Kelderman and Preidler, not two of the bigger

:45:31.:45:34.

names to the wider public, but who really good young riders. Preidler

:45:34.:45:43.

is 23, just finished the vaulted Italia -- Vuelta a Espana. He needs

:45:43.:45:57.

him for the next hour. Becoming a dab hand at riding away

:45:57.:46:20.

roads, these two men. Plenty of practice today. Young Barta and

:46:20.:46:28.

Huzarski, just a couple of twists and turns before they turned down a

:46:28.:46:34.

very long finishing straight, a couple of climate as a weight from

:46:34.:46:39.

that finishing straight. That is the race at the front, very much under

:46:39.:46:46.

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

:46:46.:46:49.

the race already, no World the whole of the British team out of

:46:49.:46:54.

Championships jersey for the Tour de France winner Chris Froome today, he

:46:54.:46:59.

pulled out some while ago and after doing so

:46:59.:47:04.

Ceglar through that, disappointed enough to pull out. Definitely, big

:47:04.:47:10.

disappointment especially after having trained so hard and making

:47:10.:47:14.

this such a big objective, it would have been fantastic way to finish of

:47:14.:47:19.

the season. In these conditions here today, it just wasn't to be. Can you

:47:20.:47:23.

tell us what it is riding in the conditions last remark --? The first

:47:23.:47:32.

three maps, even before coming on the circuit, there were crashes

:47:32.:47:37.

everywhere. It's just the weather today. It hasn't let up all day,

:47:37.:47:44.

reigning solidly, and all the drains are flooded, at some points on the

:47:44.:47:53.

road we were that deep in water, that was what caused most of the

:47:53.:47:57.

crashes, people trying to move on the sides and getting stuck in the

:47:57.:48:02.

gutters. You dropped off the tracing group, when was the decision may you

:48:02.:48:09.

were going to pull out? After three laps this blitz started happening

:48:09.:48:13.

and I didn't really have any team-mates with me and I thought

:48:13.:48:18.

this was not going to happen today. Looking forward, this is something

:48:18.:48:21.

of a trial run, looking further Looking forward, this is something

:48:21.:48:25.

ahead towards Rio, is that something you can think about? This would have

:48:25.:48:31.

been a good exercise for that, but given we have come up empty handed

:48:31.:48:38.

we will have to go back to the drawing board. No Brits left in the

:48:38.:48:43.

race now, a significant way to go, pretty disappointing. The conditions

:48:43.:48:51.

are the same for everyone, we have got no excuse, we just went there

:48:51.:48:53.

today. -- were not there today. A disappointing day for Chris

:48:53.:49:05.

Froome, but he has had a pretty good year, several major victories. It

:49:06.:49:12.

isn't Britain's day-to-day in the rain in Tuscany at the World

:49:12.:49:14.

Championships. As we head into the rain in Tuscany at the World

:49:14.:49:22.

final 50 comet is, these two are still in the lead, the Chase is very

:49:22.:49:31.

much on. Preidler from Austria, Kelderman from the Netherlands,

:49:31.:49:33.

catching to close at five seconds since the

:49:34.:49:47.

last check, they are still motoring. It is not long now

:49:47.:49:56.

in a very good edition. Not had a massive year. A couple of wins in

:49:57.:50:03.

the Gia row. -- Jerry did Italia. Belgium have been forced to take up

:50:03.:50:16.

the chase. That is Johan Van Belgium have been forced to take up

:50:16.:50:33.

Summeren riding on the front. The group containing a lot of the

:50:33.:50:42.

favourites for the race. Mollema just having a bite to eat. Thomas

:50:42.:50:52.

Voeckler in the friend in the navy blue. We will see a lot of action on

:50:52.:51:00.

this next climb. They cannot let this go much further now.

:51:00.:51:16.

Just 12 seconds between Preidler and Kelderman, and Gautier and Visconti.

:51:16.:51:26.

If they come together it is a formidable group. A good number in

:51:26.:51:32.

weather conditions like this. We are now with Visconti. It is fair to say

:51:32.:51:42.

you can discard the clothing, the racing is underway and it will not

:51:42.:51:47.

let up. The race is really on for the world title. Visconti tucked in

:51:47.:51:58.

their behind Cyril Gautier. Preidler just different. They offered and

:51:58.:52:05.

forth on the road. As you say, when they get together, a lot of talent.

:52:05.:52:10.

Interesting to see how much cooperation there is. Generally you

:52:10.:52:16.

get good cooperation to make a solid before they start to look at each

:52:16.:52:20.

other and think about medals and the like. No disparity between the

:52:20.:52:28.

countries, all well represented. Refuelling is a key element. Pretty

:52:28.:52:33.

much the last possibility. Only the next few minutes. After that it

:52:33.:52:39.

doesn't matter what you eat, it will not be digestive until you finish.

:52:39.:52:43.

Most will have switched to liquid feeds so they can kill two birds

:52:43.:52:50.

with one stone. Probably about 70 grams of carbohydrates in each of

:52:51.:52:56.

the bottles. A big turn on the front from Van Summeren, Cancellara going

:52:56.:52:58.

through not taking anything on board. Simon Clark as well, Carlos

:52:58.:53:13.

Betancur going through. So many big names all in that group. I am

:53:13.:53:20.

interested to see who is going to do the chasing as they go on to the

:53:20.:53:25.

main slopes of the climb. Just got confirmation those four are together

:53:25.:53:30.

now. If they managed to stay together over the top of this next

:53:30.:53:33.

climb it becomes a dangerous move will stop surely we have got to see

:53:33.:53:40.

reaction from behind. Belgium and Switzerland are the two nations that

:53:40.:53:43.

everybody will be looking at more than anybody else. Philippe Gilbert

:53:43.:53:51.

and Fabian Cancellara. I cannot believe how long they have lasted. I

:53:51.:53:54.

thought a couple of laps they will be finished but they have been

:53:54.:53:58.

pacing themselves very well. Being team-mates outside of this on the

:53:58.:54:04.

professional team. They ride as team-mates throughout the year.

:54:05.:54:11.

Working very well together at the front. Nothing to lose. Dedicated

:54:11.:54:23.

crowd to be out in this today. So many umbrellas, everybody has come

:54:23.:54:27.

prepared with waterproofs. Those are in the posh seats, they have got a

:54:27.:54:34.

roof. We have been moaning a little bit about being really hot in this

:54:34.:54:37.

enclosed booth all week. Air conditioning not working. We are

:54:37.:54:44.

laughing now! Not saying a word. They are still having a good time.

:54:44.:54:49.

As we head towards the closing stages of this elite road race.

:54:49.:54:55.

Those two are holding the gap according to the GPS track which is

:54:55.:55:02.

phenomenal. Over four kilometres long, the climb up to fears of a. A

:55:02.:55:10.

strong right by Huzarski and young Barta -- Jan Barta. It was

:55:10.:55:21.

considered to be an open race but Fabian Cancellara, who has really

:55:21.:55:28.

targeted this world road race. I am wondering if they have lost some

:55:28.:55:32.

pictures momentarily, as much as I like flags, but it would be great to

:55:32.:55:38.

see the bike riders. We have a slight technical hitch here. That

:55:38.:55:41.

gave us the briefest of looks at Radley Wiggins legs. -- Bradley

:55:41.:55:50.

Wiggins' legs. One or two riders coming to grief. While we take this

:55:50.:55:53.

little rake we will hopefully get the technical sorted out. Let's find

:55:53.:55:58.

out about current Thomas' day. Was it like that then? Not the best

:55:58.:56:10.

day on the bike. Obviously we had Froome as a leader, he wasn't on a

:56:10.:56:17.

