Men's Race

:00:08. > :00:31.COMMENTARY: Nobody within sight. He's got it. Mark Cavendish is the

:00:32. > :00:36.Champion of the World! She is the number one.

:00:37. > :00:38.Chris Froome is the champion of this 100th Tour de France.

:00:39. > :00:52.He's done it! Good afternoon to you. Welcome back

:00:53. > :00:56.to Ponferrada, the final day of the Road World Championships. It's the

:00:57. > :00:59.Men's Road Race. 250 kilometres-plus, 14,000 feet of

:01:00. > :01:05.climbing. It is not for the fainthearted. They are about to fly

:01:06. > :01:09.behind me. We will be joining the race live very soon. Rob Hayles is

:01:10. > :01:14.alongside me. Anticipation because we are not sure who this course is

:01:15. > :01:22.going to suit? We are not. Is it the sprinters? It is not a full-blown

:01:23. > :01:30.sprinters' race. Andre Greipel is here. He is playing more of a team

:01:31. > :01:39.role. The lesser sprinters, John Degenkolb and Ben Swift. If it is a

:01:40. > :01:44.harder race... Generally, Valverde, riders like that for Spain. This

:01:45. > :01:49.course will suit a lot of different groups of riders, which - we have

:01:50. > :01:58.been here. Who is it? You keep going round and round. One team everybody

:01:59. > :02:03.is talking about is the Australians, particularly Gerrans? This is a

:02:04. > :02:06.course that suits him. If the weather continues to change... It is

:02:07. > :02:11.spotting with rain a little bit now. If that continues and it comes back,

:02:12. > :02:15.it may very well go away from him. He doesn't like that kind of

:02:16. > :02:21.weather. It can be quite slippery out there. They also have Michael

:02:22. > :02:27.Matthews as well. They have a good squad here, strength in-depth is

:02:28. > :02:50.incredible with the Australians. We saw a French woman win yesterday.

:02:51. > :02:54.Possibly a French double? On a course like this, Bouhanni could

:02:55. > :03:01.last the distance. Valverde, a home favourite from Spain. The Spanish

:03:02. > :03:05.messed it up, him and Rodriguez, they couldn't work together?

:03:06. > :03:09.Strength in numbers. But they were having their internal battles. I am

:03:10. > :03:15.sure that they will have had a bit of a talking to and, as far as we

:03:16. > :03:25.are aware, Valverde is number one, Rodriguez is number two. Emotional

:03:26. > :03:29.favourite, though, would be from Switzerland, Fabian Cancellara? Yes,

:03:30. > :03:34.he opted not to ride the time trial earlier on in the week, purely

:03:35. > :03:38.because he's not won the road race, he's won the time trial a few times.

:03:39. > :03:42.Yeah, have a go. Again, the course could suit him. He's only got two

:03:43. > :03:47.team-mates. We have seen him win races on his own. He did have a

:03:48. > :03:53.puncture on the first lap. He got back in no problem. It was chucking

:03:54. > :03:57.it down earlier on in the race. You mentioned Ben Swift. What of the

:03:58. > :04:01.British team? This time last year, we came on air and the whole British

:04:02. > :04:06.team was out of the race. They are all IN the race this time. Let's

:04:07. > :04:09.hear their thoughts on this World Championship.

:04:10. > :04:14.COMMENTARY: Mark Cavendish on the left. He is going to be the World

:04:15. > :04:22.Champion. Mark Cavendish has won the world title for Great Britain.

:04:23. > :04:27.REPORTER: If you cast your mind back, you got a good result in the

:04:28. > :04:33.World Championships. Should we read into that, a bit of an omen? Well,

:04:34. > :04:37.it was amazing to be part of that World Championship in Copenhagen

:04:38. > :04:42.with Mark winning. I would love to think we can do the same thing with

:04:43. > :04:49.Swifty. He's going well. He is one of those guys who applies himself to

:04:50. > :04:53.something and he gives it everything. You are the protected

:04:54. > :04:59.rider if it comes down to a bunch sprint? I think so. We have nine

:05:00. > :05:06.strong riders. We have a lot of cards to play. We have strong guys

:05:07. > :05:10.for the country climbs, a lot of big, powerful guys. If it does come

:05:11. > :05:15.down to a sprint, I will be hopefully there.

:05:16. > :05:19.COMMENTARY: Awful conditions for the riders for this World Championship

:05:20. > :05:22.race today. And the latest information that we are getting is

:05:23. > :05:26.that Geraint Thomas has joined the rest of the British team on the bus,

:05:27. > :05:30.so I think that's it for Great Britain. All of the British riders

:05:31. > :05:37.have retired from the race now. Obviously, that was one to forget.

:05:38. > :05:41.It wasn't enjoyable, really. The weather will probably be the same

:05:42. > :05:45.this time around. It was one of those days where I don't think

:05:46. > :05:49.anything really went right for anyone. Yeah, I have a good feeling

:05:50. > :05:55.this year will be a hell of a lot better. This year, the team has got

:05:56. > :05:59.a bit more focus on the race. I have came out in good shape, ready to

:06:00. > :06:06.race. Swifty is up for it. He is quick on the course. He's been here

:06:07. > :06:10.for a week now. We have the Yates brothers, Pete, myself, who can get

:06:11. > :06:15.involved in the attacks and getting moves to go a bit earlier. We have

:06:16. > :06:19.got David Millar, he has a world of experience. It is his last race. He

:06:20. > :06:26.will be making the calls on the road. For me, it is staying with

:06:27. > :06:30.Swifty for as long as possible. Move him up if he needs to move up, or

:06:31. > :06:37.drift back with him on the climbs if he wants to save his legs a bit.

:06:38. > :06:40.Basically, just be his sidekick for as long as possible.

:06:41. > :06:44.COMMENTARY: I don't recall anything like this happening before. Where

:06:45. > :06:49.the favourite has gone so early on. REPORTER: We won't see you at the

:06:50. > :06:54.front like at the Commonwealth Games on your own? Definitely not on my

:06:55. > :06:58.own. Possibly, it could be an idea to have someone in the break. Not

:06:59. > :07:03.sure if it will be me. I will try and be more patient.

:07:04. > :07:12.REPORTER: For you to go from being the team leader, the protected

:07:13. > :07:18.rider, to your position here, do you enjoy that? It is one I quite enjoy,

:07:19. > :07:22.not necessarily having that pressure on my shoulders anymore. Being able

:07:23. > :07:26.to give something else back to the other guys and do a job for someone

:07:27. > :07:30.and help someone else to take the glory.

:07:31. > :07:36.REPORTER: Can you imagine what that would mean to you to pull on that

:07:37. > :07:40.rainbow jersey? It would be amazing. It is a career-changing and

:07:41. > :07:46.life-changing, to be such a fan of the sport as well, it is such an

:07:47. > :07:55.iconic race and jersey. To be here, it is amazing.

:07:56. > :07:59.Swifty is the team leader. That is a formidable team behind him? The

:08:00. > :08:03.strength in-depth that the GB squad have this year with guys like Peter

:08:04. > :08:09.Kennaugh, if he is on form, Geraint Thomas. For Geraint, if this was

:08:10. > :08:15.earlier in the year, I think we would put his name down as the

:08:16. > :08:20.protected rider. Yeah, I think for a rider like Swifty, he couldn't be

:08:21. > :08:27.asking for a much better team. Who knows what the future holds for

:08:28. > :08:36.those guys, the Yates brothers. They are already on their way to being

:08:37. > :08:40.great riders. The course is not quite hard enough for Froome. He

:08:41. > :08:45.knows how to work. He's done it in the past. It is one hell of a squad.

:08:46. > :08:54.Captain on the road, David Millar. A lovely tweet this morning from Luke

:08:55. > :08:59.Rowe, David Millar putting the number on his vest for the last

:09:00. > :09:04.time. It's been a career of highs and lows.

:09:05. > :09:08.A Tour de France stage winner, a Commonwealth champion and a natural

:09:09. > :09:12.leader on the road. David Millar takes on the role as road captain

:09:13. > :09:17.for the British team. Tonight, he will reflect on a professional

:09:18. > :09:22.career spanning almost 18 years. On races won and lost, on decisions

:09:23. > :09:32.made, right and wrong, and his last ever appearance in his national

:09:33. > :09:37.jersey. It feels a lot more family. It was here where I started 20 years

:09:38. > :09:41.ago, if you like. And it's been a British team that's supported me

:09:42. > :09:46.through thick and thin. This feels a nice way to finish. Three years ago

:09:47. > :09:51.in Copenhagen, Millar helped coordinate his country's challenge

:09:52. > :09:55.on the rainbow jersey, with Mark Cavendish sprinting to victory to

:09:56. > :09:59.become the first British men's World Champion in 46 years. It is up there

:10:00. > :10:06.with the greatest moments. Mark is a friend. He was the one that had the

:10:07. > :10:10.crowning achievement, it was the culmination of many years of

:10:11. > :10:14.development and so although we went on to the Tour de France with Brad,

:10:15. > :10:18.Cav's World Championship win was the welcome to the world stage of

:10:19. > :10:22.British cycling and I think - and the way we did it. We rode with such

:10:23. > :10:26.dominating style, which nobody had ever seen before, nobody had

:10:27. > :10:31.controlled a race from start to finish and I think that was - it was

:10:32. > :10:34.a very proud moment for all of us. Much has changed since Millar joined

:10:35. > :10:40.the professional peloton, though his passion for the sport and its future

:10:41. > :10:48.shines through. There's been a shift in the way professional cycling

:10:49. > :10:51.operates. And it's a healthier way it operates. I was part of the

:10:52. > :10:57.unhealthy generation before that and I am very proud that I managed to

:10:58. > :11:01.excel in both - well, very proud to excel in the second one - but to

:11:02. > :11:06.have shown it was possible to survive that kind of era and come

:11:07. > :11:12.back and do something better. I think - and also I was one of the

:11:13. > :11:16.last of the kind of British riders to do it the old-fashioned way,

:11:17. > :11:20.which was go across to Europe and embed yourself in a culture. I am

:11:21. > :11:26.very proud of that, that I had to go to France and learn the language and

:11:27. > :11:30.become somebody else. So the Men's Road Race in Ponferrada brings

:11:31. > :11:35.Millar's career to a close. A win would be amazing. If Swifty could do

:11:36. > :11:41.it, or any of the other guys. At the same time, if we can race, if we get

:11:42. > :11:46.the best out of ourselves and be very proud of how we perform, that

:11:47. > :11:50.is very important for us this Sunday, it is for everyone to rally

:11:51. > :11:56.together and realise how important it is for us to race as Team GB. If

:11:57. > :12:03.we can show that, we can hand over to a new generation so they can do

:12:04. > :12:07.something special. David Millar always very thoughtful.

:12:08. > :12:15.But very controversial with his drugs ban. Rob, how would you

:12:16. > :12:19.evaluate his career? It obviously started off well. As a bike rider,

:12:20. > :12:24.one of the most talented bike riders that there has been of his

:12:25. > :12:29.generation and so to have him now still in the squad, I think is

:12:30. > :12:33.incredible, and what he brings to this team, his leadership for me,

:12:34. > :12:37.personally, racing with David, I never enjoyed it more than when I

:12:38. > :12:42.was with him. He did take you by the scruff of the neck and lead the

:12:43. > :12:50.team. That is one of the things that the team, Team GB missed last year.

:12:51. > :12:58.So, I think his quality really is in leadership. Physical ability, it is

:12:59. > :13:02.starting to dwindle now. Other than that, he deserves to be in this

:13:03. > :13:08.squad. As a force against drugs now, having been on the other side of it,

:13:09. > :13:13.how would you see his role in that? It's been huge. It really has. This

:13:14. > :13:19.was the thing with Dave. He didn't kind of creep back into a team and

:13:20. > :13:25.try and continue with his career. He was very outspoken and vocal and

:13:26. > :13:29.he's worked hard with the UCI over the years to try and change things

:13:30. > :13:33.and give a different environment for the younger riders coming through.

:13:34. > :13:39.That's certainly coming to fruition. In terms of this race, how do they

:13:40. > :13:43.ride it for Swifty to win? As Geraint said in his interview, he is

:13:44. > :13:47.his wingman, so the team will do whatever Swifty wants to do, look

:13:48. > :13:50.after him, try and shelter him as best as possible. There is not a lot

:13:51. > :13:54.of wind, if any, out there today. But just protect him from the wind

:13:55. > :13:58.if he wants to move up, look after him, anything that he needs and try

:13:59. > :14:03.and get him to the finish up as far up the front as possible in those

:14:04. > :14:08.last two laps. That is where the fireworks will start to go off. So,

:14:09. > :14:13.the more that he can save and the fresher he can be, the better.

:14:14. > :14:20.14,000 feet and climbing, this course. Rob went out for a spin with

:14:21. > :14:26.a Commonwealth Games road champion. She gave him a run for his money, to

:14:27. > :14:30.be fair! We are only a few kilometres in.

:14:31. > :14:35.Already, the first climb, the back-end of the race? It feels good

:14:36. > :14:39.when you are fresh. After a few laps, that could start to hurt a

:14:40. > :14:51.little bit. If that is the toughest climb of the day, we will be fine.

:14:52. > :14:54.We're laughing! You feel that? Ow. I thought the course wasn't going to

:14:55. > :14:59.be so hard when we got to The Castle? I thought that was the

:15:00. > :15:06.climb. That is going to take it out of everyone. We are 200 metres

:15:07. > :15:12.higher than The Castle. The sprinters will struggle to hold on.

:15:13. > :15:14.The back end of the race, inside the last 10K, I hope that is the hardest

:15:15. > :15:31.bit done. Alright. That's definitely the top.

:15:32. > :15:34.That last K, that is where the damage can be done. All the way down

:15:35. > :15:38.to the finish. So, any gap you have got at the top here, it will be

:15:39. > :15:41.extremely difficult to get back on the run-in. Right, race you down!

:15:42. > :15:57.Game on. I got it! It's a tough course. It is

:15:58. > :16:01.very tough. That climb's harder than it looks on the profile. I didn't

:16:02. > :16:05.expect it to be that hard. When we went up that first bit, OK, good

:16:06. > :16:08.legs today. Then you start that second climb and it keeps going. If

:16:09. > :16:13.it is wet, that will change the race. It will flip it on its head.

:16:14. > :16:19.It will be completely different. So it is not one for the pure

:16:20. > :16:23.sprinters. It's not one for the pure climbers. You do need to be in good

:16:24. > :16:33.form. Extremely good shape. Unlike me! I need a coffee. My legs are

:16:34. > :16:39.burning. Let's go. Coffee? Yeah. Nice stuff. That is the course. Rob

:16:40. > :16:43.said if it is wet - well, the rain is coming down now. We are going to

:16:44. > :16:47.go racing shortly. Let me bring you up to speed with the key moments so

:16:48. > :16:51.far. There was an early breakaway. It got out to 50 minutes. It is down

:16:52. > :16:59.to five minutes. It's down to four minutes now.

:17:00. > :17:03.Fabian Cancellara, he had a mechanical earlier on. He had to

:17:04. > :17:09.change a back wheel. He is back in the peloton now. He should be fine.

:17:10. > :17:13.And also, a few problems for Vincenzo Nibali, the Tour de France

:17:14. > :17:20.winner, he is in the centre of shot in the blue. He's already fallen. He

:17:21. > :17:23.fell again on a wounded hip, so not great for the Tour de France

:17:24. > :17:29.champion, Vincenzo Nibali. The Italian team is very strong. So, the

:17:30. > :17:34.scene is set. We are ready to go racing. It is good afternoon to

:17:35. > :17:37.Simon Brotherton. COMMENTARY: Thank you, Jonathan.

:17:38. > :17:42.Hello, everyone. It's a long day in the saddle for these riders. They

:17:43. > :17:46.have been out there since 9.00am this morning UK time. The weather

:17:47. > :17:51.had improved over the last few hours. It was quite sunny and warm

:17:52. > :17:57.around lunch time, but the rain has returned and it all looks rather

:17:58. > :18:02.ominous. The total race distance today - 254.8 kilometres, 14 laps of

:18:03. > :18:08.the circuit here in Ponferrada. Not the two that Rob and Rochelle

:18:09. > :18:17.managed. The two key factors on this course - probably three - the first

:18:18. > :18:21.climb up to Confederacion, and the second climb to Mirador and,

:18:22. > :18:26.particularly with the weather like this, the descent off Mirador down

:18:27. > :18:30.to Ponferrada? Yes, the weather is creating problems for riders in the

:18:31. > :18:36.peloton. It is not as slippery as we would have anticipated. They have an

:18:37. > :18:40.awful lot of rain here as a rule. So it tends to wash the oil off the

:18:41. > :18:44.roads anyway. It is not too glacial. What it does do for the peloton

:18:45. > :18:48.behind, it means that when it is wet, you have a bit more of a gap

:18:49. > :18:51.between each rider. We saw a big crash yesterday in the women's race.

:18:52. > :18:56.So, it will be quite nervous down here, which just means that position

:18:57. > :18:59.is so important. We mentioned it with Ben Swift. He needs to stay up

:19:00. > :19:03.near the front. Any rider who wants to save as much as they can, they

:19:04. > :19:06.need to be well positioned so if you are further back in the peloton, by

:19:07. > :19:09.the time you get to the bottom of the descent, you are a lot further

:19:10. > :19:13.back from the front of the peloton and those guys up the front, they

:19:14. > :19:16.take their own pace, whereas the riders behind, you are having to

:19:17. > :19:21.fight all the way to get back from the wheels, so position is key. That

:19:22. > :19:25.is crucial. The climbing, we can see just on one of the climbs now, the

:19:26. > :19:31.Italian team - this is the first we have seen of them today. It's been

:19:32. > :19:39.the Polish team who has been doing most of the work up to this point to

:19:40. > :19:47.bring that gap right down from 15 minutes to 4.5 - 3.5 now it's come

:19:48. > :19:52.down to. There's a lot of climbing today. Just over 4,000 metres of

:19:53. > :19:57.climbing. It is a tough day, it really is. They are not steep. It is

:19:58. > :20:01.just relentless. They keep coming one after the other and there is not

:20:02. > :20:04.a lot of recovery. To give you a heads-up of who is in the lead at

:20:05. > :20:16.the moment - and they have been out in front since the first lap. Matija

:20:17. > :20:20.Kvasina, Zydrunas Savickas, Carlos Quintero and Oleksandr Polivodo.

:20:21. > :20:28.None of them are big-name riders. Carlos Quintero, perhaps the

:20:29. > :20:36.best-known, Kvasina won a race in France, he also won the Tour of

:20:37. > :20:41.Romania a couple of years ago. Savickas was seventh in the Baltic

:20:42. > :20:45.Chain Tour and Polivodo spends most of his time racing in the Far East.

:20:46. > :20:52.He was racing in the Tour of China earlier this month.

:20:53. > :20:56.They are on one of the tougher sections of the course at the

:20:57. > :21:01.moment? They are. Here you can see the pressure being applied on the

:21:02. > :21:04.front of the peloton by the Italians taking up from work done previously

:21:05. > :21:09.by other teams. It is the first sign that we have seen of riders going

:21:10. > :21:13.out of the back of the peloton. It will start to get whittled down. All

:21:14. > :21:18.the major players are up there. Peter Kennaugh was on the right-hand

:21:19. > :21:22.side of the screen, he will be working for Ben Swift. The Italians

:21:23. > :21:26.and the Spaniards are up there. A lot of strong teams. GB are starting

:21:27. > :21:31.to pull up in the middle of the shot. Italy showing their face at

:21:32. > :21:36.the front for the first time today. We would all imagine that would be

:21:37. > :21:41.for Vincenzo Nibali, but there is one rider in particular who could be

:21:42. > :21:51.a dark horse here today, depending how the race pans out. I'm talking

:21:52. > :21:58.about Sonny Colbrelli. This years Tour of Britain was tough. It was a

:21:59. > :22:02.hard race. He was up there getting some of the minor places in the

:22:03. > :22:06.sprint stages, but he's won two races since then in Italy and second

:22:07. > :22:12.on the third of those races, so he really is in good form. So, he could

:22:13. > :22:16.very well be one of the protected riders in that Italian squad, if it

:22:17. > :22:22.comes down to a large group sprint. But they do have other options and

:22:23. > :22:29.it just goes to see what Nibali - a course like this, in this weather,

:22:30. > :22:35.is pretty much a stamped-on stage for Nibali. But how is his form

:22:36. > :22:40.coming off of the Tour de France plus that crash that he had? He took

:22:41. > :22:45.a chunk out of his hip and aggravated a previous problem. He

:22:46. > :22:49.was saying in the lead-up that it is bothersome, but it is not going to

:22:50. > :22:52.affect his riding. After the first hour of racing, it tends to loosen

:22:53. > :22:58.up and he doesn't notice it so much anymore. It won't have done it any

:22:59. > :23:04.good falling over and landing on it fairly early in the race today.

:23:05. > :23:12.Here are our leading riders and on the front in the red-and-white of

:23:13. > :23:16.Croatia we have Matija Kvasina leading the way, blue and yellow are

:23:17. > :23:21.the colours of Ukraine, that is Polivodo in second place, the white

:23:22. > :23:25.jersey is that of Carlos Quintero from Colombia and Zydrunas Savickas

:23:26. > :23:30.of Lithuania is in the red and yellow. They have been out in front

:23:31. > :23:33.for almost the entire race, but, Rob, they will have known almost

:23:34. > :23:37.from the word go that it was a move that was going to be doomed. It is

:23:38. > :23:41.something that we seem to have every year in the World Championships. We

:23:42. > :23:45.have a group that gets away and the rest of the peloton are more than

:23:46. > :23:49.happy for that to happen. In the closing hours of the race, the chase

:23:50. > :23:52.is on. Yeah, it is a template that we see pretty much every

:23:53. > :23:57.is on. Yeah, it is a template that no change here, pretty much from the

:23:58. > :24:01.word go. These four riders went clear and unlike some years where

:24:02. > :24:08.the peloton might bring it back and you might spend the first 20 minutes

:24:09. > :24:11.or so getting half a dozen attacks, this was the first one and the

:24:12. > :24:14.peloton rode from gutter to gutter, let that go, four riders, nobody

:24:15. > :24:22.dangerous, none of the dangerous teams are up there either. Had an

:24:23. > :24:26.Australian rider been up the road, a GB rider, certainly a Spaniard or an

:24:27. > :24:31.Italian, if one of those riders would have gone clear, it would have

:24:32. > :24:36.been brought back, I feel. None of the big nations want one of their

:24:37. > :24:40.opposition going up the road, the Australians sending a rider up. It

:24:41. > :24:44.takes the pressure off of your team and say we don't need to chase it.

:24:45. > :24:47.Imagine in this situation if the Italians had a rider up the road,

:24:48. > :24:54.they wouldn't be on the front now, all the pressure would be on the

:24:55. > :24:57.others. One of the GB riders there, Peter Kennaugh, going for a bite to

:24:58. > :25:01.eat. They are well placed up there. Is that Luke Rowe up there? The

:25:02. > :25:08.British team showing their faces towards the front of the peloton

:25:09. > :25:14.here. For lap after lap, they were in the back third of this very

:25:15. > :25:28.sizeable group, which was just over 200 riders. We have lost a few.

:25:29. > :25:31.Including Canada's Christian Myer. It was Poland that started the

:25:32. > :25:47.chase. They were working hard over the last couple of laps. Here they

:25:48. > :25:52.come now, through the finishing position. Luke Rowe in the middle of

:25:53. > :25:57.your picture, about fifth in line, behind the blue of the Italian squad

:25:58. > :26:02.and also up alongside him for Great Britain there in a good position was

:26:03. > :26:06.Peter Kennaugh once again. They will take on more liquids now. It's a

:26:07. > :26:15.long day here over 250 kilometres in the saddle.

:26:16. > :26:20.The Italians always manage to pull it together for the World

:26:21. > :26:26.Championships and unite behind somebody. Spain have got such a lot

:26:27. > :26:29.of talent in their squad with Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim

:26:30. > :26:33.Rodriguez leading the way. They both ended up on the podium last year,

:26:34. > :26:37.but not with the gold medal around their neck. Valverde is highly

:26:38. > :26:46.fancied here. Can he win the world title? That is what the Spanish want

:26:47. > :26:49.to know. I think Valverde would be liking this course. And this weather

:26:50. > :26:55.as well. I don't think he minds the bad weather too much. It is quite

:26:56. > :27:04.hard to look past him, really, in that squad. They have their game

:27:05. > :27:09.plan and if it seems that Valverde starts, his legs start to drop off,

:27:10. > :27:12.or he gets out of position, Rodriguez - I'm not sure about

:27:13. > :27:19.Rodriguez, but he is their number two. Sanchez is really coming into

:27:20. > :27:26.form of late. They do have cards to play. Luis Leon Sanchez, who had

:27:27. > :27:36.taken a bit of a step back this year and had been racing with a smaller

:27:37. > :27:40.team, he's got himself back amongst the big boys next year, moving to

:27:41. > :27:45.Astana Pro Team. Luis Leon Sanchez, if he were to shine today, it would

:27:46. > :27:49.be the first time in a very big race for quite a long time. The Italians

:27:50. > :27:54.at the moment have taken control of this race. Word about Ben Swift? We

:27:55. > :28:00.were mentioning him at the start of the programme. He has shown he can

:28:01. > :28:04.hang in there in the big races with his third place? That was a good

:28:05. > :28:09.ride by him to be up there in a monument like that and get himself

:28:10. > :28:14.on the podium. He's been - he's had three or four wins this year, but

:28:15. > :28:19.he's been on the podium an awful lot of times. He's had a lot of seconds

:28:20. > :28:26.and thirds this year. So, he is in the form. He has the team behind

:28:27. > :28:29.him. That is one of the major advantages at a World Championships

:28:30. > :28:34.if you know that everybody around is here for you. That does help.

:28:35. > :28:37.Psychologically it helps. It puts a bit of pressure on you. If you can

:28:38. > :28:52.cope with that pressure, it does help, I think. The gap is coming

:28:53. > :29:03.down for these four leaders. The Polish rider Michal Golas has pulled

:29:04. > :29:06.out in the feed zone. The Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team

:29:07. > :29:11.rider is out of the race. A little bit of blue sky away to our right.

:29:12. > :29:16.Perhaps the rain isn't set in, but it doesn't look great out there. It

:29:17. > :29:22.is not looking great for our four leaders here. Kvasina of Croatia,

:29:23. > :29:28.Savickas of Lithuania, Quintero of Colombia and Polivodo of Ukraine.

:29:29. > :29:34.They are being hunted down. The real race is going on behind them. Four

:29:35. > :29:48.more Polish riders coming through the finish line as well. So, their

:29:49. > :29:57.job done for the day. The last week or two we hadn't heard much at all

:29:58. > :30:01.of Michal Podlaski. He stayed away from the media. He's down on

:30:02. > :30:05.team-mates now. He does have strength in his legs. He has

:30:06. > :30:11.injuries, we know that. I tell you who was a big favourite for this

:30:12. > :30:16.race - it will be interesting to see how he is today - John Degenkolb. He

:30:17. > :30:20.had a crash and those wounds became infected and he ended up in hospital

:30:21. > :30:22.last week on antibiotics, which will, I imagine, knock the top end

:30:23. > :30:34.off his game. He was highly fancied? He really was. He has had a good

:30:35. > :30:41.year, but I am wondering whether his year has been a little bit too good.

:30:42. > :30:47.He might be coming into this a little bit fatigued, but certainly

:30:48. > :30:50.having been hospitalised with an infection, that certainly will not

:30:51. > :30:55.have helped him whatsoever. There we can see a lot of the Polish Quad.

:30:56. > :30:59.They did so much work, they took a good seven or eight minutes out of

:31:00. > :31:03.the lead group, and it really set the race alight and set it to

:31:04. > :31:15.unfold. With the Italians taking over now it is set to really

:31:16. > :31:24.decimate the field. Podlowski there, he was the front, working hard, and

:31:25. > :31:29.they did a good job for Kwiatkowski and the rest of the riders in the

:31:30. > :31:38.breakaway. They are on the lower portion of the climb now to

:31:39. > :31:42.Confederation. That will reach a maximum of 8%, but it does the

:31:43. > :31:51.crease as they get towards the top. There is a short percent before the

:31:52. > :31:56.second climb. It is not very long it self! 10% at the bottom and 10% at

:31:57. > :32:00.the top. I am just wondering whether the races that we have seen this

:32:01. > :32:05.week show whether it is long enough for anybody to attack and gain any

:32:06. > :32:10.ground? When we look at the back end of the race today, it is an awfully

:32:11. > :32:14.long race. There will be a lot of fatigue in the lakes, and the first

:32:15. > :32:27.climb that we are on, it is a drag as we see the attack by the

:32:28. > :32:30.Colombian riders. Quintero it is, he knows what is coming and knows that

:32:31. > :32:35.they will be caught in the future so as an act of defiance he will stay

:32:36. > :32:38.away. Yes, he feels that he is the strongest rider out of the story,

:32:39. > :32:42.the others are not doing as much work as he would like so he has gone

:32:43. > :32:48.it alone. This climb that we are on, it is more of a drag, it is a

:32:49. > :32:52.grind, and it is the fact that it comes one after the other. Each lap

:32:53. > :32:57.you have to go up there and the fatigue really does set in. In the

:32:58. > :33:03.second, you can descend off this one, you go through that bridge

:33:04. > :33:07.after the embankment and then you have got this, the second climb. It

:33:08. > :33:10.is short but sharp, and that is where we have seen it, especially on

:33:11. > :33:15.the last lap yesterday in the women's race, that is where it

:33:16. > :33:20.really did set on fire and it is the launch pad for a small group to try

:33:21. > :33:24.to go clear. I am just hearing that Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have

:33:25. > :33:28.been dropped from the peloton. Certainly Thomas. I saw some shots

:33:29. > :33:32.of them on the previous lap, and they were near the back of the

:33:33. > :33:41.peloton. It looks like they were starting to struggle. Peter is

:33:42. > :33:44.certainly not struggling, it is the sort of course that would suit him.

:33:45. > :33:50.He is a good rider for this type of states. The weather that we have

:33:51. > :33:54.got, he will be used to riding in this. Remember that game in

:33:55. > :34:00.Glasgow, the Commonwealth Games road race? I think they shut the airport

:34:01. > :34:04.the weather was so bad but he was riding around the streets of the

:34:05. > :34:08.city of Glasgow on his own, lap after lap, before finally being

:34:09. > :34:11.gobbled up. The race was won by Geraint Thomas for Wales. This

:34:12. > :34:17.little splinter group is getting away, opening up a small gap of the

:34:18. > :34:21.front of the peloton. Still not the front of the race here, but heading

:34:22. > :34:28.closer towards it on the climb towards Confederation.

:34:29. > :34:37.Still a long way to go for these riders, an awful long way. Just

:34:38. > :34:42.darting to split up. Starting to decimate this field, and if that

:34:43. > :34:48.helicopter shot moved to the right, you would really see the peloton in

:34:49. > :34:52.pieces. No doubt it will come together after the descent. Does the

:34:53. > :34:55.weather change the dynamic in terms of who will be fancying their

:34:56. > :35:00.chances, or will the list of favourite stay the same? Know. I

:35:01. > :35:04.think that Geraint Thomas, he is one of the riders that we would imagine

:35:05. > :35:08.that if the weather continues like this, I think he will regain a

:35:09. > :35:16.little bit of his power. There are riders who do not mind the runner.