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

:56:17.:56:21.

Steve puncturing, not the weather for Brad, so they were our two

:56:21.:56:27.

strongest guys and we lost them as soon as we hit the circuit. Not

:56:27.:56:35.

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

:56:35.:56:40.

anything in the final. You look at the teams, you would think the Great

:56:40.:56:42.

Britain 's would-be best suited to the teams, you would think the Great

:56:42.:56:48.

the rain. Not so much climbing. It was just carnage out there. As soon

:56:49.:56:52.

as you drift to the second half of the peloton, crashes everywhere. I

:56:53.:56:58.

saw five or six big crashes in front of me. As soon as that happens the

:56:58.:57:03.

people lose a wheel, you are chasing, get back on the climb, it

:57:03.:57:08.

offers Lee goes over the top again, once you are in that back half you

:57:08.:57:17.

are destined to get dropped. We all committed to trying, but it wasn't

:57:17.:57:24.

meant to be. Did everybody fully commit at the end? By the time you

:57:24.:57:30.

got to the circuit it was a decimated team. Luke and Cavendish

:57:30.:57:37.

did a great job earlier on. The first time at the client we will all

:57:37.:57:44.

their apart from Brad and Steve -- up the climb. When the Italians went

:57:44.:57:51.

we were still in a good position. It was just hard, not a lot we could

:57:51.:57:56.

have done, don't have the legs. Geraint Thomas talking to Jill

:57:56.:58:11.

Douglas reflecting on a disappointing day for the British

:58:11.:58:14.

team. There have not been many of those in recent years. Disappointing

:58:14.:58:18.

is an understatement, not what they would have hoped for to be out of

:58:18.:58:22.

contention so quickly. They will have two had a good thing. The

:58:22.:58:25.

weather conditions not sitting there. They would have definitely

:58:25.:58:32.

hoped to be in play at least until the state of the game. Visconti

:58:32.:58:36.

leading the chase. Two riders out in front. Huzarski from Poland and

:58:36.:58:42.

Barta from the Czech Republic. The Polish rider was just forging ahead

:58:42.:58:47.

little bit as resort. Towards the head of that peloton, the main

:58:47.:58:53.

chasing peloton, the Belgian team are starting to come to the front.

:58:53.:58:56.

chasing peloton, the Belgian team Van Summeren is driving it or he was

:58:56.:58:59.

only one, I am assuming it is the same person on the front. This group

:58:59.:59:09.

has formed, they have to start working together. Having said that

:59:09.:59:13.

it could quickly be a group of three because Kelderman is not comfortable

:59:13.:59:16.

at all. Visconti putting on the pressure. He is really driving on

:59:16.:59:23.

here. He senses and opportunity. Even if he doesn't pull it off he

:59:23.:59:27.

had is putting pressure on the other teams to chase this down which is

:59:27.:59:31.

helping his own team. The Italians have always astounded me, their

:59:31.:59:36.

ability to be able to put on a national jersey and worked as a

:59:36.:59:42.

cohesive strategy for stock they work very hard to make sure an

:59:42.:59:47.

Italian wins, not I win. Here is the front, Huzarski who is still hanging

:59:47.:59:53.

on there, going past the Polish wrangler corner. -- Fanclub corner.

:59:53.:00:02.

He has been holding on, this next time check will be fascinating. They

:00:02.:00:07.

have been out there for all but ten kilometres of the race. they were

:00:07.:00:17.

cleverer at the start, for the first 100 kilometres they kept it at a

:00:17.:00:20.

steady pace. That lulled the peloton 100 kilometres they kept it at a

:00:20.:00:29.

into a false sense of security. No chase was started, so they have

:00:30.:00:34.

saved some energy for the circuit. I think it will be over fairly soon,

:00:34.:00:43.

but it has been one massive effort. Visconti of going away, the Italian.

:00:43.:00:48.

but it has been one massive effort. He has left everybody behind, I did

:00:48.:00:53.

not think he would do this, but he has decided he can make more

:00:53.:01:00.

progress alone. He is about to catch Barta. He is a very dangerous rider.

:01:00.:01:06.

It has given the other teams something to think about. He has

:01:06.:01:10.

gone past Barta as though he was standing still. Visconti is a

:01:10.:01:17.

team-mate of... He is going like a standing still. Visconti is a

:01:17.:01:24.

train up this climb. He is a very good defender, so he will have a

:01:24.:01:34.

chance to take a breather. There is no way you can get a chase

:01:34.:01:40.

organised. Here is the leader once more. His advantage is around half a

:01:40.:01:43.

minute. The chase is further down the

:01:43.:01:55.

climb. Almost reaching the highest point on the circuit here. This is

:01:55.:02:02.

going to be a fascinating time check on the top of this climb. Everybody

:02:02.:02:07.

happy to let the Belgians get on with it at the moment. They are

:02:07.:02:17.

almost into the last hour of racing today, the gaps of one minute become

:02:17.:02:23.

very interesting indeed. Just looking in the background there.

:02:23.:02:28.

Just looking to see if Visconti is coming into view. He cannot be too

:02:28.:02:31.

far behind, surely. That is a group containing the big

:02:31.:02:44.

favourites for victory today. It is to quite large, this group. Despite

:02:44.:02:49.

the completely different weather conditions, we have seen large

:02:49.:02:58.

groups towards the end. It whittles down to 50, but since then it has

:02:58.:03:04.

not shrunk much further. Just under 44 kilometres to go.

:03:04.:03:31.

now. This will get the Italian crowds leaping up and down by the

:03:31.:03:35.

now. This will get the Italian side of the road. To ride through

:03:35.:03:41.

your home crowd, and be close to the front, what a feeling. And almost up

:03:42.:03:49.

to the top, the main chasing peloton. Gautier the third over of

:03:49.:04:01.

the time check. Now then, it gets interesting on the descent. There is

:04:01.:04:05.

a pressure to maximise the opportunity of a descent. Up towards

:04:05.:04:10.

the front there we just saw Rodrigue 's. Up the side last year's number

:04:10.:04:18.

one Philippe Gilbert. There really is pressure to push on with this

:04:18.:04:29.

descent. The fatigue is there. So easy to lose the advantages you have

:04:29.:04:32.

spent hundreds of kilometres gaining. Just over 1.5 minutes

:04:32.:04:45.

behind. 1.28 the official time gap. Visconti should probably be hour

:04:45.:04:53.

mark now. They do not have long now. Two more sense. Two laps to go when

:04:53.:05:00.

they crossed the line next time. It Two more sense. Two laps to go when

:05:00.:05:05.

has stopped raining now in the race for the first time today. The roads

:05:05.:05:11.

are still saturated, but the rain has actually stopped and I think we

:05:11.:05:17.

can see the sun in front of us. Do not get too excited. I had almost

:05:17.:05:26.

forgotten what it looks like. We know this country is an excellent

:05:26.:05:33.

defender. The motorbike is struggling to keep up with him here.

:05:33.:05:46.

18 seconds between them. He has taken another seven seconds from the

:05:46.:05:50.

Polish rider. He is eating into the advantage. Sweeping left-hander

:05:50.:06:00.

coming up. Listen to the breaks. We have all had a good chance to check

:06:00.:06:09.

this out. The Belgian back on the front. You can see the third Belgian

:06:09.:06:15.

rider. Just happy to leave a bit of a gap there and maybe let team-mates

:06:15.:06:26.

slip away on this descent. 40 kilometres remaining. From the

:06:26.:06:37.

height of the helicopter I thought that was two Belgian jerseys, it is

:06:37.:06:41.

in fact one of the Italians on the wheel. Back to Visconti. Now, can he

:06:41.:06:58.

close the gap on the next passage? Surely he is going to get close.