:35:17. > :35:20.Simon Gerrans? Yes, Simon Gerrans from Australia. The weather does not

:35:21. > :35:24.affect them, they get out of it and get on with it. But there are other

:35:25. > :35:28.riders, as soon as it starts to rain, get a little bit slippery,

:35:29. > :35:31.their heads can fall off and it will affect them. I would imagine that

:35:32. > :35:37.for most of the favourites they would still be there or thereabouts,

:35:38. > :35:41.but it can change the way that the peloton reacts behind the group. If

:35:42. > :35:47.the group goes clear, especially on the run-in, on the descent, if you

:35:48. > :35:49.can go clear over the final line, and you have got a handful of

:35:50. > :35:55.seconds, it is all downhill and tactical. That is so much harder to

:35:56. > :35:59.get an organised chase behind, especially in the wet. In the dry is

:36:00. > :36:06.bad enough, but in the wet it really does pay to the advantage of the

:36:07. > :36:12.riders out front. This peloton is really starting to split up now. The

:36:13. > :36:17.fatigue is really starting to show. Unsurprisingly as well, there is not

:36:18. > :36:21.a lot of wind, hardly any wind down here on the finish line. I cannot

:36:22. > :36:26.imagine there is much up there on this climb. It could have played a

:36:27. > :36:31.part if it was windy. This is a dangerous looking group, certainly

:36:32. > :36:40.with that, we have got Fabio Aru, Giovanni Visconti, Tim Wellens,

:36:41. > :36:51.Michael Albasini and Jenson from Denmark. The Danish rider is in good

:36:52. > :36:56.company here. Giovanni Visconti, the Italian rider, just moving up to the

:36:57. > :37:03.second spot, he is another one of the Italians who would be revelling

:37:04. > :37:12.on a course like this. And number 203 there, caught by those in the

:37:13. > :37:17.counter, including Peter. The race is really on. It really is now. I

:37:18. > :37:22.have got a feeling that this move might very well come back together.

:37:23. > :37:27.I think we will probably see this happen on the next lap and the lap

:37:28. > :37:31.after, riders wanting to go clear. It looks like a couple of the

:37:32. > :37:35.Spanish trying to get across. It is quite difficult to see from these

:37:36. > :37:41.shots, that is at the two Spanish jerseys. The Spanish need to react,

:37:42. > :37:52.they need to make sure that they have got somebody in there. I think

:37:53. > :37:58.that might be Gerard joining the leading riders there. Meanwhile, at

:37:59. > :38:03.the front of the race, it is Carlos Quintero, on his own having dropped

:38:04. > :38:08.his three companions. The race is getting ever livelier behind him.

:38:09. > :38:13.But as you suggested, it is split, counter splits, nothing definitive

:38:14. > :38:22.as of yet. The group is growing in size. He is on the front, and he

:38:23. > :38:29.needs to look back and make sure that we have got another great

:38:30. > :38:37.British rider. There is no point on pushing this an without another one.

:38:38. > :38:41.Fabio Aru is a very dangerous rider to be in this group. That is

:38:42. > :38:56.probably why as much as anything, everybody else is reacting to this

:38:57. > :38:59.with Fabio Aru up the road. He is a really classy rider in the grand

:39:00. > :39:09.Tour. And he is very much a danger man. I think that is Jenson of

:39:10. > :39:15.Denmark. It is Peter Kennaugh who is putting on the pressure, hoping that

:39:16. > :39:20.he has had the go-ahead from the team. It is quite possible that they

:39:21. > :39:24.have said look, if you get over the top in a small group and none of us

:39:25. > :39:30.are there, you can do your own thing. I have caught Quintero who

:39:31. > :39:36.has been in the lead for the whole day. This is Peter Kennaugh. And I

:39:37. > :39:41.think that is Giovanni Visconti, he has got the lime green helmet. He is

:39:42. > :39:50.a very dangerous rider. There is Joaquim Rodriguez. He is from the

:39:51. > :39:58.host nation, Spain. Now, he was a medallist last year. So bitterly

:39:59. > :40:02.disappointed to have been pipped to the line by Rui Costa, he chased him

:40:03. > :40:09.all the way down the finishing straight. Last year, they were in

:40:10. > :40:14.amongst it, the Spanish. Have not quite got it right this year. It

:40:15. > :40:24.looks like there is an Irish jersey down there as well. Is it Roach?

:40:25. > :40:28.Cannot quite see. The Danish rider joining those out in front at the

:40:29. > :40:35.moment. And Peter Kennaugh is right at the front of the race here for

:40:36. > :40:41.Great Britain. Still climbing Confederation. Almost up to the top

:40:42. > :40:45.of it now. Yes, then they have got the descent. It is an extremely

:40:46. > :40:48.quick descent, it goes down left and right, and then it hits the dam,

:40:49. > :41:00.turning right and going under the panel, and then you get that. Not

:41:01. > :41:05.holding anything back at the moment, Quintero. This really is early for

:41:06. > :41:11.him. Not for him! He went after two minutes in the Commonwealth Games!

:41:12. > :41:14.But I know what you mean, there is a long way to go, a lot can happen in

:41:15. > :41:21.just over six kilometres in a Championship road race. Peter

:41:22. > :41:29.Kennaugh in the frontier. The Danish rider is up there with him. And so

:41:30. > :41:33.is Giovanni Visconti from Italy. And I cannot quite see who the other

:41:34. > :41:37.rider is. I think it might well be Quintero who is still hanging onto

:41:38. > :41:49.their coat-tails at the moment. Just about. Just coming down to that Shah

:41:50. > :41:55.left-hander, right-hander, sorry, left-hander on the screen. -- shop

:41:56. > :41:59.left-hander. You have do what Giovanni Visconti, he won a couple

:42:00. > :42:04.of stages in Italy last year. Previous stages in the dry, people

:42:05. > :42:09.have gone out here, but everybody has managed to get round it in the

:42:10. > :42:15.wet. He has the perfect preparation, Giovanni Visconti, he rode the Tour

:42:16. > :42:20.of Britain last week. Spectacular finish there. A couple of stage

:42:21. > :42:23.victories in Italy last year, fairly quiet since then but he is certainly

:42:24. > :42:39.a rider that we know is capable of good things on a course like this.

:42:40. > :42:48.Here we are at the back of the peloton. We were looking at Machado

:42:49. > :42:50.there, the winner of the Toro Rosso Renee, hanging onto the back of the

:42:51. > :43:08.strung out peloton now. You can see the Germans now, cannot

:43:09. > :43:16.afford to get to strung out with this weather. Just gathering that

:43:17. > :43:20.Michael Albasini, Edvald Boasson Hagen, and others, joining guys at

:43:21. > :43:24.the front of the race. There is Michael Albasini with the blue and

:43:25. > :43:31.white helmet with the green and red of Switzerland. Edvald Boasson Hagen

:43:32. > :43:40.is coming through. There he is, he has the white and red sleeves. That

:43:41. > :43:45.is Simon Geschke. This is an interesting looking group with some

:43:46. > :43:48.high-class riders. It really is interesting. I am guessing that the

:43:49. > :43:58.sprinters have fallen down the wayside. John Degenkolb, and others,

:43:59. > :44:05.Ira would not imagine they would be pressing on this hard. Simon Geschke

:44:06. > :44:08.joining those at the front. Edvald Boasson Hagen as well has got some

:44:09. > :44:11.good form in the World Championships. Did not quite

:44:12. > :44:16.finished on top of the podium a couple of years ago, finished with a

:44:17. > :44:20.silver medal. He will be leaving Team Sky, and going elsewhere next

:44:21. > :44:24.year. It was a career that promised so much three or four years ago.

:44:25. > :44:33.Although his results have been very good, actually there was an argument

:44:34. > :44:37.to suggest that he has not achieved what you thought he would. In the

:44:38. > :44:42.early years he showed what talent he had. He was more of a small group

:44:43. > :44:45.sprinter, not really a bunch sprint, but he did have a go on a few

:44:46. > :44:50.occasions, but just came up short. That certainly from a group like

:44:51. > :44:56.this, would have one of the better sprints. Looking for confirmation,

:44:57. > :45:00.but I think that is Tim Wellens, and keeping an eye on things on behalf

:45:01. > :45:08.of the big-name riders. He himself is no slouch, he won the Tour last

:45:09. > :45:11.year, and was sixth recently in France. This course has been

:45:12. > :45:17.described by some as quite similar to that stage. A little shake of the

:45:18. > :45:20.head there from Peter Kennaugh. Talking to a couple of those

:45:21. > :45:25.alongside him. A little word for Simon Geschke as Giovanni Visconti

:45:26. > :45:31.comes towards the front. But the main peloton is not far behind. They

:45:32. > :45:35.are all starting to regroup behind. Have not had that time checked yet

:45:36. > :45:40.to see how far behind the lead group is. Hoping that Peter Kennaugh can

:45:41. > :45:44.keep a lid on it. A few more riders starting to come up to it. Does not

:45:45. > :45:50.want to commit too much to this group. He does not need to. There is

:45:51. > :45:55.an awful lot of riders here. Interesting to note that Michael

:45:56. > :45:59.Albasini was up towards the front. The Swiss, Fabian Cancellara, highly

:46:00. > :46:05.fancied, he is one of the big favourites. But Michael Albasini,

:46:06. > :46:11.another one of those three, he is potentially an outsider in his own

:46:12. > :46:17.right. Definitely. This race, coming into this, it is absolutely wide

:46:18. > :46:21.open. So difficult to pinpoint a small group of riders that can

:46:22. > :46:29.potentially take victory. Second Belgian rider, Sep Vanmarcke, it is

:46:30. > :46:34.growing all the time. They are not far. Not far at all. The Australians

:46:35. > :46:38.on the front. No surprise because they have got two of the big

:46:39. > :46:42.favourites, Simon Gerrans, who we were talking about, and also Michael

:46:43. > :46:48.Matthews, the 24-year-old. Former and 23 Elite Rd Race champion. He is

:46:49. > :46:53.going to be summary to look out for. Daryl Impey as well is up towards

:46:54. > :47:03.the front for South Africa. Fabian Cancellara has just gone through.

:47:04. > :47:08.Belgium also have a squad, Jan Bakelants amongst others. All of

:47:09. > :47:14.them saying that they will see how the race goes. I could have my

:47:15. > :47:19.chance. How cohesive is this Belgian group? Strength in depth absolutely

:47:20. > :47:23.incredible. They have got the big-name riders, we have been

:47:24. > :47:25.talking to some of our Belgian colleagues, you have got Philippe

:47:26. > :47:29.Gilbert, he has won the World Championship couple of years ago.

:47:30. > :47:35.Tom Boonen has won it before, although that is going back to 2005.

:47:36. > :47:39.He fancies his chances. Sep Vanmarcke fancies his chances. But

:47:40. > :47:43.arguably, Greg Van Avermaet is probably the strongest of all of

:47:44. > :47:47.them but he is probably not in his character to tell others what to do

:47:48. > :47:51.and take control of the situation. Maybe they are not particularly

:47:52. > :47:55.United. That was the suggestion from our colleagues in Belgium. 21

:47:56. > :48:03.seconds is the gap. Still nothing in it, nothing decisive. As we look at

:48:04. > :48:08.the front group, Peter Kennaugh, Tim Wellens, Tony Martin, Jensen from

:48:09. > :48:13.Denmark, Edvald Boasson Hagen the Norwegian, Simon Geschke from

:48:14. > :48:16.Germany, Sep Vanmarcke, Michael Albasini, Giovanni Visconti,

:48:17. > :48:22.Giampaolo Caruso from Italy. Daniel Novartis from the host nation. A

:48:23. > :48:27.couple of others not too far behind. Greg Van Avermaet, Fabio Aru, John

:48:28. > :48:32.Degenkolb. They are all within about 22nd of the front of the race. It is

:48:33. > :48:36.interesting. We have got some big names in the league group including

:48:37. > :48:40.the likes of Edvald Boasson Hagen. But we have some of the others that

:48:41. > :48:44.want it for themselves that are not far behind. Just looking at little

:48:45. > :48:47.bit further back, in 20th position going through the last checkpoint

:48:48. > :48:52.and on the wheel of his team-mate, it is Ben Swift. On his wheel, John

:48:53. > :48:56.Degenkolb. Those are the kind of guys that he will be looking at if

:48:57. > :49:03.it stays in this kind of format. Philippe Gilbert was just behind.

:49:04. > :49:08.The sprinters are still there. Tony Martin now, the German rider. Second

:49:09. > :49:14.in the time trial the other day to Bradley Wiggins. He knows this

:49:15. > :49:18.course pretty well, although the conditions were rather different on

:49:19. > :49:21.Wednesday when he was finally beaten in the men's elite time trial having

:49:22. > :49:28.been the world champion for each of the last years. Tony Martin now

:49:29. > :49:34.leading the way as they head back into Ponferrada once again. It is a

:49:35. > :49:40.long way out, even for a time trial, Tony Martin, not sure if he has got

:49:41. > :49:45.his 58 on that. Highly unlikely, but he really is a powerhouse. When you

:49:46. > :49:51.get into a position like this, you give him an inch and he will take a

:49:52. > :49:57.mile. Still a lot of riders in this group, but how many of them are

:49:58. > :50:03.willing to chase and able to chase? The attritional war for the race for

:50:04. > :50:16.the world title. Martin is on the front. He could ride like that all

:50:17. > :50:19.day. He really cared. Peter Kennaugh just moving on, Edvald Boasson Hagen

:50:20. > :50:22.as well. But this is somebody that would like to go back with a world

:50:23. > :50:29.title. Giovanni Visconti just looking behind. Peter Kennaugh for

:50:30. > :50:36.Great Britain. Now they are heading into the finishing straight.

:50:37. > :50:41.Completing ten laps, there are four to go. Once they get over the line

:50:42. > :50:45.here now. Tony Martin is going for that tempo now. He knows that the

:50:46. > :50:50.group is behind him, but he is riding well within himself and he

:50:51. > :50:56.has let the others come up to him. He knows it is not too far behind,

:50:57. > :51:01.John Degenkolb. He is drawing out the racier. He is, keeping the

:51:02. > :51:07.pressure on front. Over the line, 200 kilometres in the bag, five

:51:08. > :51:12.hours in the saddle. Martin on front of the race. And the little group of

:51:13. > :51:21.the front of the peloton. Tim Wellens, Peter Kennaugh, Edvald

:51:22. > :51:26.Boasson Hagen, Navarro, Fabio Caruso, Michael Albasini, Sep

:51:27. > :51:29.Vanmarcke and others. Here come the peloton. Australia cannot afford to

:51:30. > :51:34.let those riders get away. It is no surprise to see that the former

:51:35. > :51:39.Commonwealth Games world champion is on the front.

:51:40. > :51:50.Still plenty of riders in this race, no wonder some of those at the front

:51:51. > :51:54.of trying to make it harder to get rid of some of them. Trying to make

:51:55. > :51:59.it a tough race for the sprinters but still there, Ben Swift, John

:52:00. > :52:03.Degenkolb and Gilbert, crossing the line together. Not an inch given

:52:04. > :52:08.between those riders. One rider that we have not mentioned, Peter Sagan.

:52:09. > :52:11.I have not seen him. I have not seen him at all. But again he is a rider

:52:12. > :52:15.that you would certainly put down for this type of course. The

:52:16. > :52:18.that you would certainly put down saying that he really needs to win

:52:19. > :52:25.this world title here this year on this course to kind of salvage a

:52:26. > :52:29.very lacklustre year. In what he won the green jersey in the Tour de

:52:30. > :52:34.France! He was in the top twofer every day on the first seven stages.

:52:35. > :52:38.He just had the legs, but he was getting so excited at the Tour de

:52:39. > :52:43.France. Stage 2 going into Sheffield, he was dancing off the

:52:44. > :52:48.front, he was pushing on. He did not need to put the pressure on. In the

:52:49. > :52:52.group that was left he just needed to sit back because he was by far

:52:53. > :52:56.the fastest sprinter, it was actually the gents only believe, the

:52:57. > :52:58.eventual jersey winner in Paris that went on to take that stage. -- it

:52:59. > :53:06.was actually pretend only he was in the top five in every one

:53:07. > :53:11.of the first seven stages of this Tour de France, but he did not

:53:12. > :53:15.manage to get any stage wins. He has won four during his career. Peter

:53:16. > :53:22.Sagan is already got his big-money move, that will be coming into

:53:23. > :53:25.effect next season. Through the streets of Ponferrada once more in

:53:26. > :53:33.the general direction of the castle. Mostly downhill for a couple

:53:34. > :53:37.of kilometres here. 35 seconds back to the main pack from this lead

:53:38. > :53:43.group, Matt Heymann of Australia on the front of the peloton.