:06:58.:07:07.

Despite being out there for so long, Huzarski is still riding strongly.

:07:07.:07:13.

Visconti is a commended wild card to throw in there from Italy. -- a

:07:13.:07:22.

tremendous. When he had been towards Florence again, there will be a wall

:07:22.:07:26.

of noise either side of the road cheering him on in proceeds of

:07:26.:07:40.

Huzarski from Poland. The gap is still 17 seconds. Perhaps Visconti

:07:40.:07:46.

is playing the long game and aiming for the finish line. Without the

:07:46.:08:02.

shine of the rain on the roads, it gives you the sense it is actually

:08:02.:08:06.

dry now, but surely that is not the case. Simon Clark is still riding

:08:06.:08:24.

strongly. He has been quietly getting on with it all day. There is

:08:24.:08:39.

now a 12 second gap. Huzarski has done the ride of his life here.

:08:39.:08:46.

Being warned about the right-hander coming up. There is Simon Clark from

:08:46.:08:59.

Australia. What a stupendous effort. Number 48 just sorting out his back

:08:59.:09:09.

pocket. Our leader has about a minute and a half of pain and

:09:09.:09:13.

torture now, he is about to do this climb. An anxious glance behind, and

:09:13.:09:17.

here is Visconti. Panda lies in the close now, but the

:09:17.:09:41.

speed has dropped. 100 metres is still quite a long way. A lot of

:09:41.:09:50.

motor bikes on the roads, both of them are riding with similar styles

:09:50.:09:57.

and cadence. There is no style involved. It is a struggle after

:09:57.:10:03.

this long in the saddle. Look at that. A push from the crowd there.

:10:03.:10:16.

The crowd doing their best to roar on the home rider from Italy. Look

:10:16.:10:23.

how close they are now, but that gap is still around ten seconds I would

:10:23.:10:33.

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

:10:33.:10:37.

considerably quicker. You are seeing the effect of the rain and all that

:10:37.:10:47.

extra distance. Just think, they have got to do that twice more

:10:47.:10:49.

before they are done today. Surely have got to do that twice more

:10:49.:10:57.

it is going to kick off soon in the main field. There is Gautier back

:10:57.:11:06.

with that group. This conte coming through now in second place. --

:11:06.:11:24.

Visconti. 200 and 34 kilometres completed it has got to kick off on

:11:24.:11:32.

the next percent of the main climb. -- the next ascent of the main

:11:32.:11:33.

climb. Let's see what kind of condition

:11:33.:11:57.

people are in. At the back of that group, the remaining riders still

:11:57.:11:59.

hanging on there. Gilbert, just if you wield behind.

:11:59.:12:33.

Visconti now joining with Huzarski at the front of the race. Just

:12:33.:12:41.

backing off a little bit, happy to stay in second place at the moment.

:12:41.:12:52.

I will have to get a time check for you off the race radio, because the

:12:52.:12:59.

GPS signals did not trigger on that lap. Probably full of water, just

:12:59.:13:05.

like everything else around here. The most important thing is we know

:13:05.:13:09.

who is at the front of the race and it is that man there. He is showing

:13:09.:13:17.

no signs of weakening, even now. Also a tremendous effort from the

:13:17.:13:21.

Polish rider to be in that lead breakaway group and stay at the

:13:21.:13:26.

front of the race for so long. There we are, our two leaders. We could do

:13:26.:13:32.

with confirmation of the gap. They we are, our two leaders. We could do

:13:32.:13:36.

are three kilometres away from the finishing line and then they will

:13:36.:13:40.

have two more laps of the circuit to go. The last incline.

:13:40.:13:54.

Cycling heartland, many of the professional cyclists living in this

:13:54.:14:01.

region. This is the first time the championships have ever been held in

:14:01.:14:03.

Tuscany. Amazing really, when it is championships have ever been held in

:14:03.:14:10.

considered the heartland for bike riding. You can see why. Amazing to

:14:11.:14:20.

rain, culture and food. In the World Championship is in Spain next year.

:14:20.:14:26.

The gap we have been given is one minute 15. It is all going to happen

:14:26.:14:35.

on the climb. 1.15 is a sizeable gap. In a race with decent chasing

:14:35.:14:41.

roads and big teams to do the chasing, 1.15 would be not much of a

:14:41.:14:49.

problem, but this is not the same thing at all. There has been a crash

:14:49.:14:54.

at the back. We have not had one of those for quite awhile now that it

:14:54.:15:01.

has down. It is Vincenzo Nibali who has gone down, which would be

:15:01.:15:09.

disastrous for the Italian team. Is that Nibali sitting on the floor in

:15:09.:15:11.

the background? That is the second that Nibali sitting on the floor in

:15:11.:15:20.

time we have had a crush on that part

:15:20.:15:24.

Dan, Luca Paolini from Italy. A disaster for the Italian team,

:15:24.:15:33.

everything was working out well for them, everybody else on the back

:15:33.:15:36.

foot and they have lost major players. So many white lines on the

:15:36.:15:45.

circuit. It has done quite some damage to the group. I think that

:15:45.:15:50.

what they're worried looks like Nibali has come off was exactly the

:15:50.:15:53.

same place where a number of riders felt earlier in the afternoon when

:15:53.:15:57.

Cadel Evans was forced out of the race. He is getting back on his

:15:57.:16:05.

bike. He doesn't look unreadable. It will take him a while to get back in

:16:05.:16:12.

touch. A long, hard JC has got in front of him. Doesn't look like he

:16:12.:16:20.

has got himself going. What a disappointment for the home crowd.

:16:20.:16:24.

Nibali, the winner of the Duro Italia this year, one of the

:16:24.:16:28.

favourites for victory dashed Jiro Italia.

:16:28.:16:36.

It is not the riding they were hoping for but it is the one they

:16:36.:16:45.

have got, he is doing a great job. Nibali is out of contention in this

:16:45.:16:50.

race now. As Visconti pushes on at the front. This has become a very

:16:50.:16:59.

important break for Italy, they are probably just getting the news

:16:59.:17:00.

important break for Italy, they are passed across now. There are no race

:17:00.:17:07.

radios. There is nothing he can do, he is already committed to this

:17:07.:17:11.

course of action. It is not a decoy any more, this is going for the

:17:11.:17:22.

victory. 1:10 the gap. Too early to start driving for home. All the

:17:22.:17:29.

British team are out of the race, all of the Irish riders are out as

:17:29.:17:36.

well. It will still be a tremendous battle for this world championship

:17:36.:17:41.

jersey. Two laps to go, just over six and a half hours racing already.

:17:41.:17:48.

Italy have a man at the front, not the one they were expecting, Nibali,

:17:48.:17:55.

their big star, having just crashed. Visconti leads the way along with

:17:56.:18:01.

Huzarski who has been part of the leading group throughout the day.

:18:01.:18:06.

The last man standing from an original five man leading group. If

:18:06.:18:10.

you are wondering why he is sitting at the back, I think he deserves it.

:18:10.:18:16.

He has done 230: That is out in front to date. -- 230: That is out

:18:16.:18:21.

in front Van Summeren drag them up the climb

:18:21.:18:32.

and he is turning himself inside out.

:18:32.:18:41.

The speed the front two riders, Visconti and Huzarski, are going,

:18:41.:18:49.

they made it look fairly steady but the inroads they are making, they

:18:49.:18:53.

are getting there, it is slow and steady. It will be about one minute,

:18:53.:19:00.

just over a minute difference. Peter Sagan in a bright green crash helmet

:19:00.:19:04.

and a royal blue jersey in the middle of your picture, alongside

:19:05.:19:08.