:53:44. > :53:52.Have you seen Peter Sagan? Presumably he is tucked into the

:53:53. > :53:57.peloton? Is that a bad sign? If you do not see him it is a good sign.

:53:58. > :54:01.What about Great Britain? Who is left? We're pretty much all there.

:54:02. > :54:12.That is a stark contrast to last year. Ben Swift, Luke Rowe. Steve

:54:13. > :54:16.Cummings is out. He is out, I am sure he did a lot of the donkey work

:54:17. > :54:22.earlier. Looking at some of the riders that have gone, Belarus have

:54:23. > :54:29.lost a couple. A lot of cyclists from the smaller cycling nations. We

:54:30. > :54:37.mentioned a couple of Polish riders. Stephen Cummings.

:54:38. > :54:45.And the Australian, second to Mark Cavendish back in 2009, he had out

:54:46. > :54:51.of the race. Watching Tony Martin, 20 seconds clear of the field at the

:54:52. > :54:55.moment. You can see how gingerly he is taking the bairns, a lot of white

:54:56. > :55:00.lines. Just riding away from this group. The way he was looking over

:55:01. > :55:03.his shoulder, I expected them to wait to come towards him. He is

:55:04. > :55:07.keeping going, drawing them out and I would imagine he is still riding

:55:08. > :55:11.within himself. Of all of the riders in this group, I think the only

:55:12. > :55:16.other rider who would know how to pace himself as well as Tony Martin

:55:17. > :55:22.is Fabian Cancellara. But he is well and truly stuck in the wheels,

:55:23. > :55:26.sheltering as best he can. Fabian Cancellara has got his hands full

:55:27. > :55:31.today because so many people know that he is such a big favourite. He

:55:32. > :55:34.will be marked extremely closely, although, on occasions we have seen

:55:35. > :55:39.him ride away from the field as if he is on a motorbike. If he was that

:55:40. > :55:46.good, there was talk that he was actually on a motorbike! But yes, we

:55:47. > :55:51.know that he is capable of doing it. Is he capable of doing it here

:55:52. > :55:55.today? There has been an awful lot of media attention on him, talking

:55:56. > :56:02.himself up. He has done that over the years with other races. He has

:56:03. > :56:06.gone out there and done it in front of everyone. He had an incredible

:56:07. > :56:11.record, he has won so many of those, you mentioned the Perry, but the

:56:12. > :56:15.others, Flanders, Olympic champion. Seven stages of the Tour de France.

:56:16. > :56:20.Four times the world time trial champion. But he sacrificed the

:56:21. > :56:24.medal, what would likely be a medal... Not suggesting that he

:56:25. > :56:30.would have won it, but he sacrificed a time trial because it was all

:56:31. > :56:33.about the road race for him here. Looking at the way that Tony Martin

:56:34. > :56:39.is going, it would not have been a bad warm up for the road race.

:56:40. > :56:44.Martin is an outstanding rider, team-mate to Mark Cavendish in the

:56:45. > :56:48.year. His lead is going up and he does not look and Julie stressed by

:56:49. > :56:53.the effort he is making. Tony Martin has lost two world titles this week.

:56:54. > :57:00.Earlier this weekend we had the team time trial, the professional teams,

:57:01. > :57:03.and his team lost that title. BMC the new world champions. The story

:57:04. > :57:08.was that I heard going into the time trial that a lot of Tony Martin's

:57:09. > :57:12.team-mates were a little bit under the weather going into that. It was

:57:13. > :57:17.not such a surprise, but then going into the individual time trial

:57:18. > :57:22.during the week, he put up a fantastic battle, a hard-fought

:57:23. > :57:26.battle with Bradley Wiggins. But it was he who took the title away from

:57:27. > :57:33.Tony Martin, about 26 seconds. He took that victory. He is too down

:57:34. > :57:37.and he is trying to get one back. There is Jensen from Denmark on the

:57:38. > :57:44.back of that little group. Number 168 just in front of him. We have

:57:45. > :57:49.not seen too much form from him for a little while. 58 from Belgium, Sep

:57:50. > :57:53.Vanmarcke. We have already seen him in the leading group. Michael

:57:54. > :57:56.Albasini has the red on his back, and a white cross of Switzerland.

:57:57. > :58:04.And further forward we have just gone past couple of Russian riders

:58:05. > :58:08.in the red and blue. Simon Geschke, the German rider in this group, he

:58:09. > :58:13.will not be putting anything in to try to pull back his team-mate, Tony

:58:14. > :58:18.Martin. He can rest in the wheels, confident that he has got this rider

:58:19. > :58:21.up the road ahead. They are well covered with Simon Geschke of

:58:22. > :58:27.Germany in that group, Tony Martin also out in front. Here we are with

:58:28. > :58:34.our leader on the road, on his own, as he has been for about a third of

:58:35. > :58:38.a lap now. This is putting an awful lot of pressure on the other teams.

:58:39. > :58:43.Meanwhile, still sat there going through the last time check in 19th

:58:44. > :58:48.place, John Degenkolb. He is still there. Matthews is still there as

:58:49. > :58:51.well, 17th over the line, he was up towards the front of the peloton,

:58:52. > :58:55.Michael Matthews. We have got to fancy him as a rider in with a

:58:56. > :58:59.chance depending how many are there at the end. Certainly have. The

:59:00. > :59:03.Australians have come into this with such a strong squad. This really is

:59:04. > :59:11.what has made this race today so intriguing. On so many levels there

:59:12. > :59:16.could be so many different riders looking at taking the victory. It is

:59:17. > :59:21.so, so difficult to take a pic. It is literally like trying to pick

:59:22. > :59:24.your numbers on the lottery. For viewers that have just tuned in,

:59:25. > :59:29.asking if there is any British riders, is there anybody that can do

:59:30. > :59:33.that? Ben Swift is in good form, five top ten finishes. He is the

:59:34. > :59:36.protective rider, and has shown in the classic earlier this season that

:59:37. > :59:41.he has got the potential to be in the shake-up at the end. Third place

:59:42. > :59:45.by Ben Swift, that was a lot earlier on in the year but it shows us his

:59:46. > :59:51.potential over a course like this with the amount of climbing and the

:59:52. > :59:55.relentlessness of it. But not tough enough for somebody like Chris

:59:56. > :59:59.Froome today. Certainly is not. But it is tough enough to put him out of

:00:00. > :00:02.the race. I think we saw him and Geraint Thomas going up the back

:00:03. > :00:05.little bit earlier on, but I would imagine he is certainly not in the

:00:06. > :00:09.form that we saw him coming out of the other tours.

:00:10. > :00:16.It's not a course that he can prepare himself for? Certainly not.

:00:17. > :00:21.This is more of a grind. This is one of the climbs. Froome is out. Froome

:00:22. > :00:24.is out now, so, yeah, I wouldn't imagine it would be too long before

:00:25. > :00:31.we saw Geraint Thomas going. Their work is done. They would have done

:00:32. > :00:42.an awful lot of work for the riders. I think Adam Yates has gone as well.

:00:43. > :01:01.We are starting to lose riders in the GB squad, but we saw a good

:01:02. > :01:08.handful of Kwiatkowski's team-mates go. That might have been Simon Yates

:01:09. > :01:20.up towards the back. The list of DNFs is growing by the minute. We

:01:21. > :01:28.only have 48 kilometres to go. Still a densely-packed peloton here. It's

:01:29. > :01:32.a day of mixed weather conditions. The sun is trying to come out at the

:01:33. > :01:43.finish line. There's the leader, Tony Martin, from Germany. He is

:01:44. > :01:48.looking pretty good at the moment. We talk about his ability. He's been

:01:49. > :01:53.pretty much unbeatable in time trials. But Bradley Wiggins

:01:54. > :01:58.certainly managed to snatch the gold from him on Wednesday and he was a

:01:59. > :02:02.very worthy winner on the day, Wiggins, winning by 26 seconds, he

:02:03. > :02:09.timed his effort to perfection. But Martins, not all about time trials,

:02:10. > :02:19.he's won Paris-Nice in the past. Tour of Belgium. Tour of Switzerland

:02:20. > :02:24.and holding on to that lead. He is not just a rider for races against

:02:25. > :02:31.the clock? No. This course won't frighten him too much. There is the

:02:32. > :02:36.element of the diesel about him. He looks as if he could ride at this

:02:37. > :02:40.sort of tempo for hours? He is so smooth, as is Bradley Wiggins, but

:02:41. > :02:45.in a different way. He really is a powerful rider. It is a little bit

:02:46. > :02:49.more finesse that we see with Bradley Wiggins, where it is a lot

:02:50. > :02:53.of brute force, certainly no ignorance in the effort, but an

:02:54. > :03:03.awful lot of brute force by the German riders across-the-board over

:03:04. > :03:06.the years. Tony Martin does put the power down. Here we can see the

:03:07. > :03:11.powerful squad on the front now, it is Australia. They are putting a

:03:12. > :03:16.shift in. They are. It is time to clock on now, it really is. 47.2

:03:17. > :03:21.kilometres to go and only 19 seconds to that lead group. So they are not

:03:22. > :03:26.letting it get too far. They have three leaders on the road, two of

:03:27. > :03:29.the favourites in Simon Gerrans and Michael Matthews. We shouldn't

:03:30. > :03:32.forget Cadel Evans as well, who is about to retire at the end of the

:03:33. > :03:36.season. What a career he's had. World Champion. In 2009, former

:03:37. > :03:42.winner of the Tour de France as well. His experience invaluable in

:03:43. > :03:48.situations like this? Our understanding - and from their press

:03:49. > :03:52.conference - is that Cadel Evans here as the team leader, much as

:03:53. > :03:56.David Millar has been the team captain on the road for the Great

:03:57. > :04:01.Britain team. That is Cadel Evans' role here. He is happy with his

:04:02. > :04:06.piece of pie. He said, "I have the stripes on the bottom of my sleeve,

:04:07. > :04:11.so I am relaxed about everything." It is unusual to hear him say

:04:12. > :04:23.something like that? It is. He is just starting to lighten up a little

:04:24. > :04:37.bit. Back towards the front of the race, as Taaramae of Estonia has a

:04:38. > :04:43.little stretch. 19 was Giampaolo Caruso of Italy. Peter Kennaugh is a

:04:44. > :04:56.little way behind this man, Tony Martin. He is holding tempo

:04:57. > :05:04.extremely well. A little bit of a breather. He is about to go left

:05:05. > :05:09.uphill again, up towards the top of the climb at Confederacion. It steps

:05:10. > :05:15.up in a couple of places. I know that because I missed the turning

:05:16. > :05:21.the other day! Yes, I didn't miss it the other day with Rochelle. She

:05:22. > :05:25.said no, it goes up there. So, it kicks up, only a few hundred metres

:05:26. > :05:30.it climbs up, but from the bottom, where they go past the castle up to

:05:31. > :05:34.the very top here, where the Australian team are dragging the

:05:35. > :05:42.peloton, it is around about 200 metres altitude climbing that they

:05:43. > :05:49.do. They have got such a strong team, Australia, haven't they? The

:05:50. > :05:59.Belgiums here... There's Philippe Gilbert in the middle of your

:06:00. > :06:09.picture. The Belgians have got their act together. It looks like they are

:06:10. > :06:14.putting Vansummeren up the front to do a bit of work. There are riders

:06:15. > :06:19.at the back like Gilbert and Boonen, no matter who is up front, they will

:06:20. > :06:26.be wanting to get up there Tony Martin is just climbing up over the

:06:27. > :06:30.top. An awful lot of camping cars on the right-hand side of our screen.

:06:31. > :06:33.Those spectators have sat there for day after day because it was

:06:34. > :06:40.beautiful sunshine a couple of days ago. They have had a wonderful week

:06:41. > :06:44.up there and for the Men's Road Race anything but. It's been a good day

:06:45. > :06:48.of racing so far. Hopefully, a good finish to the race to come. Business

:06:49. > :06:53.as usual for the Men's Road Race, in the rain. You can see the peloton

:06:54. > :07:05.just coming up over that top section. Running down the road...

:07:06. > :07:10.There are a series of rivers running down the road. Great Britain keeping

:07:11. > :07:17.an eye on things. Not much of a gap, around 15 seconds. This is where the

:07:18. > :07:23.road levels off now and then it starts the descent. The descent that

:07:24. > :07:30.Tony Martin is on. How far will he push this? How many risks will he

:07:31. > :07:34.take on this wet descent? That will be the thing over the next couple of

:07:35. > :07:38.laps, how much do you force it? How many chances do you take on those

:07:39. > :07:41.descents? One false move and you are on the deck and into the barriers.

:07:42. > :07:47.You don't need to overstep the mark by too much on these roads. Here's

:07:48. > :07:52.the sharp right-hander. We have seen a few come a cropper here during the

:07:53. > :07:59.week. We have. This left and this right, the chicane, and then after

:08:00. > :08:05.this left it's a 90 degree right-hander over the dam and in the

:08:06. > :08:08.dry, this bend has taken a lot of riders out, just a bit of

:08:09. > :08:15.overconfidence for many of the riders in the dry. Tony Martin, no

:08:16. > :08:18.problems for him. So, a moment or two of respite for Tony Martin

:08:19. > :08:23.before the road goes uphill once again. This next couple of

:08:24. > :08:34.kilometres will be interesting to see. Oh and here we have a rider

:08:35. > :08:38.down. It looks like it is a rider from Argentina. He's gone heavily

:08:39. > :08:41.into the barriers. The next few kilometres, when the road kicks up

:08:42. > :08:46.on the second climb, this is where we will see what Tony Martin has got

:08:47. > :08:50.left in the legs. And who out of the group from behind is going to try

:08:51. > :08:52.and come out of the front, probably no-one bearing in mind that

:08:53. > :08:54.Australia are on the front, they are going to ride tempo and try and hold

:08:55. > :09:09.it together. It looks as if everybody has managed

:09:10. > :09:16.to get around that right-hander at the dam.

:09:17. > :09:25.The sun is coming out here on Tony Martin, as is it is here on the

:09:26. > :09:29.finish straight. There's hardly any wind out here today, to push the

:09:30. > :09:34.weather systems on. Once it starts raining, it lingers on. Hopefully,

:09:35. > :09:39.once it stops, the sun will soon dry these roads out and it won't be

:09:40. > :09:55.pushing the rain clouds over the riders. That lead just steady at 14

:09:56. > :09:56.seconds. It is very much in range. Belgium with 56, Greg van Avermaet.

:09:57. > :10:20.The front of the main peloton. Here we are with the leading

:10:21. > :10:21.and Giampaolo Caruso is at the back at the moment.

:10:22. > :10:31.out of the saddle and not Greg van Avermaet. This is

:10:32. > :10:31.out of the saddle and not Greg van steepest sections. The crowd will

:10:32. > :10:35.like seeing Tony Martin in the steepest sections. The crowd will

:10:36. > :10:37.They will. This is their second steepest sections. The crowd will

:10:38. > :10:48.chance to see him rolling around here on his own. Luke Rowe on the

:10:49. > :10:54.left-hand side of the screen. Great Britain doing a fantastic job today.

:10:55. > :10:58.He is a strong rider, Luke Rowe. Former winner of a stage in the Tour

:10:59. > :11:03.of Britain. Sixth in the Commonwealth Games road race. One of

:11:04. > :11:07.12 who finished on an awful day weatherwise in Glasgow. They are

:11:08. > :11:15.getting a time check. And then the motorbike will need to get a scoot

:11:16. > :11:20.on. Vansummeren and in the middle of the shot, the Belgian rider... It is

:11:21. > :11:27.hurting him a little bit on the climb. The crowds standing out in

:11:28. > :11:33.the wind and rain throughout the day. It looks as if it might warm up

:11:34. > :11:35.in more ways than one over the next hour or so. The sun is coming out at

:11:36. > :11:48.the finish here. Just a little bit - not too

:11:49. > :11:52.concerned on the front of the peloton. They know it is well

:11:53. > :11:56.containable this move out front. At least they are hoping it is. So,

:11:57. > :12:02.they are having a respite on this climb, just riding tempo. It does

:12:03. > :12:07.make you wonder how many riders will be in there with a shout at the end

:12:08. > :12:11.of this race and whether anyone will manage to get away and how attacking

:12:12. > :12:16.this race will be at the closing stages? We ended up with a

:12:17. > :12:21.decent-sized group at the end of the Women's Race yesterday. That is

:12:22. > :12:25.Michael Albasini from Switzerland in the middle, Peter Kennaugh behind

:12:26. > :12:34.him. Tony Martin is in their sights, so they have brought him back.

:12:35. > :12:40.Good effort by Martin, but he's been passed now. Wellens is losing touch

:12:41. > :12:52.with that group. Look at him gritting his teeth, pain

:12:53. > :12:58.etched on his face. The main peloton now on the climb of Mirador. France

:12:59. > :13:07.now to the front. We haven't seen much of the French so far today. We

:13:08. > :13:11.haven't. Bouhanni perhaps would be the card for them, but Tim Wellens

:13:12. > :13:22.is still off the back of that lead group. 12 riders lead the way. Sep

:13:23. > :13:26.Vanmarcke of Switzerland leads. Luke Rowe with Swifty on his wheel. So

:13:27. > :13:30.far, so good for Ben Swift. Extremely good. He was gritting his

:13:31. > :13:45.teeth, mind. A lot of these riders are. Confirmation, 12 at the front.

:13:46. > :13:52.Edvald Boasson Hagen from Norway is in 12th place. A lot of riders will

:13:53. > :13:57.be nervous about him being at the front? They will. He does have the

:13:58. > :14:00.potential to outsprint anybody in a small group like this, certainly

:14:01. > :14:14.with the combination of riders that are there.

:14:15. > :14:26.Bouhanni of France is up there in that main pack. He's neatly tucked

:14:27. > :14:30.in. It is interesting how many riders have been able to hang in

:14:31. > :14:34.there in these races this week. Quite surprising bearing in mind the

:14:35. > :14:39.circuit. A lot of the riders were saying the circuit is not as tough

:14:40. > :14:44.as they perceived it to be before they came here and rode around it. A

:14:45. > :14:49.lot of it depended on how the race panned out and how hard it was. Up

:14:50. > :14:53.till now, up to this point, it showed that the sprinters, as we

:14:54. > :14:57.have seen in a lot of the other races, are able to stay there or

:14:58. > :15:02.thereabouts but it is on the last lap, on those last ten kilometres,

:15:03. > :15:04.where they really start to fight. That climb where they previously

:15:05. > :15:09.brought Tony Martin back, that is the launch pad, that is where those

:15:10. > :15:13.type of riders really do suffer and struggle to hold on to the wheels,

:15:14. > :15:16.so it is all about who they have got left with them, team-mates, have

:15:17. > :15:21.they got anyone who can help bring them back on to the wheels of riders

:15:22. > :15:26.who go clear? Looks like there is a chain missing. Not a lot you can do

:15:27. > :15:32.without a chain! Not a great spot to have that problem either. Not

:15:33. > :15:36.really. The team car is an awful long way back, no neutral service

:15:37. > :15:44.vehicle either. So, unfortunately that is game over. With a launching

:15:45. > :15:52.pad climb and a fast technical descent, followed by a chase for a

:15:53. > :15:59.couple of K along the streets, it reminds me of Milan-San Remo. Yes.

:16:00. > :16:04.Very similar. And very similar... If someone goes for it, they

:16:05. > :16:11.desperately try to hang on. You can see Visconti there, he's just trying

:16:12. > :16:21.to get all the riders, "We need to ride" to keep the pressure on. We

:16:22. > :16:26.should see the peloton fairly soon. Visconti, you alright, Tony, giving

:16:27. > :16:29.him the thumbs up. They are gathering themselves and just

:16:30. > :16:33.weighing up what is the best option. Do you sit up and wait for

:16:34. > :16:36.team-mates to come across? Or do you press on? This is the gamble that

:16:37. > :16:42.all the riders are playing now. There is a lot of talent in that

:16:43. > :16:45.front group. They need to make their mind up pretty quick whether they

:16:46. > :16:52.are going to commit 100% or not. This is what we saw with that group

:16:53. > :17:03.of four yesterday in the closing few hundred metres in the Women's Race.

:17:04. > :17:08.Only one rider can cross the line first and it is such a gamble and

:17:09. > :17:19.it's gambles that riders are often willing to pay. Ken He is trying to

:17:20. > :17:25.draw - that is not a full-blown attack by Peter Kennaugh. He is

:17:26. > :17:31.trying to keep the momentum of this group going. The Belgian rider is

:17:32. > :17:38.trying to come across. That's Tim Wellens... He got dropped on that

:17:39. > :17:41.final climb. He is riding tempo now. As Kennaugh went over the line, it

:17:42. > :17:46.was Edvald Boasson Hagen who went with him, who is a team-mate of his

:17:47. > :17:52.at Sky. For now. Not next season. The pair of them showing their

:17:53. > :17:57.intent as France leading the way and on the front there was Romain Bardet

:17:58. > :18:01.and Warren Barguil. They lead the peloton through. The Australian team

:18:02. > :18:05.are having a bit of a breather. They have three or four in the front 12

:18:06. > :18:14.or so of the peloton as they go through.

:18:15. > :18:22.Two laps to go here now and 11 riders lead the way. And Great

:18:23. > :18:27.Britain's Peter Kennaugh is one of them and behind him in that first

:18:28. > :18:31.chase group, tucked in with Luke Rowe helping him out, Ben Swift. So,

:18:32. > :18:36.from a British point of view, this is a good position to be in? So far,

:18:37. > :18:39.so good. It is all going to plan. Whether it will be mission

:18:40. > :18:43.accompliced by the end of the day, we will have to wait and see. So

:18:44. > :18:46.far, so good. But the same goes for a lot of the other teams by the

:18:47. > :18:50.looks of it. Germany are in a good position. France seem to be in a

:18:51. > :18:57.very good position at the moment as well. Primarily because they haven't

:18:58. > :19:01.had to do much so far, the French. No, it certainly helps in a race of

:19:02. > :19:04.this length if you can keep your powder dry and wait. This is the

:19:05. > :19:10.thing with riders who don't want it to come down to a sprint finish. A

:19:11. > :19:14.sprint finish from a fairly large group like this one, they have to

:19:15. > :19:17.wait, they have to keep their powder dry and wait for that final climb.

:19:18. > :19:20.That is the time where they can afford to unleash everything that

:19:21. > :19:24.they have got left and then try and hold on down that final descent and

:19:25. > :19:32.on to the run-in into the town here and the finish in Ponferrada. Bardet

:19:33. > :19:38.was on the front of the peloton. He was fifth in Montreal ten days ago,

:19:39. > :19:53.behind Simon Gerrans. Inside the last 35K of the race. Giampaolo

:19:54. > :20:01.Caruso is on the front. The riders are still going through in dribs and

:20:02. > :20:06.drabs. Arashiro is well down on the main field, from Japan. He may roll

:20:07. > :20:13.into the pits in the next couple of minutes. 50% of the peloton are out

:20:14. > :20:21.of the race now. Luis Leon Sanchez has been dropped and so has Cadel

:20:22. > :20:30.Evans. Right. So, Sanchez was playing the team role then and doing

:20:31. > :20:36.his work, so too Cadel Evans. This is Visconti from Italy. Yeah,

:20:37. > :20:41.Visconti it is who has decided not to wait around. He wasn't happy

:20:42. > :20:45.earlier. He was trying to get the group, trying to get some impetus

:20:46. > :20:52.into that group. Come on, we need to keep this going. So he's gone off

:20:53. > :20:56.the front. It will have to be something like this for a rider like

:20:57. > :21:00.Visconti. If there were too many of them together, he doesn't have a

:21:01. > :21:04.chance. He will like this finish, but not with a group. He won't like

:21:05. > :21:08.the finish straight itself, it is pure sprint. Anybody who has got a

:21:09. > :21:12.half-decent sprint, they will have the strength and the speed over

:21:13. > :21:17.anybody else. It is not a technical last few hundred metres by any

:21:18. > :21:25.means. It is that run-in to it that is where Visconti will shine. He

:21:26. > :21:30.will really enjoy that. Not dissimilar to a Rui Costa-type rider

:21:31. > :21:36.who won last year, Visconti. Got second on a stage in the Tour de

:21:37. > :21:45.France this year. Anxiously looking behind there, a long way to go in

:21:46. > :21:52.this race. 221.7 kilometres under their wheels already. Visconti up by

:21:53. > :21:57.the castle, the focal point of the route here in Ponferrada. It's a

:21:58. > :22:15.slender lead. Interesting to see the Host Nation

:22:16. > :22:23.represented by Daniel Navarro. That was on a stage of the Tour of Spain

:22:24. > :22:26.this year. Ninth overall in the Tour de France last year. Yet another

:22:27. > :22:31.rider of the highest quality in the leading group here. We not long saw

:22:32. > :22:39.Fabian Cancellara's name pop through on the time check, just behind his

:22:40. > :22:44.team-mate, let's not forget he still has Michael Albasini up in the front

:22:45. > :22:47.group here. This group are coming around the bend now. So the Swiss

:22:48. > :22:53.only started with three, but they are still all there. They are in a

:22:54. > :22:57.very good position. We have Visconti at the front and then the lead is

:22:58. > :23:01.eight seconds back to 11 others and 20 seconds is the peloton. There are

:23:02. > :23:06.still a lot of riders who are very much in the hunt for this world

:23:07. > :23:11.title. As we see, riding past our window, Simon Yates. So, Simon Yates

:23:12. > :23:20.is looking for the bus! He is about to retire from the race. Well, what

:23:21. > :23:23.an end to the season, a ride in the GB squad at the World Championships.

:23:24. > :23:31.First year professional, those two brothers.

:23:32. > :23:39.Here we are, back with Peter Kennaugh, leading the chase. I think

:23:40. > :23:43.it looks like he's attacked off the front of that group, trying to go

:23:44. > :23:46.across. He will be growing frustrated with the others looking

:23:47. > :23:54.at each other and the peloton getting closer. There they are, that

:23:55. > :24:03.is the reason why. Doomed, as they say, that move. But in doing what

:24:04. > :24:06.it's done, it's created a lot of pressure on the peloton behind. It's

:24:07. > :24:14.brought out the Australians, they had to do a lot of work. Now, the

:24:15. > :24:17.French. GB jersies are still there. Swifty in an extremely good

:24:18. > :24:23.position. He's got a team-mate with him. And a team-mate out front.

:24:24. > :24:27.Visconti, the last time we heard, was six seconds ahead of Peter

:24:28. > :24:32.Kennaugh. I get the impression Kennaugh might be closing in the way

:24:33. > :24:39.Visconti keeps looking behind. Mind you, he could probably do with a

:24:40. > :24:46.hand. We should see him... There he is. Like a dog with a bone! He is a

:24:47. > :24:50.real racer, Kennaugh. He is an animator. He does take it by the

:24:51. > :24:57.scruff of the neck, all-or-nothing with Pete. He does, when he is on

:24:58. > :25:03.his day, as we saw in the Commonwealth Games this year, he

:25:04. > :25:08.likes to have a go. He was frustrated, I think - we know he was

:25:09. > :25:12.- not getting picked for the Tour de France team for Sky this year. He

:25:13. > :25:18.did a great job last year when Chris Froome won. Instead, he won the Tour

:25:19. > :25:22.of Austria instead. That is a tough race as well, the Tour of Austria.

:25:23. > :25:31.Back at the peloton, it is all starting to light up there. Riders

:25:32. > :25:36.are trying to go off the front. We can see 12 seconds the gap. A little

:25:37. > :25:42.splinter group coming off the front of the peloton. Is that Albasini

:25:43. > :25:46.again on the front? Just can't see clearly. It did look like a Swiss

:25:47. > :25:51.rider. It looked like there was a Spaniard there as well. These two

:25:52. > :25:59.can see them coming across. A long straight road. Pete just talking to

:26:00. > :26:05.Pete Smith on the side of the road. He didn't want feeding that lap, he

:26:06. > :26:10.said, "Next lap!" The early slopes of Confederacion now.

:26:11. > :26:16.They are starting to split up again, as we saw on a previous lap. Maybe

:26:17. > :26:23.we will get a better look here. It as we saw on a previous lap. Maybe

:26:24. > :26:28.looks like Albasini on the front, just looking over the shoulder, the

:26:29. > :26:32.Swiss rider. Where is Fabian Cancellara? Where are you? France,

:26:33. > :26:39.Italy, Denmark, Belgium and Spain represented there. And the rider on

:26:40. > :26:43.the left-hand side of your picture is Luke Rowe and he's done some

:26:44. > :26:47.sterling work, up to the front during the race and also down there

:26:48. > :26:53.towards the back. That is Cadel Evans on the left-hand side with the

:26:54. > :26:57.green and gold. The front of the race, Visconti and Kennaugh. And the

:26:58. > :27:02.rider from the Isle of Man dangling off the front of the peloton here

:27:03. > :27:06.with the Italian. Nobody wanting to take the chase up on the peloton.

:27:07. > :27:11.You can see them zig-zaging across from left to right on the road. One

:27:12. > :27:18.rider takes it up and swings over, hoping someone else comes through

:27:19. > :27:21.straightaway, but they don't. Not too much panic. Still 30 kilometres

:27:22. > :27:31.to go. Tony Martin has been spat out the

:27:32. > :27:34.back of the peloton. Not too long after having been at the front of

:27:35. > :27:43.the race. That was a big effort that he put in. Daniel Navarro going out

:27:44. > :27:51.the back of the peloton. A few riders going past our window still

:27:52. > :27:56.here, including Geoffrey Soupe of France. All of the big teams have

:27:57. > :28:00.started to lose riders. It is unsurprising. It is not too much

:28:01. > :28:09.panic in teams who are down on riders. We saw a lot of the Polish

:28:10. > :28:13.riders earlier with Kwiatkowski, but a lap before he still had two

:28:14. > :28:18.team-mates with him. If the race carries on like this, it will be an

:28:19. > :28:22.almighty scrap on the short climb up to Mirador. Another attack goes. Is

:28:23. > :28:32.this one of the French riderses, possibly? -- French riders,

:28:33. > :28:36.possibly? Yes, one of the Italians coming across with him. Not sure if

:28:37. > :28:49.it is still raining up the top, or if it is just where the roads are so

:28:50. > :28:57.wet. A bit more action. It is Alessandro De Marchi who is on the

:28:58. > :29:02.front. He is in really good form. Attacks now coming thick and fast.

:29:03. > :29:08.Looks like Albasini in the middle of that group there. He is still going

:29:09. > :29:15.off the front. There's a Colombian rider trying to get involved up at

:29:16. > :29:21.the front as well. That's definitely De Marchi on the front of the race.

:29:22. > :29:24.The rider with the bright helmet. They are stringing this peloton out.

:29:25. > :29:39.The gaps are all starting to open up. Among those towards the back is

:29:40. > :29:43.Damiano Caruso and 125, the Slovenian, Fajt. Does he want

:29:44. > :29:44.feeding? Or does he want some information? What is going on at the

:29:45. > :30:01.front of the race? Daniel Navarro was at the back of

:30:02. > :30:06.the peloton, there he is. You can see how far, how money vehicles he

:30:07. > :30:11.has got to get up there to fight all the way back. Meanwhile, he has got

:30:12. > :30:15.a couple of team-mates, two or three team-mates trying to go across to

:30:16. > :30:21.the front group. Extremely well represented, Spain, at the moment.