Tim Fabian Cancellara. Gilbert is also there, they are probably the

:19:08.:19:15.

biggest names going into the race, Alejandro Valverde is still up

:19:15.:19:20.

there. They will not wait till the last descent, the tax will come

:19:20.:19:26.

thick and fast. -- the attacking. One: seven the gap. Trying to pick

:19:26.:19:36.

out some of the contenders at one minute and seven.

:19:36.:19:44.

Boasson Hagen, Burkhardt. Boasson Hagen is hanging in there well. You

:19:44.:19:54.

wouldn't want to get him -- let him get over the top. 12 kilometres of

:19:54.:20:00.

climbing left in this race to make the difference to get across. You

:20:00.:20:03.

have got to assume they will be roughly neutral on the descent. They

:20:03.:20:11.

have got about 20 parameters of chase a ball road to get back --

:20:11.:20:20.

kilometres. The action has to start on this next climb. Inside the last

:20:20.:20:25.

two laps of the finishing circuit of the men's elite road race at the

:20:25.:20:35.

world Championships. Jan Barta let's -- back... Takes off and outer

:20:35.:20:37.

layer. We might get a replay of the crash.

:20:37.:20:47.

The pedestrian crossing that causes it. That is a terrible feeling. That

:20:47.:20:55.

is the Luca Paolini crash, I think. That was Paoli knee. -- Luca

:20:55.:21:03.

Paolini. It also involved the Norwegian and Roman bar day France.

:21:03.:21:10.

The crash before the crash, so many to choose from. At one moment we

:21:10.:21:14.

were having great radio calling a crush every two or three minutes.

:21:14.:21:19.

Then it can't down for the last hour or so. With the pressure going on we

:21:19.:21:25.

might see one or two more. Just over one minute. All the medallist last

:21:25.:21:35.

year or in contention, Alberta, Boasson Hagen and fell 30. --

:21:35.:21:42.

Alejandro Valverde. Twice world bronze medallist, two other top-10

:21:42.:21:46.

finishes over the years, will this finally be his year for Spain in the

:21:46.:21:51.

World Championships? He is still in contention. He has team-mates in the

:21:51.:22:01.

chase group as well. Van Summeren has peeled off, his day is done.

:22:01.:22:05.

Gilbert still looks strong, in third position. I am just looking for who

:22:05.:22:19.

is left out of the Italian team. There is Peter Sagan, number nine.

:22:19.:22:25.

Contador from Spain. Skype only is still there. -- Michaelis Carboni

:22:25.:22:32.

still there. Still chasing, he hasn't given up.

:22:32.:22:49.

It is so hard now, they are already on the climb and riding hard. Here

:22:49.:22:56.

we are with the leaders, Visconti at the front. Belgians on the front,

:22:56.:23:00.

we are with the leaders, Visconti at possibly the moment they will make

:23:00.:23:04.

their move or at least it will be the first selection that decides the

:23:04.:23:09.

medals. 30 kilometres to go until the finish.

:23:09.:23:22.

A story with another chapter or two left in it. The fight for the

:23:22.:23:29.

rainbow jersey really hots up. There is the chasing peloton on the

:23:29.:23:41.

lower slopes of the climb. It looks like one of the Colombian riders has

:23:41.:23:49.

gone to the front, is that Betancur? It is Atapuma. This is where

:23:49.:23:56.

sometimes we get a little bit of crossover with professional team

:23:56.:24:01.

responsibilities. That is why sometimes it can look a bit odd, who

:24:01.:24:04.

is working on the front and who are they working for? I think that was

:24:04.:24:12.

Darwin Atapuma. Visconti doing a lot of the work there. There are the

:24:12.:24:17.

gaps. Nibali chasing for all his worth to get back with the peloton.

:24:17.:24:22.

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

:24:22.:24:24.

It is still possible but it will have got no choice when you are

:24:24.:24:28.

racing on and soil. -- home soil. There he is. Vincenzo knew Billy --

:24:28.:24:33.

Vincenzo Nibali. He is driving through the cars now.

:24:33.:24:46.

If they are taking the time checks on the front of the group he might

:24:46.:24:51.

be a handful of seconds of the back. It may be closer than we think. Get

:24:51.:24:56.

a helicopter shot we will be able to see how he is getting on. It will be

:24:56.:25:00.

quite something if he manages to get through that group of the Belgian

:25:00.:25:06.

striving hard. Back Lance was at the front last time we saw it. And the

:25:06.:25:08.

Colombian. Really strung out on the climb.

:25:08.:25:20.

Quite a big group. They are driving hard. Be careful. A little problem

:25:20.:25:33.

with the break. Identity they will like that at all. Really taking some

:25:33.:25:47.

risks. I heard them shouting on race radio, no, they don't want to have

:25:47.:25:53.

to take action against an Italian at an Italian World Championships, you

:25:53.:25:54.

wouldn't get out of here alive for is coming down fast enough? I am

:25:54.:26:05.

surprised nobody has made a move yet. Cancellara starting to move up.

:26:05.:26:14.

That is Nibali, right in behind Cancellara. Iran is still in there

:26:14.:26:25.

as well. Uran. Everybody is not waiting until

:26:25.:27:03.

the last possible climb. Ken Tana there as well.

:27:03.:27:11.

Up the climb to Fiesole for the penultimate time. All of those

:27:11.:27:32.

riders there still in contention. It is a very big group, we didn't think

:27:32.:27:36.

we were going to see that. It is how it has played out in the juniors and

:27:36.:27:40.

the women's World Championships a large group contesting it on the

:27:40.:27:44.

last lap. The Via Salviati has been decisive in more than one race.

:27:44.:27:52.

Marianne Vos went away in the final three, it is to take care race. Nine

:27:52.:27:56.

seconds is the gap being shown. I have just had 20 on race radio or

:27:56.:28:02.

the GPS is probably more accurate. It is coming down very rapidly. I

:28:02.:28:09.

think that is Atapuma leading the peloton with half the Belgian team

:28:09.:28:14.

behind him. Back Lance has been dropped from this team.

:28:14.:28:18.

-- Bakelants. Survived over the top? Their time is numbered. Suddenly it

:28:18.:28:31.

is all looking very shaky for the Italian team. I just saw a large

:28:31.:28:43.

flag about 30 seconds or so ago. He might be champion of the hill that

:28:43.:28:48.

it will not be the world champion. The gap is almost closed now. What

:28:48.:28:55.

are the Italians going to do? It looked so good for them, so strong

:28:55.:29:00.

when I entered the circuit, and then that crash with Nibali has utterly

:29:00.:29:02.

when I entered the circuit, and then change things. The other thing is

:29:02.:29:07.

they have still got Pozzato in that lead group. He is back up to the

:29:07.:29:22.

front. They have also got, that is Nibali, not just got back on but

:29:22.:29:25.

worked his way right back up to the front. He has been there for a

:29:25.:29:31.

little while, alongside Cancellara and the careless Carboni. --

:29:31.:29:42.

Michaelis Carboni. There is Pozzato with betting colour on his wheel.

:29:42.:29:59.

Simon Clark from Australia. He has done a really good ride. And the

:29:59.:30:10.

silver medallist from a year ago. I thought he was an outsider, just

:30:10.:30:15.

drifting off the back but he has managed to stay in this group may be

:30:15.:30:23.

the distance is working in his favour it is not just physical

:30:23.:30:28.

ability, it is endurance as well. What a final lap this is going to

:30:28.:30:36.

be. And another rider to keep an eye on, the Portuguese man. Another

:30:36.:30:50.

rapid finisher who has stayed near the front is the German. He is still

:30:50.:30:58.

right up there at the business end of the race. This group is slimming

:30:58.:31:04.

down. We have probably the best part of 35, 40 riders there. Even with

:31:04.:31:19.