:30:22. > :30:27.Mind you, they were last year, and look what they did with it. Gautier

:30:28. > :30:30.of France, we have seen him attacking simony times in the Tour

:30:31. > :30:35.de France over the last couple of years, and he is in second place at

:30:36. > :30:41.the moment. And the other rider from Denmark, I think it is Anderson.

:30:42. > :30:45.Michael Anderson. Here at the front of the race. It is a little

:30:46. > :30:49.three-man group. We can see how they fare. He wants the others to do a

:30:50. > :30:54.turn, and Gautier does not normally need asking twice. It is his

:30:55. > :31:00.speciality getting stuck in at the front of the race. Trying to break

:31:01. > :31:06.away. He of course is not one of the main... Not one of the big guns in

:31:07. > :31:12.the French team. But they do have a strong team here this year, but it

:31:13. > :31:16.looks like... At least up to one lap, it was all about Nacer

:31:17. > :31:26.Bouhanni. What have they got left after the Tour de France? We have

:31:27. > :31:29.not mentioned Tony Gallopin, stage winner in the Tour de France, he has

:31:30. > :31:38.had a good year and he is worth keeping an eye on.

:31:39. > :31:50.Constant activity on the front here now. Suddenly the Spanish team

:31:51. > :31:59.moving to the fore. Michael Albasini are still with them. There is

:32:00. > :32:05.Anderson, followed by OTA. -- followed by Gautier. They are trying

:32:06. > :32:09.to set it up for the team-mates at the moment, but the pressure on the

:32:10. > :32:17.riders behind, the teams behind. Michael Albasini, still riding so

:32:18. > :32:28.strong at the moment was seven. He has been an absolutely everything.

:32:29. > :32:33.Izaguirre it's there with him for Spain. Alejandro Valverde was well

:32:34. > :32:41.fancied for this one, twice a silver-medallist and three times a

:32:42. > :32:47.bronze-medallist in the world road race over the years. Here is the

:32:48. > :32:51.last intersection of the first climb that they are getting too. You can

:32:52. > :33:00.see there is a little bit of a carrot ahead, three riders just

:33:01. > :33:05.trying to jump across. It is constantly going to spin to. Gautier

:33:06. > :33:06.just about hanging in there. The pressure is being put on by

:33:07. > :33:17.Anderson. Away from the crowds, through the

:33:18. > :33:24.trees. Weekly wooded, this part of the course.

:33:25. > :33:31.Vincenzo Nibali has been dropped by the peloton. The winner of the Tour

:33:32. > :33:35.de France, he has been dropped by the peloton. That is one of many

:33:36. > :33:40.that we can cross off our list as favourite today. Did not come here

:33:41. > :33:48.in great form, having fallen off. The last week or so. Then going down

:33:49. > :33:51.again on the first lap. Mind you, he crashed with just over one lap to go

:33:52. > :34:03.in Florence and managed to finishing fourth place.

:34:04. > :34:08.The gap is just opening up a little bit as its printers behind, as you

:34:09. > :34:20.can see, but still a lot of riders in the hunt. This is still quite a

:34:21. > :34:24.big group, 25.7 kilometres to go. Still a lot of riders in this, an

:34:25. > :34:32.awful lot that can take the victory here today. Heading towards the dam,

:34:33. > :34:47.the right-hander. This is the front of the race.

:34:48. > :34:55.Anderson is now doing his turn for Denmark.

:34:56. > :35:04.There is the chasing peloton. Not that far behind. Gingerly making

:35:05. > :35:10.their way around, now is not the time to go down, it really is not.

:35:11. > :35:14.You can see a couple of riders, handful the back of the peloton,

:35:15. > :35:20.making their way back. We have got another attack coming out of the

:35:21. > :35:21.tunnel. 18 seconds back, the peloton. Launching themselves off

:35:22. > :35:43.the front, two more. To do with moving in an bit closer

:35:44. > :35:46.to see what those chasers were. Absolutely impossible from that sort

:35:47. > :35:52.of distance. Here is the leading trio. Wonder how much longer they

:35:53. > :36:05.will be out in front. They are on one of the steepest sections now. No

:36:06. > :36:08.word coming through on the chase, as we see Peter Kennaugh on the

:36:09. > :36:17.left-hand side of your picture. Number 39, just in front. He will be

:36:18. > :36:29.with sky next year. I think so. Just alongside him, number three, from

:36:30. > :36:33.Portugal, Thiago Silva. For Belgians on the front, all of them up there.

:36:34. > :36:43.It looks like they have got themselves together this year.

:36:44. > :36:52.I also noticed towards the front of the peloton, it looked like Fabian

:36:53. > :36:57.Cancellara is not that far behind. As well as the Belgians lining up, I

:36:58. > :37:01.think that Fabian Cancellara is there on the left-hand side of the

:37:02. > :37:11.road. There he is, third in on the left-hand side. Yes, on the front,

:37:12. > :37:18.just coming through now. Alejandro Valverde is on the front. It looks

:37:19. > :37:21.like it is Alejandro Valverde. It is Alejandro Valverde, quite right.

:37:22. > :37:35.Alejandro Valverde. So, a lot of the main players, all

:37:36. > :37:41.of them there, all within a shout. This is going to be so interesting.

:37:42. > :37:43.So many of the Spaniard still there. Meanwhile, others just looking over

:37:44. > :37:54.their shoulder to check where they are, how far over the front of the

:37:55. > :37:59.peloton. He is such a strong rider. Her legs will be so tired, the fatty

:38:00. > :38:06.will really be settling in. Just missed out on a medal, fourth in the

:38:07. > :38:10.time trial. So close but yet so far. A couple of stage wins in Italy over

:38:11. > :38:17.the years, a great team rider he has been for the likes of Chris Froome

:38:18. > :38:23.and Bradley Wiggins. Over the last couple of years there at Team Sky.

:38:24. > :38:28.Spain sending a rider off the front. Strength in numbers, they have got

:38:29. > :38:36.an awful lot left in the peloton. Italy going on the chase as well.

:38:37. > :38:40.This is where you have got to go for it, this is where you have got to

:38:41. > :38:45.launch it. He knows that the attack is doomed. Anderson is still working

:38:46. > :38:50.hard. Gautier is at the back of the three, the Frenchman. It is hurting

:38:51. > :38:57.now, they have been racing for nearly six hours. Over the summit.

:38:58. > :39:04.Just under 23 kilometres to go. Steam-roll ring down the road,

:39:05. > :39:05.chasing them down. It looks like Michael Albasini again trying to

:39:06. > :39:24.come across. There is Michael Albasini on the

:39:25. > :39:32.right. I wonder if that might be Sep Vanmarcke again up towards the front

:39:33. > :39:46.for Belgium. Spain really coming to the fore. It is Sep Vanmarcke. Clark

:39:47. > :39:51.is up there for Australia as well. Warren Barguil of France as well.

:39:52. > :39:56.Ben Swift is well positioned and looking good. Nacer Bouhanni is

:39:57. > :40:02.there. Let's be honest, a lot of people still there this stage of a

:40:03. > :40:06.world road race. This is the front. For the time being. Michael

:40:07. > :40:11.Anderson, For the time being. Michael

:40:12. > :40:22.Anderson, -- Gautier. Daniel Moreno is there

:40:23. > :40:29.about 45 back, Simon Clark from Australia as well. Warren Barguil,

:40:30. > :40:33.Jan Bakelants leading the front of the peloton. Ben Swift is there.

:40:34. > :40:37.Alejandro Valverde and Rui Costa all up there around about Ben Swift. And

:40:38. > :40:46.right on his wheel, Fabian Cancellara. Peter Kennaugh is there,

:40:47. > :40:49.Philippe Gilbert, Tom Boonen. All of the favourites coming to the fore.

:40:50. > :40:54.As you would expect, the World Championships. What a final that we

:40:55. > :40:59.have in store. Alexander Kristoff is still there. We cannot forget him,

:41:00. > :41:03.we have not mentioned him, but he had a team-mate up their earlier on,

:41:04. > :41:08.Edvald Boasson Hagen putting pressure on everybody. Alexander

:41:09. > :41:13.Kristoff. Roach of Ireland is still there as well. For those that watch

:41:14. > :41:17.the Tour of Britain, there are still a few riders left from that, stage

:41:18. > :41:21.winners, up there with the leaders of this group. Sonny Colbrelli from

:41:22. > :41:28.Italy. We were talking about him earlier. Two kilometres to the end

:41:29. > :41:36.of this lap. And then there will be one lap to go in the race forward

:41:37. > :41:40.Championship gold. This really is setting up to be an incredible final

:41:41. > :41:54.lap here at the World Championships. So many riders still in so many

:41:55. > :42:03.teams with options. It is so open. Into Ponferrada they come for the

:42:04. > :42:08.ultimate time. The leading riders, as you can see, just over three

:42:09. > :42:09.quarters of a minute clear, you can see that they are eight seconds

:42:10. > :42:21.behind the leading three. The peloton is hurtling down towards

:42:22. > :42:29.the bottom of the roundabout at the bottom. You can see there are dry

:42:30. > :42:34.spots on the road, but also a lot of damp spots, that is quite difficult

:42:35. > :42:38.for the riders to negotiate. One minute you know that you can put the

:42:39. > :42:43.bike over because it is dry, but then if you hit a wet patch, you

:42:44. > :42:47.have two be vigilant. Meanwhile, still desperately trying to get up

:42:48. > :42:51.to those riders up ahead. I think that if they want to stay away for a

:42:52. > :42:55.little bit longer, it would be in their interest to have others with

:42:56. > :42:59.him, surely. It certainly would, I would imagine they would spend the

:43:00. > :43:02.next minute or so in the wheels of the riders, just trying to recover

:43:03. > :43:08.as best they can, get that second wind and then certainly the

:43:09. > :43:13.Belarussian, if they have anything left, they will go over that. He did

:43:14. > :43:19.well in the time trial, nearly got a medal, not quite. Just urging those

:43:20. > :43:27.other riders to get going. All business here, Alessandro DeMar from

:43:28. > :43:31.Italy. Just that hint of a breather as they waited. Here we go, it is

:43:32. > :43:41.the bell. The World Championship road race. One lap to go. We know

:43:42. > :43:45.that six hours in the saddle already. So many riders will still

:43:46. > :43:51.be fancying that gold medal. The rainbow jersey could be there is.

:43:52. > :43:56.Sep Vanmarcke for Belgium. Simon Clark is up there with him as well,

:43:57. > :44:00.the Australian. This is a rider that nobody was talking about. He has got

:44:01. > :44:04.a decent pedigree, he has won in the Tour in the past. Tom Boonen just

:44:05. > :44:11.off his handlebars, the Belgian rider. Tom Boonen has won the world

:44:12. > :44:18.title before, he has won so many big races time and time again. This is a

:44:19. > :44:24.big group. How big is this going to be? The next three quarters of a

:44:25. > :44:28.lap. That is where we will get a better picture of who is likely to

:44:29. > :44:33.be crossing the line first here when it starts to split up. No doubt it

:44:34. > :44:37.will split up. We will have two C attacks because there is an awful

:44:38. > :44:40.lot of riders in this group that will not want it to come down to a

:44:41. > :44:47.sprint finish. Ben Swift is in there. He is near Fabian Cancellara.

:44:48. > :44:54.The front third of the group. Still in with a shout, Ben Swift.

:44:55. > :45:02.Back at the front of the race. Settling in now with his new

:45:03. > :45:10.companions. Daniel Martin just going past our window. Dan Martin for

:45:11. > :45:15.Island, just going through. Roach is the only one still in there for

:45:16. > :45:17.island. I think he was still in that league group not so long ago in the

:45:18. > :45:43.main peloton. Actually just coming down a little

:45:44. > :45:51.bit, the gap is about 40 seconds now from those for riders back to the

:45:52. > :45:57.peloton. They cannot afford to hang around. They need to try to keep

:45:58. > :46:02.this a roundabout this kind of distance. That is if they have got

:46:03. > :46:12.anything left in the tank on the climb. Will they be able to hold

:46:13. > :46:18.on? Possibly not, these for riders, certainly enough back in the peloton

:46:19. > :46:22.that are willing to work. It will end up in a big sprint for the line

:46:23. > :46:28.at the end. Will somebody have the confidence and the guts to punch it

:46:29. > :46:33.and take it away on the line on the last lap to win on their own? Who

:46:34. > :46:38.has got the confidence to try it? We have seen it in the under 23 race,

:46:39. > :46:46.somebody going clear and holding on. Other than that, it had been group

:46:47. > :46:51.finishes. They hang on just about by their fingernails with a plaque

:46:52. > :46:57.bearing down on them. The Belarussian just peeling off having

:46:58. > :47:01.done his turn. Gautier from France on the back. Anderson from Denmark.

:47:02. > :47:07.And at the front, De Marchi from Italy. He was the instigator of the

:47:08. > :47:14.move, and he is seemingly acting as the captain of the ship among the

:47:15. > :47:17.four of them. Just keeping momentum, keeping it going, keeping pressure

:47:18. > :47:26.for these riders here. The three riders up near the front. Michael

:47:27. > :47:30.Albasini still for Switzerland. Goodness me, he has got through some

:47:31. > :47:41.work today, Michael Albasini. Here he is once more. Phenomenal ride

:47:42. > :47:44.from him. I think that Alejandro Valverde is feeling good, he has got

:47:45. > :47:51.a couple of team-mate up there with him. Team-mates throughout the year.

:47:52. > :47:55.Up towards the castle for the last time. This is it, the final time he

:47:56. > :48:02.will have two do this climb. Just a sharp little entrance, and then it

:48:03. > :48:09.levels off a little bit, taking up, turning right, and then this long

:48:10. > :48:11.drag. Everybody will be in sight. Certainly more than 40 seconds to be

:48:12. > :48:23.out of sight of the peloton. They seem to be working reasonably

:48:24. > :48:27.well, these four. There is always a sign that the pressure is on. They

:48:28. > :48:34.are strung out like that. Single file. The race has been on for a

:48:35. > :48:41.couple of laps. It stops and starts in the peloton as they regroup and

:48:42. > :48:52.let some groups go clear. Right now, certainly. It is Michael Albasini,

:48:53. > :48:58.Alessandro Valverde is right there, Simon Clark, Rui Costa, what about a

:48:59. > :49:00.repeat for him in the defence of his world title? Fabian Cancellara, Sep

:49:01. > :49:07.Vanmarcke is up there. John Degenkolb, Gilbert, Warren Barguil,

:49:08. > :49:13.Daryl Impey, we should not forget the South African as an outsider.

:49:14. > :49:17.Fabio Aru. And Vincenzo Nibali has got back on. We were told he had

:49:18. > :49:21.been dropped, but he is the thick of things with Sonny Colbrelli on his

:49:22. > :49:25.wheel. They are the first 30 in the main group. Ben Swift is still there

:49:26. > :49:30.for Great Britain. Just behind Vincenzo Nibali and Sonny Colbrelli.