1.5 laps to go in this race, I would not want to call who it is that is

:31:20.:31:24.

going to take this championship. There must be ten names who could

:31:25.:31:29.

win. Luck will play a big part in this. This next passage, maybe

:31:29.:31:40.

someone will use it to launch an attack. That would be an audacious

:31:40.:31:47.

move. They would have to survive the climb and the next main climb. It

:31:47.:31:51.

will probably come down to the next two climbs. It it is still a long

:31:51.:32:03.

way. 42 riders still in contention today. It is Pawels leading them

:32:03.:32:20.

down the descent. There is Visconti who led just a few minutes ago. His

:32:20.:32:29.

day is done. He did a good job at drawing the other teams out. It was

:32:29.:32:35.

certainly not a breakaway that could be ignored. I think that is Serge

:32:35.:32:57.

Pauwels at front. All happy to stay on the wield at the descent. This is

:32:57.:33:04.

going to be some final lap. It will have to be. I am surprised the

:33:04.:33:12.

action did not start sooner. I think the climb was so ferocious that no

:33:13.:33:18.

one felt able to attack. We have not seen Fabian Cancellara, only to

:33:18.:33:24.

identify the fact that he is here, all day. He has lost a lot of

:33:24.:33:30.

weight. It seems this was the main objective for him in these

:33:30.:33:34.

championships despite his courageous effort in the time trials a few days

:33:34.:33:40.

ago. But he is right there in this work of ten or so in that group.

:33:40.:33:54.

Just the one win this year for the Dutchman, in the Tour of Spain, but

:33:54.:34:01.

that is the right time to have it in the run-up to these championships.

:34:01.:34:06.

This group is really stringing out now. There is an opportunity for

:34:06.:34:14.

attacking because you get everything strong out like this, fifth or sixth

:34:14.:34:21.

in line, just launch one. Everyone can see you attack but they cannot

:34:21.:34:25.

do anything about it until they get onto the flat roads. Here we are at

:34:25.:34:40.

the back of the group. The Lithuanian rider bringing up the

:34:40.:34:46.

rear. You are utterly at the mercy of the bike handling skills of your

:34:46.:34:52.

colleagues in a race like this. Everybody has to take the same

:34:52.:34:57.

line. There is no room for error. Anybody who does make an error, we

:34:57.:35:20.

have seen the consequences of that. Only the three riders from Norway in

:35:20.:35:27.

the race. Alongside each other up towards the front. There is

:35:27.:35:50.

Gilbert, number one. 23.6 kilometres remaining in this race. Everybody is

:35:51.:35:56.

easing, everybody is worried about the climb. Having a look around, a

:35:56.:36:02.

chance to regroup. A dangerous time somebody slips off the foot. I

:36:03.:36:13.

suspect this is going to be a ferocious climb up here. Probably

:36:13.:36:21.

neutralise though, everybody now with the bit between their teeth.

:36:21.:36:27.

Kilometres kicking down -- ticking down fast. 272 kilometres, this race

:36:27.:36:36.

today. 42 riders went over the top together. Inside the last 23

:36:36.:36:45.

kilometres. Pauwels still on the front. Marcus Burghardt in second

:36:45.:36:59.

place. Pauwels has spotted the danger, if we let this slow down too

:36:59.:37:05.

much someone will hit us hard. Gilbert making his way back to the

:37:05.:37:10.

front. So he can have something of an advantage at the corner.

:37:10.:37:20.

Will someone launched a savage attack here or will it all happen in

:37:20.:37:28.

the final lap? The Spanish time trial champion is on the side. They

:37:28.:37:37.

are at the foot of the climb. Visconti looked poised, watching for

:37:37.:37:44.

anybody to make a move. Is anybody going to launch one now? Marcus

:37:44.:37:51.

Burghardt is a big figure in the centre in the white jersey. His

:37:51.:37:59.

team-mate is there as well. It is such a short climb, if you want to

:37:59.:38:03.

make use of it you need a team-mate at the front. I do not think it is

:38:03.:38:09.

long enough on this lap, I think it will take too much energy to make a

:38:09.:38:13.

break, too much energy to sustain it and then you would get swamped on

:38:14.:38:22.

the final main climb. Everybody is just going to wait and watch each

:38:22.:38:28.

other. No one is making a move. These riders have been in the saddle

:38:28.:38:31.

for so long there is nothing left in the tank. We are left with the

:38:31.:38:36.

clever riders and they know what they can do. You can get sucked into

:38:36.:38:43.

the trap of going too early and World Championships is finished.

:38:43.:38:47.

They know it comes down to the final two climbs. If there is any small

:38:47.:38:53.

group, the final selection will be made right here in about 25 minutes

:38:53.:39:00.

time. Just going over the summit for the penultimate time.

:39:00.:39:07.

Visconti there who led half a lap ago. 250 kilometres in the bag now.

:39:07.:39:31.

I do not think the Frenchman has much of a chance at all. That really

:39:31.:39:45.

is the longest of long shots, that one. The right move, but too late in

:39:45.:39:54.

the climb. Marianne Vos only had 34-macro seconds over the top, but

:39:54.:39:58.

she did not have an extra laps to go. I think he is just showing his

:39:58.:40:14.

face really. Bardet, here he is at the front.

:40:14.:40:31.

Vincenzo Nibali, after his crash, backed up with the leading riders,

:40:31.:40:37.

were the leading contenders I should say. Was that Bardet at the front?

:40:37.:40:50.

Yes. They have to push it to the limits on these wet roads. The

:40:50.:40:56.

riders have to assume that everything is wet. The white line

:40:56.:41:02.

stay wet even longer, so you can think you are safe, then you hit one

:41:02.:41:06.

of the white lines and it goes from under you. So treacherous. That

:41:06.:41:14.

Swiss jersey you saw at the front is not Fabian Cancellara, it is one of

:41:14.:41:24.

his team-mates. I will be interested to see if Fabian Cancellara has the

:41:24.:41:32.

ability to get over the final climb. Marcus Burghardt there from Germany

:41:32.:41:37.

at the front. Inside the last 20 kilometres of this World

:41:37.:41:37.

Championship race. Probably half an hour of racing

:41:37.:41:45.

remaining in the 2013 championships. That was the sight of the crash,

:41:45.:42:05.

wasn't it? Yes. So many white lines, right where you do not need them.

:42:05.:42:11.

You can see what it is doing to the peloton. There is an opportunity to

:42:11.:42:15.

make a break here, but it is just too costly. I am sure somebody is

:42:15.:42:21.

going to attempt it because a lot of these guys have nothing but a long

:42:21.:42:25.

shot possibility and you may as well have an attack rather than wait for

:42:25.:42:34.

it to be doled out. Interesting to ride the entire race with long

:42:34.:42:40.

bottoms, long arms and a jacket on. It may look quite pleasant now, but

:42:40.:42:44.

the weather has been awful for the cyclists all day. Rain is falling

:42:44.:42:51.

again outside. Just spitting a little bit. It will be damp roads

:42:51.:42:59.

all the way, for sure. The sun just peeking out for the closing stages

:42:59.:43:04.

of this road race. With a little over a lap to go, it is still

:43:04.:43:10.

anybody's race. We just have not seen anything that gives the a

:43:10.:43:15.

decisive idea who is playing for this world title. We can come up

:43:15.:43:20.

with five, six, ten names that have a possibility. They are playing such

:43:20.:43:27.

a cagey game. Experience is clear by the fact they are not doing anything

:43:27.:43:33.

right now. Just two kilometres from getting back to the finish line. And

:43:33.:43:40.

with Marcus Burghardt of Germany. He is trying to keep the speed up to

:43:40.:43:46.

discourage the attacking. I think there is a Spaniard behind him. His

:43:46.:43:53.

job is to keep it together now. There will be several team riders

:43:53.:43:57.

whose last activity is to keep it together until the climb. It is not

:43:57.:44:05.

a big group now at all. Maybe 30 riders. Whittled down throughout the

:44:05.:44:17.

day, and in the next few minutes the big guns are going to go to to toe.

:44:17.:44:24.

When they use like this, this is when surprise attacks can come from

:44:24.:44:31.

the back. There is Marcus Burghardt. The Croatian rider is alongside him.

:44:31.:44:38.

They are being rapidly followed by Visconti. And right behind him as

:44:39.:44:53.

number 34. We have just seen a small gap form, it may have been the

:44:54.:45:00.

camera angle. Is Marcus Burghardt still in front? One kilometre from

:45:00.:45:05.

the finish we have an attack being launched.

:45:05.:45:15.

Several team riders whose duty it is to stop this kind of thing

:45:15.:45:23.

happening. The card just driving along -- Burghardt. Good if we could

:45:23.:45:28.

get an idea of where everybody is lying. One of the Slovenian riders

:45:28.:45:33.

having a go. It is the wrong place to attack, one and a half kilometre,

:45:33.:45:39.

you start the climb, it will be a very costly attack. The Slovenian

:45:39.:45:42.

you start the climb, it will be a rider who won the man's -- men's

:45:42.:45:49.

under 23 race. They have got a bright future ahead of them. Seven

:45:49.:45:55.

hours in the saddle as they prepare to take the bell. The way he is

:45:55.:46:03.

writing, I wondering if he thought it was a lap shorter because he was

:46:03.:46:09.

driving there. 16.5 kilometres plus 50 metres.

:46:09.:46:29.

Of the 208 starters we have just 42 riders remaining. This will be some

:46:29.:46:42.

final lap. They have all been waiting, longer than I thought, it

:46:42.:46:46.

has got to happen inside the next three or four kilometres. The first

:46:46.:46:52.

selection. It might not be completely decisive but they will

:46:52.:46:58.

have to whittle down this Greek -- route. Rodriguez, haven't heard much

:46:59.:47:04.

from him. Boasson Hagen, if you let him get over the climb you wouldn't

:47:04.:47:09.

get against him. Pietersen gang, again we haven't seen much of him --

:47:09.:47:12.

Peter Sagan. The climb rapidly approaching. There

:47:12.:47:38.

is Castroviejo, leads them through. A bit late for picking up a bottle

:47:38.:47:41.

now. Anything that you drink will not be digestive in time. Late

:47:41.:47:54.

problem for the Austrian. Such a terrible day, all that work. I'm

:47:54.:48:03.

problem for the Austrian. Such a done by an untimely puncher. This

:48:03.:48:10.

race will wait for nobody. The Germans investing.

:48:10.:48:21.

What a finale it is going to be. Six: It is uphill. Castroviejo is

:48:21.:48:28.

digging in a bit on the front. It will be uphill all the way to

:48:28.:48:55.

Fiesole now. The Italians with a couple of riders up towards the

:48:55.:48:59.

front. Michaelis Scarponi is one of them. This will be such a good last

:48:59.:49:08.

few kilometres, the Italians have invested so much in this race, on

:49:08.:49:14.

home territory, decimated the field, suffered crashes in the last

:49:14.:49:21.

half hour with Nibali, their favourite. What can they do with it?

:49:21.:49:31.

Paolo Bettini hasn't presided over a win, he would desperately like to

:49:31.:49:48.

see an Italian victory. He is not giving ground, 107 is Marcus

:49:48.:49:55.

Burghardt. Philippe Gilbert, King followed by Cancellara, marking his

:49:55.:50:04.

every move. He seldom picks the wrong will. Visconti, his last job

:50:04.:50:12.

of the day, public got hundreds of metres of left. Hasn't got a lot

:50:12.:50:19.

left to give. Just a few more metres before he peels off. There you go.

:50:19.:50:28.

Denmark taking it up. Scarponi the furthest forward rider for Italy.

:50:28.:50:40.

Just have a look from when they come out from behind those trees. The

:50:40.:50:53.

Danish rider up there. Sorensen is used to playing this key role.

:50:53.:50:58.

Castroviejo has been dropped, he has done his job for the day. They have

:50:58.:51:06.

got to make it hard early on in this climb, it is only a third category

:51:06.:51:19.

climb. Maximum of about 9%. Just on the lower slopes now. Just backs off

:51:19.:51:22.

for a few moments before it ramps up the lower slopes now. Just backs off

:51:22.:51:27.

again. They need to use all of this climb, that is why Sorensen is

:51:27.:51:37.

driving so early. The Danish rider, some people mentioned as one to

:51:37.:51:43.

watch a. Scarponi is on his wheel. Sorensen is really having a go.

:51:43.:51:48.

Dishing out some pain to himself and everybody else behind. Fuglsang

:51:48.:52:08.

looks relatively comfortable. Nibali is not too many riders behind. Lots

:52:08.:52:15.

of warnings coming over the radio to the camera motorbikes, don't get too

:52:16.:52:19.

close, I think they are so enthusiastic to capture the action.

:52:19.:52:21.

close, I think they are so They are becoming part of the

:52:21.:52:25.

action. Also there, about fifth or sixth is in the Royal blue... It is

:52:25.:52:36.

Peter Sagan. If he gets over this climb he will be a difficult one to

:52:36.:52:39.

shift and nobody will but against him in the spring. He has been on

:52:39.:52:44.

his own for some time, had some issues with the bike anyone the race

:52:44.:52:52.

-- earlier on. Sorensen, Fuglsang, Scarponi, Eglin ski from Kazakhstan,

:52:52.:52:59.

and then Peter Sagan. Rui Costa on his wheel, Philippe Gilbert, and

:52:59.:53:10.

Peter Sagan looks good. Valverde, twice silver medallist, then Carlos

:53:10.:53:20.

Betancur from Columbia, also up there is Fabian Cancellara.

:53:20.:53:26.

Everybody is just waiting, just too shallow to start the attacking.

:53:26.:53:31.

Somebody has got to make it hard otherwise everybody will be able to

:53:31.:53:36.

dig deep enough to stay in contact. Scarponi has decided it is time for

:53:36.:53:38.

him to make it hard and opens up a Scarponi has decided it is time for

:53:38.:53:44.

bit of a gap over Fuglsang. That is the job he is doing. Between an

:53:44.:53:48.

bit of a gap over Fuglsang. That is attack and riding on the front, just

:53:48.:53:52.

driving hard stop I will just keep going. That is Carlos Betancur ,

:53:52.:54:09.

also Sergio Hanau. Joaquim Rodriguez in the red and black of Spain. The

:54:09.:54:15.

gaps are starting to form already. The race is really on on this climb

:54:15.:54:17.

gaps are starting to form already. up to Fiesole. Once they get over

:54:17.:54:22.

the top they have just got the descent and the climb up Via

:54:23.:54:26.

Salviati. It is starting to break appear in the final lap. But rejects

:54:26.:54:34.

-- Rodriguez has decided now is the time to commit. It will only be

:54:34.:54:40.

small gaps, not enough distance to make big gaps. But they are starting

:54:40.:54:45.

to form. He is in contention? There is Nibali disappear behind a tree

:54:45.:54:50.

but when he comes back out at him short at is Vincenzo Nibali there.