:49:31. > :49:38.Alexander Kristoff as well. Simon Gerrans from Australia. Nacer

:49:39. > :49:44.Bouhanni from France. Most of the favoured riders still in the main

:49:45. > :49:48.group. Roach is in the middle of the penitent, just in front of Greg Van

:49:49. > :49:57.Avermaet. 28 seconds. The leaders down, no surprise. This is a sharp

:49:58. > :50:00.section, it will now turn right. It just levels off a little bit, and

:50:01. > :50:10.then they hit the first that long drag. They will be well with insight

:50:11. > :50:15.any minute. That is one of the problems in that line, it is so

:50:16. > :50:18.open. The weather, the wind, at least, had not played too

:50:19. > :50:21.open. The weather, the wind, at part because it is open on the

:50:22. > :50:26.right-hand side. It had predominantly been that tailwind for

:50:27. > :50:30.most of the week, but it would have played a part if that would have

:50:31. > :50:34.turned. Hitting them in the face, it would have slowed it down, would

:50:35. > :50:37.have helped the sprinters to stay in there, would have slowed everything

:50:38. > :50:44.down as it is without much wind while the sprinters do not seem to

:50:45. > :50:48.have had too much problem up to now. On the front, Michael Albasini has

:50:49. > :50:54.been absolutely burying himself on behalf of his compatriot, Fabian

:50:55. > :50:59.Cancellara. The Italians gather once again. They have still got cards to

:51:00. > :51:03.play. They are by no means the only ones here. And Alejandro Valverde, I

:51:04. > :51:07.wonder what is going through his mind having been so close so many

:51:08. > :51:13.times. This could be his one final really good chance. Yes, Alejandro

:51:14. > :51:18.Valverde is certainly in the form to do it. He likes the course. He was

:51:19. > :51:26.second here on the national Championship where they ran this

:51:27. > :51:36.course. He knows it well. They keep going out the back of the main

:51:37. > :51:40.peloton. You do get this when you get on the hard section of the

:51:41. > :51:46.course, you go off the back, and find your legs again. Working

:51:47. > :51:52.yourself back to the peloton. It is difficult, once you get into that

:51:53. > :52:02.situation, you do come off the back. Daniel Caruso coming of the back of

:52:03. > :52:09.the peloton. Really dragging the peloton at this climb of

:52:10. > :52:16.Confederation for the last time. Probably more renowned for his

:52:17. > :52:19.results against the watch than on the road. John Degenkolb is still

:52:20. > :52:25.hanging in there near the front. Yes, I think it looks like that John

:52:26. > :52:28.Degenkolb will be bringing it up. Alejandro Valverde on the left-hand

:52:29. > :52:36.side of your picture in the yellow and red with the lime green on the

:52:37. > :52:42.helmet. Roach on the left-hand side of the screen. He has done well to

:52:43. > :52:44.drag himself to walk to the front of the peloton here. John Degenkolb in

:52:45. > :52:50.the middle of the shot, really getting his teeth. Alejandro

:52:51. > :52:54.Valverde watching everything with an eagle eye. Well positioned in the

:52:55. > :52:55.first half dozen, determined not to let an opportunity like this slip

:52:56. > :53:05.away. They can do no more, Alejandro

:53:06. > :53:18.Valverde is taking up the pace. Just looking back to see if Ben

:53:19. > :53:24.Swift is still up there. Fabian Cancellara is up there. Tom Boonen

:53:25. > :53:28.is there. That might be Ben Swift on the right-hand side of the road,

:53:29. > :53:43.about 15 riders back. A great ride by him, he can put his feet up.

:53:44. > :54:00.Back with the leaders, have not seen them for a little while, with

:54:01. > :54:22.Belarus. This really is where the rate is being played out in behind.

:54:23. > :54:32.Do not think he has got anybody left with him to help now.

:54:33. > :54:41.Still a big group here. The Spanish making the pace. Swift looks pretty

:54:42. > :54:46.good. Considering how long he has been riding. I have two say, I have

:54:47. > :54:52.only seen him with his teeth gritted once, that was on the previous lap.

:54:53. > :54:59.This is the point trying to make earlier on, this is more of a drag.

:55:00. > :55:04.It sets up the legs with fatty, and then you descend down, and you have

:55:05. > :55:07.got the twisty turns, you have got the right hand onto that, into the

:55:08. > :55:12.tunnel, and then within a few hundred metres that is where you

:55:13. > :55:16.have got the second climb on the circuit. That is a little bit

:55:17. > :55:21.steep, 10% at the start and the finish. That is a launch pad, where

:55:22. > :55:24.the sprinters will really start to struggle if they do. John Degenkolb,

:55:25. > :55:28.we have seen him with his teeth gritted, really trying to hang

:55:29. > :55:33.himself in there. If he is hanging in on this part of the climb, we

:55:34. > :55:36.might well see depending on how the race develops and how many attacks

:55:37. > :55:42.we see, he could very well lose contact. This is the Spanish rider

:55:43. > :55:47.upfront at the moment, he finished sixth in the recent Tour of Britain.

:55:48. > :55:56.Fifth on the stage into Bristol. Here is the chasing peloton digging

:55:57. > :56:02.in at the back. Number 141 at the back. Winner of two stages on in the

:56:03. > :56:10.UK this month. And number 39 from the Netherlands. Certainly a rider,

:56:11. > :56:14.if he has got anything and can go clear, if he can launch himself, he

:56:15. > :56:21.could time trial his way in and put people under pressure. I think he is

:56:22. > :56:25.hanging on! He is hanging on, but what a back end to the year he has

:56:26. > :56:33.had. Will certainly be keeping an eye on him. Just 24. So often we see

:56:34. > :56:38.him tapping along at pace on the front of the peloton, dishing out

:56:39. > :56:42.some discomfort to everybody else behind him. Here he is on the front

:56:43. > :56:47.of the race. On the last lap, the Men's Elite Road Race. The right to

:56:48. > :56:52.wear the rainbow jersey on the road for the next year. That is at stake

:56:53. > :56:56.here, to succeed Rui Costa of Portugal who won in Florence, this

:56:57. > :57:06.time last year. Spanish riders, bit by bit, doing

:57:07. > :57:09.their job for Alejandro Valverde, trying to put him in the best

:57:10. > :57:13.possible position to put him in the opportunity to win. Joaquim

:57:14. > :57:36.Rodriguez in that team as well. All three of the Norwegian riders,

:57:37. > :57:40.Edvald Boasson Hagen, and others. They have ridden strongly and given

:57:41. > :57:51.themselves a chance, Norway, in the first 20 of the peloton!

:57:52. > :57:58.Italy still looking in good shape here Rob! Just looking down, the

:57:59. > :58:04.Portuguese still strong. Rui Costa is there with two other team-mates.

:58:05. > :58:09.Olivero as well. Whatever happened last year, we did not see him the

:58:10. > :58:16.whole race, and then when it counted... Could it be the same this

:58:17. > :58:20.year? He said how much he had enjoyed riding this year in the

:58:21. > :58:25.rainbow jersey, the previous 12 months, so he will not want to lose

:58:26. > :58:30.it. Anything he can do to get that jersey back on his shoulders he will

:58:31. > :58:34.be doing. So many other riders in that position as well. They

:58:35. > :58:39.desperately want this. It is all or nothing for the Belgian squad. They

:58:40. > :58:46.are all up there, there is a good five riders, but which one are they

:58:47. > :58:52.working for? They have got such strength, the Belgian team. You have

:58:53. > :58:54.to say, if it comes down to this group, Tim Boon and will be the

:58:55. > :59:05.number one rider! -- Tim Tom Boonen. It is perfect for

:59:06. > :59:12.Gilbert, it is a launch pad that he will enjoy. If he has got anything

:59:13. > :59:15.left in the tank, he will be there. Christopher Jensen of Denmark, he

:59:16. > :59:21.was in the early break with peloton among others, he has been dropped

:59:22. > :59:26.from the peloton now. There is a few riders just asking to go out the

:59:27. > :59:32.back. The pressure is utterly relentless here. A war of attrition.

:59:33. > :59:42.But there are still so many of them. Italy still so well represented,

:59:43. > :59:48.Italy! A little stretch for De Marchi, at the front, in the old

:59:49. > :59:51.blue. The rider at the back is Gauthier of France. In front of him

:59:52. > :59:54.in the red from Denmark it is Michael Anderson. And the

:59:55. > :00:05.Belarussian at the front. He is keen to know what the distance

:00:06. > :00:09.is. Not much! Not a lot. And getting less all the time. Still with a

:00:10. > :00:21.climb to go. It is not all downhill just yet.

:00:22. > :00:29.This is the swift descent that takes them towards the dam. Let's hope

:00:30. > :00:33.that everyone manages to stay upright here.

:00:34. > :00:40.There is always that temptation to push it that extra little bit when

:00:41. > :00:47.there's so much at stake. You lose concentration a bit and overegg it a

:00:48. > :00:52.touch. It doesn't take much at all on these tyres in these conditions.

:00:53. > :00:56.If you crank it over too much, you are gone. That's race over. It is

:00:57. > :01:15.coming down all the time. A second or so on the descent. The

:01:16. > :01:21.peloton are making that same turn. Kwiatkowski he is there. Has he gone

:01:22. > :01:27.a little bit too early? We know he's got the legs. He's ran out of

:01:28. > :01:33.team-mates now. They did so much work early on, but Kwiatkowski is

:01:34. > :01:39.making a move, the first of the real favourites. He does not want to be

:01:40. > :01:47.sprinting it out with Swift, with Kristoff, with Boonen.

:01:48. > :01:52.He's got these riders here. Here he is. He caught them pretty quickly.

:01:53. > :01:59.There was only seven or eight seconds between the chasing group

:02:00. > :02:04.and these riders at the front. What does Kwiatkowski do here? He may

:02:05. > :02:08.well just sit there for a few revs more and then attack. You can see

:02:09. > :02:14.there are so many riders fighting behind. If it was a smaller group

:02:15. > :02:18.behind with individual riders, you would probably chance it a bit. With

:02:19. > :02:23.so many riders with team-mates willing to force on the front, it is

:02:24. > :02:27.difficult. He's got himself into a difficult position. He is not out of

:02:28. > :02:31.sight. He is not out of mind. He is there, dangling off the front of

:02:32. > :02:35.them. He's given himself a slight advantage, potentially. If he can be

:02:36. > :02:40.ahead when they go up Mirador... Here we go. That could make the

:02:41. > :02:43.difference. He cannot afford to wait now. It is a short climb. There

:02:44. > :02:47.isn't much time. You can't gain much ground no matter how hard you

:02:48. > :02:52.accelerate, maybe that is why he's decided to go earlier. It is a good

:02:53. > :02:56.move. It is turning into an extremely good move. He has Andersen

:02:57. > :03:06.with him. He will need some help, I think. I'm not sure how long he will

:03:07. > :03:09.have Andersen with him. Michal Kwiatkowski strikes out for victory.

:03:10. > :03:13.They don't seem to have the firepower to bring it back. Spain

:03:14. > :03:24.are desperately trying. This looks now like a good move because let's

:03:25. > :03:28.not forget, a lot of the run-to -- run-in to the finish is downhill.

:03:29. > :03:32.This is his big effort. This is his bid for victory. As you can see,

:03:33. > :03:39.just over five kilometres to go here. He's on the last real

:03:40. > :03:45.difficulty of the circuit now, this fairly short climb up to Mirador,

:03:46. > :03:48.10%, the first couple of hundred metres, 10% near the top as well,

:03:49. > :03:51.not long before they go over the summit. This is where people have to

:03:52. > :03:55.make their move if they are going to attack. There are so many riders

:03:56. > :04:04.left in this who are all looking at each other. This rider up front from

:04:05. > :04:09.Poland, we know he's got the legs and now we see Spain. Joaquim

:04:10. > :04:14.Rodriguez is leading the chase! I'm sure that is not Valverde. No, it's

:04:15. > :04:20.not. Rodriguez is on the attack for Spain. Belgium going as well. Riders

:04:21. > :04:27.know this is where they have to make their move and then try and hang on.

:04:28. > :04:31.De Marchi and Andersen are left behind by those at the front.

:04:32. > :04:35.Australia is going as well. Spain are still strong. They have got the

:04:36. > :04:42.numbers. Have they got the distance left to bring back a rider like

:04:43. > :04:48.Kwiatkowski. Technically he is good. Is it Gilbert for Belgium? It is

:04:49. > :04:56.Philippe Gilbert for Belgium. Look at the effort now. Gerrans.

:04:57. > :04:59.Kwiatkowski leads the way. Nearly six-and-a-half hours they have been

:05:00. > :05:04.racing. Valverde is next to him. Rodriguez made the initial effort.

:05:05. > :05:15.He is being left behind. Valverde leads the chase. Gerrans is there

:05:16. > :05:20.for Australia. Gilbert, Rui Costa, Nacer Bouhanni, a lot of the riders

:05:21. > :05:25.are still in there. Where's Ben Swift? We didn't see him. Boonen was

:05:26. > :05:31.getting distanced. We knew it was going to come down to this final

:05:32. > :05:36.climb and all on this descent. He cannot afford now, with four

:05:37. > :05:40.kilometres to go, a lot of it is downhill, he cannot afford it - I

:05:41. > :05:45.think Ben Swift has been dropped. His race, that's it. His chance for

:05:46. > :05:47.a medal has gone. Here's Philippe Gilbert now in the blue of Belgium.

:05:48. > :05:59.Leading the chase here. Valverde is in there behind him.

:06:00. > :06:05.These riders, they are looking at each other now. Who is going to take

:06:06. > :06:11.up the chase? Belgium have got the numbers, they have got two here.

:06:12. > :06:14.They can afford to lose one rider. This rider up front, he has nothing

:06:15. > :06:27.to lose, he is giving it everything, burying himself in these last few

:06:28. > :06:30.kilometres. It's Michal Kwiatkowski looking for every advantage he can

:06:31. > :06:35.get. Don't look back. He is trying to stay as small as possible, trying

:06:36. > :06:44.to keep as much speed as he can. Gilbert for Belgium. He is taking

:06:45. > :06:47.every chance here, Gilbert, on this fast descent, Kwiatkowski is trying

:06:48. > :06:53.to eke out every last second that he can. It is 2K to the line when he

:06:54. > :06:59.gets to the bottom of this descent. What a chase this is going to be.

:07:00. > :07:02.Who is left in the group behind? Germany, did Degenkolb make it over?

:07:03. > :07:06.It looks like he was there or thereabouts. There's a lot of

:07:07. > :07:13.Germans left in the group. It is up to them to bring THIS group back and

:07:14. > :07:16.then on to THIS rider. Giving absolutely everything, taking so

:07:17. > :07:20.many risks there, using every inch of the road, gutter to gutter, out

:07:21. > :07:24.of the saddle again, fighting all the way down across the roundabout

:07:25. > :07:28.and into the town here and on to the flat. I think Degenkolb was the

:07:29. > :07:32.German rider who was up there. We can't quite see because it's

:07:33. > :07:37.Valverde who is leading the chase, seven seconds here, with just 1.6

:07:38. > :07:46.kilometres to go here. The race now very much on for the medals in the

:07:47. > :07:50.heart of Ponferrada and Kwiatkowski leads the way. These riders could

:07:51. > :07:53.contest the medals and Gilbert knows it. He now does his turn at the

:07:54. > :08:00.front as Valverde goes to the back of this group. This motorbike - they

:08:01. > :08:06.are sucking in behind him. They have cleared the camera bike out of the

:08:07. > :08:16.way. Where is Kwiatkowski? What is the distance? It's foreshortened,

:08:17. > :08:20.but they are going to chase him all the way home here now. Gilbert is

:08:21. > :08:30.leading the chase. Valverde in there as well. There's a Frenchman in that

:08:31. > :08:41.group, too. Is that going to be Kristoff? Gilbert is doing all the

:08:42. > :08:57.work for his Belgian team-mate, Greg van Avermaet. Maybe Tony Gallopin is

:08:58. > :09:02.up there as well. It is Kwiatkowski. Can he hang on? He may have enough

:09:03. > :09:06.to hang on. He has to dig in! They chase him to the line. It will be

:09:07. > :09:13.gold for Poland. It looks like it is going to be the 24-year-old

:09:14. > :09:21.Kwiatkowski who hangs on. He does. He wins! He chanced his arm. He had

:09:22. > :09:24.the guts to go for it. It paid off. Simon Gerrans from Australia takes

:09:25. > :09:29.the silver and Alejandro Valverde from Spain is on the podium once

:09:30. > :09:32.again, but misses out on gold. It is the sixth time he's made the podium

:09:33. > :09:38.in the World Championships, but he has yet to stand on the top of the

:09:39. > :09:44.podium. Greg van Avermaet was fourth, Tony Gallopin fifth for

:09:45. > :09:53.France and Philippe Gilbert sixth for Belgium. What a ride by

:09:54. > :09:56.Kwiatkowski. Incredible! I thought at the time he had gone just a

:09:57. > :10:03.little bit too early. He proved me wrong. Absolutely fantastic. And

:10:04. > :10:06.even having Gilbert there riding everything, putting everything on

:10:07. > :10:14.the line there for Greg van Avermaet in that group behind. He wasn't able

:10:15. > :10:23.to bring him back. John Degenkolb was eighth. Michael Matthews

:10:24. > :10:32.finishing 14th. When we look back now at that final lap, Rob, we can

:10:33. > :10:41.see what he was trying to do, Kwiatkowski timed his effort to

:10:42. > :10:43.perfection. REPORTER: Ben, we knew somebody was

:10:44. > :10:50.going to be bold on that final climb. It was Kwiatkowski? I knew.