:54:50.:54:57.

He is without the number on his short at is Vincenzo Nibali there.

:54:57.:55:00.

right hip having fallen. Suddenly it is Scarponi has been for a trying to

:55:00.:55:06.

keep up with the Spaniard. This could be a selection, quite a few

:55:06.:55:09.

riders caught out, the gaps are not big. Some great descenders a bit

:55:09.:55:14.

further back. Peter Sagan has not managed to go with them. Nibali

:55:14.:55:21.

looks good. Right there with Michaelis Scarponi. The crowd will

:55:21.:55:24.

be going wild. This will stick. They're just losing touch, Boasson

:55:24.:55:44.

Hagen. The front group have possibly got about a six second gap as they

:55:44.:55:50.

head the final summit. Scarponi and Nibali and Rui Costa from Portugal

:55:50.:55:57.

in the white journey in their place. Nibali is going. Scarponi has done

:55:57.:56:06.

his work. Valverde is on his wheel. We thought these would be reduced on

:56:06.:56:11.

his nations. It will come down to who descends the best. There will

:56:11.:56:15.

only be fractions between them as they get over the summit. Nibali is

:56:15.:56:20.

a good ascender. He said leading into these championships he felt he

:56:20.:56:24.

could win but he felt he would have to get rid of everybody else. Nibali

:56:24.:56:28.

on the front, the rider on his wheel is Joaquim Rodriguez from Spain. He

:56:28.:56:36.

has shown himself as the strongest of the opposition. Two gaps he has

:56:36.:56:43.

closed. He will do well on Via Salviati. He just has to stay with

:56:43.:56:50.

them. Behind him, Valverde on the back of the group and union.

:56:50.:56:56.

Rodriguez launching an attack. Leading up towards top of the

:56:56.:57:02.

climb. He was the time check, Valverde is also in that group.

:57:02.:57:08.

Riding on the front, Nibali in second place, Rodriguez at the

:57:08.:57:13.

front. Look at the gap they have opened, everybody else was riding in

:57:13.:57:17.

the red, they had to pause. A gap has opened. Rodriguez was always on

:57:17.:57:25.

the outside. Perfect race for him. Climb like this. Which of the two

:57:25.:57:32.

would you back on Via Salviati? Rodriguez and Nibali lead over the

:57:32.:57:42.

top. The leading five separated by just five seconds. With a gap so

:57:42.:57:45.

top. The leading five separated by small, how you can fit to motorbikes

:57:45.:57:50.

in behind them is outrageous, it helps to close the gaps behind. Some

:57:50.:58:01.

good descending is an understatement. They have got to

:58:01.:58:05.

descend better than they ever have in their life if they want to keep

:58:05.:58:07.

descend better than they ever have this gap. The potential to make an

:58:07.:58:12.

error is very high. They have got the feel of this descent, for sure,

:58:12.:58:17.

but it is patches of dry starting to appear. What a race we have got on

:58:17.:58:24.

our hands. We will stay for the conclusion of this men's road race,

:58:24.:58:29.

coverage of the America's Cup will follow immediately after this

:58:29.:58:35.

programme. We with the rainbow jersey on the line, we are watching

:58:35.:58:40.

Vincenzo Nibali and Rodriguez leading the descent down from

:58:40.:58:44.

Fiesole on the final lap of the race. Five second lead, from Rui

:58:44.:58:52.

Costa from watchable, Alejandro Valverde from Spain. -- Portugal.

:58:52.:59:00.

Four seconds in it now, a very fragile lead. They have already

:59:00.:59:04.

showed themselves to be the strongest two. Nibali has only

:59:04.:59:11.

showed themselves to be the one number on because he crashed. A

:59:11.:59:16.

crash there. It is Rigoberto Uran who has gone down. His chances of

:59:16.:59:21.

being watch Albion have gone in an instant. What a drama, a disastrous

:59:21.:59:25.

outcome, the silver medallist in the instant. What a drama, a disastrous

:59:25.:59:30.

Olympic Games a year ago, he was going so well, then suddenly

:59:30.:59:32.

everything just slipped going so well, then suddenly

:59:32.:59:33.

grasp in a moment. We talked descent is just as important as the

:59:33.:59:56.

climb in part, when it is wet like this temptation to overcook it is

:59:56.:59:57.

very high. I would like the camera to pan out

:59:57.:00:14.

so we could see where Vincenzo Nibali is. Roderigo leading the way.

:00:14.:00:23.

Valverde leading the way as well. They have actually got back

:00:23.:00:28.

together. Just to reiterate the America's Cup highlights will follow

:00:28.:00:34.

the coverage of this on the BBC. We are looking at a Vincenzo Nibali.

:00:34.:00:41.

Leading the way is Rodriguez. He just made a bit of a gap on the

:00:41.:00:47.

descent. He thought, I am going to make the most of this descent and

:00:47.:00:53.

see how much time I can put into it. With a rider like Rodriguez he has

:00:53.:00:57.

shown he can win in this sort of situation. He showed it by winning

:00:57.:01:06.

in the past, and Valverde perfectly poised. Vincenzo Nibali has been

:01:06.:01:14.

outmanoeuvred here. He started it, it was a great move, and suddenly

:01:14.:01:19.

there is two Spaniards. He cannot just sit in the wheels and wait to

:01:19.:01:24.

recover, he has got to do all the work. I tell you what, after all the

:01:24.:01:34.

talk and watching this afternoon, Philippe Gilbert and the Belgian

:01:34.:01:37.

team are not here. They went quite Philippe Gilbert and the Belgian

:01:37.:01:43.

quickly on that climb when it started and I am surprised. I

:01:43.:01:48.

thought there would be a larger group at the top of that climb. The

:01:48.:01:51.

Italians brokered apart. Vincenzo group at the top of that climb. The

:01:51.:01:58.

Nibali can shout all day about Valverde, but Valverde is not

:01:58.:02:05.

interested at all. I think he is asking cost if he will help him out

:02:05.:02:11.

and he is saying, no thanks. While that squabble is going on, Rodriguez

:02:11.:02:21.

is stealing the time. He has got to pace himself very carefully. He

:02:21.:02:25.

cannot get to the bottom of this final ascent overcooked or he could

:02:25.:02:32.

lose it all. They are down -- they were down to less than ten

:02:32.:02:35.

kilometres an hour on the previous lap. If you overcook it you could

:02:35.:02:42.

come to a standstill. Costa not helping at all. He is playing a

:02:42.:02:48.

dangerous game, one where he is probably going for a medal. 11

:02:48.:02:56.

seconds now the advantage for Rodriguez. Vincenzo Nibali is going

:02:56.:02:59.

to have to go for it on his own on this climb. The Italians started

:02:59.:03:04.

this move and they did a great job of it. What has Vincenzo Nibali got

:03:04.:03:12.

left? What has this man got left? He can see the gold medal before his

:03:12.:03:18.

eyes. You have got to not panic in a situation like this. Do not go into

:03:18.:03:23.

the climb too hard, ride it steady and then sprint the last 200 metres

:03:23.:03:29.

of this ascent to get you onto the downhill section. What have they got

:03:29.:03:35.

left? This is it for a Vincenzo Nibali. The world title is in

:03:35.:03:40.

sight. I think he could be outsprinted. We should not forget

:03:40.:03:47.

that he was on the seat of his pants not so long ago on the side of the

:03:47.:03:52.

road looking as if he was out of it. He has had to chase really hard, and

:03:52.:03:59.

here he is, contending for a medal. Valverde on his wheel and Costa just

:03:59.:04:06.

a little bit behind. He is staying at one bike length and looking

:04:06.:04:11.

behind. It does not looked like any of them have the legs to attack

:04:11.:04:16.

Vincenzo Nibali. There is not a lot of distance between the top two

:04:16.:04:21.

riders. There is no way they should be a motorbike between those two

:04:21.:04:26.

groups either. Great for our pictures but really starting to

:04:26.:04:31.

interfere with the racing. What a finish to this race. There is

:04:31.:04:35.

nothing in it as they come to the top of the climb. What a tussle for

:04:35.:04:38.

nothing in it as they come to the the world champion jersey. I would

:04:38.:04:46.

say that is about 2.5 seconds. Vincenzo Nibali have got him in his

:04:46.:04:50.

sights. He has decided, I am not going to get any help. I'm going to

:04:50.:04:56.

have to do the work," gap and take the chances. Valverde will instantly

:04:56.:05:02.

counterattack. Rodriguez is still in front. If the gap is closed down,

:05:02.:05:10.

Valverde is in the box seat to become world champion. Spain have

:05:10.:05:16.

played a fantastic game. They have kept themselves in contention and

:05:16.:05:21.

out of sight. It has come together beautifully for them. The slight

:05:21.:05:26.

surprise for me was that Rodriguez had got that 11 second advantage and

:05:26.:05:31.

was not able to stretch that to another four or five seconds. I

:05:31.:05:35.

thought that might be where he confirmed his victory. I think it is

:05:36.:05:40.

going to come back together and it absolutely has. The danger here for

:05:40.:05:48.

the Spanish riders is they have to use that advantage. Valverde strewed

:05:48.:05:52.

instantly counterattack now. He is probably the better sprinter here.

:05:52.:06:00.

Vincenzo Nibali have had to do all of the work. Do not give him a

:06:00.:06:05.

chance to recover. They are staying on the wheels, maybe they are

:06:05.:06:09.

confident on the sprint. kilometres to go. What about Costa,

:06:09.:06:17.

do you think he will try a flyer? Rodriguez have gone again. Rodriguez

:06:17.:06:26.

having another go for Spain. Once more Valverde sitting on

:06:26.:06:37.

Rodriguez's wheel. Costa is playing a very cool game here. Are they

:06:37.:06:48.

going to let it come down to a sprint. What a finish to this race.

:06:48.:07:01.

Three medals between four riders. Three kilometres remaining now. This

:07:01.:07:05.

is the last little rump that we talked about at the beginning of the

:07:05.:07:11.

show. Sure enough, Rodrigue 's have another go. He is forcing Vincenzo

:07:11.:07:16.

Nibali to do all the work. -- Rodriguez. A little bit of a gap

:07:16.:07:32.

there. Vincenzo Nibali being forced to chase again. Rodriguez pretending

:07:32.:07:41.

to set up. Vincenzo Nibali being forced to do all of the chasing.

:07:41.:07:47.

Here's the one doing all the work as they come into Florence. It is a

:07:47.:07:52.

beautiful piece of tactics because they know Valverde is a better

:07:52.:08:00.

sprinter. He is starting to go away with only two kilometres to go. I

:08:00.:08:05.

wonder if Costa is going to do something about this? Vincenzo

:08:05.:08:08.

Nibali doing all the chasing while something about this? Vincenzo

:08:08.:08:14.

the others try to work him over. Valverde stuck on his wheel. Costa

:08:14.:08:22.

loitering on the back of the four. Any minute now Vincenzo Nibali is

:08:22.:08:27.

going to say, I cannot do this, I will start to wait and try and see

:08:27.:08:32.

what I can do in the sprint. Surely enough he has backed off. Rodriguez

:08:32.:08:38.

has got the bit between his teeth for Spain. At the end of such a long

:08:38.:08:44.

day for the cyclists, the weather was awful for most of the day,

:08:44.:08:49.

finally the sun is shining and the roads are beginning to drive. Five

:08:49.:08:55.

seconds the gap. Costa has decided to have a go. Is Valverde going to

:08:55.:09:03.

close the gap? If I was Vincenzo Nibali I would say, if it is going

:09:03.:09:08.

to be for a bronze, I will fight you for it. At the moment, if Vincenzo

:09:08.:09:18.

Nibali does that he will be beaten in the sprint. Costa knows he is

:09:18.:09:26.

going for the gold-medal, can he get there? Can he take the rainbow

:09:26.:09:33.

jersey? Surely Rodriguez has nothing left. It is going to be a chase up

:09:33.:09:41.

the finishing straight with about a three second advantage for

:09:41.:09:44.

Rodriguez. Costa is going to chase him all the way to the line. An

:09:44.:09:50.

absolute slow motion sprint. He is closing that gap ever so slowly. He

:09:50.:09:58.

is into the slipstream now. These two riders are slugging it out to

:09:58.:10:03.

the finish. I think Costa is going to get it. Costa is chasing, he is

:10:03.:10:12.

closing and he is closing. Rodriguez looks into his eyes. The pair of

:10:12.:10:18.

them are going to contest the gold-medal, surely. Vincenzo Nibali

:10:18.:10:27.

is out of contention. The world title is on the line. Will it go to

:10:27.:10:35.

Portugal or Spain? It is all going to come down to this, the game of

:10:35.:10:40.

cat and mouse. Who has got anything less? Elbow to elbow and at the

:10:40.:10:46.

moment it looks like Portugal are going to have a world champion.

:10:47.:10:52.

Rodrigue 's is not beaten yet! -- Rodriguez. Finally it is gold to

:10:52.:11:01.

Portugal and to Costa. He has not hit the front once all day, but he

:11:01.:11:07.

hit the front when it mattered. He is the new world champion. For the

:11:07.:11:14.

third time in his career Valverde get the bronze medal and Vincenzo

:11:14.:11:18.

Nibali, the Italian winner of the Giro D'Italia did everything he

:11:18.:11:23.

could but finished just outside of the medals. What a finish that was

:11:23.:11:28.

and it literally came down to the line. Costa took advantage of the

:11:28.:11:38.

infighting between the favourites. Valverde absolutely got it. The

:11:38.:11:42.

podium again. That was a great ride by him. There was nothing he could

:11:42.:11:51.

have done, really. Valverde, that is twice he has finished second and

:11:51.:11:56.

three times he has finished third. A few of the others crossing the

:11:56.:12:01.

finishing line. No British finishers in this race. The British team had

:12:01.:12:07.

all retired long before the end. There is Valverde. A bronze medal

:12:08.:12:14.

for him. A silver medal also goes to a Spanish rider, but the gold medal

:12:14.:12:19.

goes to Portugal, one by Costa in a time of seven hours, 22 minutes.

:12:19.:12:30.

Here is the finish once again as they went toe to toe towards the

:12:30.:12:35.

line. Costa just found that little bit extra. Amazing ride by Rodriguez

:12:35.:12:41.

there. What a dramatic end. Next up the America's Cup

:12:41.:12:54.

highlights. Straight after that the rugby league play-off highlights of

:12:54.:13:01.

Huddersfield against Warrington. And then from Thursday it is the

:13:01.:13:06.

world's gymnastic Championships, the men's all-round live on Thursday and

:13:06.:13:14.

the highlights on Friday. Then the women's all-round live on BBC Three

:13:14.:13:19.

at 7pm. That is it from Florence. A

:13:19.:13:24.

disappointing race for the British. The Italians threw everything at it,

:13:24.:13:29.

but in the end it was Costa who took the rainbow jersey.

:13:29.:13:30.

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