:10:51. > :10:55.He is such a class act. He had his team on the front all day. He

:10:56. > :10:59.definitely deserved that win today. To be fair to yourself, you were

:11:00. > :11:05.beautifully positioned. You could have done no more? I mean, I gave it

:11:06. > :11:10.my best shot. It was just that last steep climb that really hurt. I got

:11:11. > :11:17.myself into a good position. It was a hard day. Everything seemed to go

:11:18. > :11:21.according to plan, Peter Kennaugh getting into that break? Yes, that

:11:22. > :11:30.was brilliant. Pete was fantastic today. It was a strange race, to be

:11:31. > :11:33.honest. I expected it to be more attacking. Yeah, Pete did a really

:11:34. > :11:39.good ride. Thank you very much. Thanks.

:11:40. > :11:45.COMMENTARY: Here is a view of the finish once again. This was the race

:11:46. > :11:48.for second place and Simon Gerrans taking the sprint. He's been in

:11:49. > :11:50.tremendous form lately. It wasn't the medal that he was looking for

:11:51. > :12:24.and Valverde ending up third. Here are the final moments. That

:12:25. > :12:27.climb, potentially, wasn't long enough to get a big enough gap to

:12:28. > :12:31.stay away. If had a few seconds on top of that, having gone a little

:12:32. > :12:35.bit earlier, you might be able to hang on. He did have time, of

:12:36. > :12:40.course, he even had time to take it all in and you can see the chasers

:12:41. > :12:47.there despairing as they try to hunt him down. Confirmation there - we

:12:48. > :12:54.were hearing from Ben Swift - that he did indeed finish in 12th place,

:12:55. > :13:02.one behind Fabian Cancellara at the end of this World Road Race. Michal

:13:03. > :13:10.Kwiatkowski - what a talent he is. And already a World Champion in the

:13:11. > :13:13.Team Time Trial and his preparation for these World Championships

:13:14. > :13:16.included time in Britain, the Tour of Britain, he finished second

:13:17. > :13:20.overall in that race and won the stage from Worcester to Bristol. So,

:13:21. > :13:26.what wonderful preparation that proved to be. The crowds gather and

:13:27. > :13:28.wait for the ceremony here in Ponferrada. This is the official

:13:29. > :14:04.confirmation of the result: It was a very, very hard day. The

:14:05. > :14:08.crowd begin to pack up their things and head for the town centre and the

:14:09. > :14:12.rain begins to fall again. Michal Kwiatkowski is the new World

:14:13. > :14:18.Champion. JONATHAN EDWARDS: A fraction under

:14:19. > :14:24.six-and-a-half hours. Rob has come down from the commentary box. What a

:14:25. > :14:32.bike race. It is a slow-burner. We saw the four guys going out clear

:14:33. > :14:36.and then they brought them back. The Poles, wasn't it? It is fair to say

:14:37. > :14:45.Michal Kwiatkowski... However we say it! He has paid his friends back!

:14:46. > :14:50.Incredible. When he attacked, I thought a bit too early. He went

:14:51. > :14:54.just before they did that right turn on the dam and I thought it could be

:14:55. > :14:58.a bit early. Fortunately for him, he had that group, so he timed it to

:14:59. > :15:23.perfection. It was the tactic that he was always going to use. Yeah. He

:15:24. > :15:29.pulled it off. One of the things about yesterday - it wasn't

:15:30. > :15:34.constant? This was constant attack? The Italian team were really putting

:15:35. > :15:37.the pressure on. Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, they should be able

:15:38. > :15:45.to cope on a course like this. It was not easy. A lot of the sprinters

:15:46. > :15:48.were there or thereabouts. Ben Swift, Bouhanni, Degenkolb,

:15:49. > :15:53.Kristoff, so it was looking like it was going to be extremely exciting.

:15:54. > :15:59.Michal Kwiatkowski was not hanging around. In the end, the edge taken

:16:00. > :16:03.off those sprinters by the relentless nature... The final

:16:04. > :16:08.section of that climb, the final 10%, is difficult. That is where the

:16:09. > :16:12.legs really do start to fall off and riders like Michal Kwiatkowski and

:16:13. > :16:19.Gilbert and Valverde, they come to the front. What was interesting is

:16:20. > :16:23.there were two Belgians and they were always going to be strong, but

:16:24. > :16:27.still Michal Kwiatkowski could hold them off? Having a rider like

:16:28. > :16:30.Gilbert burying himself on the front of that small, select group for van

:16:31. > :16:35.Avermaet, that was where I thought in the last few hundred metres he

:16:36. > :16:39.could very well bring Michal Kwiatkowski in. He kept looking over

:16:40. > :16:49.his shoulder. Don't look back, keep going. He had enough in hand. In

:16:50. > :16:58.terms of the other riders who got caught up, should they have gone -

:16:59. > :17:02.wait a second, hold that thought. Peter Kennaugh is talking to Jill.

:17:03. > :17:09.REPORTER: A long day in the saddle? You could say that. The weather

:17:10. > :17:11.wasn't too bad in the end. It was my first professional World

:17:12. > :17:16.Championship so I'm happy with how I rode and the team were pretty good.

:17:17. > :17:22.Not sure where Swift was in the end. To be there in the finals is hard

:17:23. > :17:27.enough in these kinds of races. As a team, we did a good ride. It did

:17:28. > :17:30.seem to follow the plan, just that last plan when Michal Kwiatkowski

:17:31. > :17:35.got away from the group. Ben finished 12th in the end. OK. Yeah,

:17:36. > :17:39.12th is a good result, to be fair. Like you said, it is the World

:17:40. > :17:42.Championships. I tried my luck a bit earlier on, which was the game plan

:17:43. > :17:48.to follow any of the bigger nations. I could have held back a bit and

:17:49. > :17:53.saved it for the end. I thought this is it, it was three or four laps to

:17:54. > :17:57.go, I had committed, so I gave it my best shot and once I got caught by

:17:58. > :17:58.the group, I tried to do what I could for Swift. Thank you very

:17:59. > :18:11.much. JONATHAN EDWARDS: Peter Kennaugh

:18:12. > :18:15.there speaking to Jill. How do you assess the British team's

:18:16. > :18:22.performance? They rode to a plan. They executed that plan extremely

:18:23. > :18:26.well. It was unfortunate for Swifty that that last ten minutes of racing

:18:27. > :18:31.was extremely difficult and that was where he just ran out of legs and

:18:32. > :18:35.probably expected to be, bearing in mind where all the other riders of

:18:36. > :18:40.his ilk were, all the other sprinters. So, I think it is hats

:18:41. > :18:44.off to them. As David Millar said, it wasn't just about coming here and

:18:45. > :18:49.trying to win the jersey because it's a big call, a massive ask. It's

:18:50. > :18:52.about doing the jersey proud and I think we can safely say that they

:18:53. > :19:00.did that well today. They did. For people watching at home, who haven't

:19:01. > :19:05.seen a lot of bike racing, what was Peter Kennaugh - the rain is

:19:06. > :19:09.chucking down a bit here! He animated the race? He did. He went

:19:10. > :19:13.clear in the back-end of the race. That puts pressure on the other

:19:14. > :19:17.riders, the other teams to have to bring that back. It takes all the

:19:18. > :19:21.pressure off the GB riders because there is no way they are going to

:19:22. > :19:25.chase. He played his part well and had that group stayed away, then he

:19:26. > :19:28.would have been in a good position to get up there with the top

:19:29. > :19:35.position himself. That is the kind of rider that he is. It is a

:19:36. > :19:40.double-edged sword and a double-whammy. The man with the

:19:41. > :19:43.shortest odds, Simon Gerrans, he just missed out. When you are a

:19:44. > :19:47.marked man like that, that is a great performance? It is. They rode

:19:48. > :19:52.well. They did work on the front when they had to. But then they slid

:19:53. > :19:56.back and they kept cool, they kept calm. Talk about keeping your powder

:19:57. > :20:00.dry, he was able to do that under these conditions. And, yeah, it was

:20:01. > :20:05.all about - it was always going to be about that last climb when it got

:20:06. > :20:10.to a situation like we had in the race. Unfortunately, for Geraint,

:20:11. > :20:15.Michal Kwiatkowski was up the road! He was. Third place, another podium

:20:16. > :20:23.finish for Valverde, but not the one he wanted? He's consistent! Yeah. I

:20:24. > :20:29.think this year was a year - he knew the course. It was their National

:20:30. > :20:33.Championship course. He got a silver medal. He will be disappointed.

:20:34. > :20:38.Having said that, it seems this year, at least, the Spanish rode to

:20:39. > :20:41.a plan and stuck to it and they did the best job that they could do. One

:20:42. > :20:47.of the things that people have always said in cycling is you need

:20:48. > :20:53.to do the Welte to win the world title. Now they need to do the Tour

:20:54. > :20:56.of Britain? It is certainly up there in the rankings for good-quality

:20:57. > :21:02.preparation for the World Championships. Great Men's Race.

:21:03. > :21:09.Yesterday, saw a great Women's Race. It was a great advert for women's

:21:10. > :21:13.cycling. It is not only in the peloton that

:21:14. > :21:16.women's cyclists face a challenge. They continue to campaign to raise

:21:17. > :21:20.the profile of their sport and expand the race calendar. There is a

:21:21. > :21:24.lot of races going on, but the big problem is nobody sees them. So it

:21:25. > :21:28.is very hard, if nobody sees them, it is hard to get sponsorship and it

:21:29. > :21:32.is hard to get sponsorship and you can't race. It is like a vicious

:21:33. > :21:37.circle. Do you feel there is genuine progress being made? I feel like

:21:38. > :21:43.there's been progress in women's cycling. Particularly since 2012

:21:44. > :21:46.since the issue was raised in the media, there's been more

:21:47. > :21:51.recognition, more attention for women's cycling. Women's cycling is

:21:52. > :21:56.a fast-growing sport. Every year, it is getting bigger. It gets more

:21:57. > :22:00.attention. There's been small progress. The UCI have delivered on

:22:01. > :22:03.the promises they have made. There have been highlights packages of

:22:04. > :22:07.each World Cup. So my family have been able to watch me win the World

:22:08. > :22:13.Cup this year, which is special. There is still a long way to go. I'm

:22:14. > :22:18.happy that we are starting now. It is fantastic. I'm part of that

:22:19. > :22:22.movement. It is not enough to be the greatest in women's cycling, you

:22:23. > :22:29.must be a campaigner, too. I like to race and ride the bike. I can give

:22:30. > :22:40.something back to the sport, too. There was the petition into the Tour

:22:41. > :22:45.organisation. That worked out. It was a privilege to ride down there

:22:46. > :22:49.and get the same opportunity as the men do. It is nice to be able to do

:22:50. > :22:55.those iconic things in sport that I dream about, just as much as the

:22:56. > :23:01.next boy does! Also new this year, the Women's Tour of Britain,

:23:02. > :23:09.building on the success of the Ride London Circuit Race. Friends for

:23:10. > :23:13.Life Women's Tour in the UK was incredible. That shocked the

:23:14. > :23:17.organisers how popular it was. It was on the level with the amount of

:23:18. > :23:21.spectators that watched the Men's Tour in Britain. It is not only

:23:22. > :23:26.about the World Championships and the Olympic Games, we race every

:23:27. > :23:31.week fantastic races. The World Cups, some great stage races. Next

:23:32. > :23:34.year, there will be a Tour of California, we are adding more

:23:35. > :23:40.races. It seems to be going in the right direction. We want to get that

:23:41. > :23:46.stage to show the world the beauty of women's cycling. The men's season

:23:47. > :23:51.is dominated by three Tours, while the women tackle one. Sharing the

:23:52. > :23:55.stage with the men in France in July remains a dream. The world's best

:23:56. > :24:00.female riders are still waiting in the wings. There is nothing that

:24:01. > :24:06.stops women physically. It is not possible for women to ride the whole

:24:07. > :24:10.Tour de France. It takes time for the peloton as a whole to gain our

:24:11. > :24:19.strength. At the top level, the riders are paid. A lot of cyclists

:24:20. > :24:25.have to work as well. So, we can't train for 250K stages. What is the

:24:26. > :24:29.next step? A lot more certainty for the riders. There's teams that don't

:24:30. > :24:34.pay their riders. So, that is very important for the riders and also

:24:35. > :24:38.have some continuity in racing. Like a lot of sports, women's races are

:24:39. > :24:41.separate from men's races. If you are going to have more women's races

:24:42. > :24:45.at the same time, you have that infrastructure there and the roads

:24:46. > :24:48.are already closed and the spectators are there, there is room

:24:49. > :24:53.for it to grow, but it can't happen overnight. The message there is that

:24:54. > :25:01.women's cycling, Rob, has come a long way, but still a long way to

:25:02. > :25:05.go. How have you seen the evolution of women's cycling? I have. I can

:25:06. > :25:10.remember back when there was a Women's Tour de France and then it

:25:11. > :25:16.went away. Now, the way that the racing has evolved, the characters

:25:17. > :25:26.are in the racing. It helped in the UK that we have some world-class

:25:27. > :25:35.riders. That helps. Riders like Marianne Vos, she is the figurehead

:25:36. > :25:39.of that and we had Emma Pooley behind her and I think there is some

:25:40. > :25:42.good things happening with the women's racing, the Women's Tour of

:25:43. > :25:46.Britain for a start is something... It was a huge success? It was. The

:25:47. > :25:50.racing is exciting as. We see it when the racing lights up, like we

:25:51. > :25:55.saw yesterday, it is incredible. It is good to see Vos has got some

:25:56. > :25:58.competition now. When one athlete, one rider, dominates in that way,

:25:59. > :26:04.people question how competitive it is? That was the thing. A lot of

:26:05. > :26:07.other riders thought, "You know what, I could well have a chance

:26:08. > :26:22.now." They upped their game a little bit. That said, the gap in the

:26:23. > :26:31.earnings between some of the top men and some of the top domestics in the

:26:32. > :26:41.peloton dwarfs anything the women get? Certainly does. And Emma Pooley

:26:42. > :26:48.has just retired from cycling to go to triathlon because she felt she

:26:49. > :26:55.could earn Mormon snee? -- More money? She probably will. It doesn't

:26:56. > :26:58.surprise me. It's all about where the sponsorship is and, ultimately,

:26:59. > :27:01.it comes from the coverage and the more coverage that the women's

:27:02. > :27:06.racing gets, the more money that will come into it. The same with the

:27:07. > :27:09.men's racing. If it is not covered on the TV, the sponsorship

:27:10. > :27:15.disappears and so it is something that I think will evolve and grow.

:27:16. > :27:20.This time last year, it was the election of Brian Cookson. One of

:27:21. > :27:23.the things on his manifesto was the promotion of women's cycling. Jill

:27:24. > :27:26.Douglas caught up with him yesterday.

:27:27. > :27:29.REPORTER: One year in charge, how happy are you with what you have

:27:30. > :27:34.been able to deliver in your first year? It's been an incredibly busy

:27:35. > :27:38.year for me. My feet have hardly touched the ground. We have made

:27:39. > :27:42.progress. We turned that into a strategy for the UCI. We have seen

:27:43. > :27:49.great progress in women's racing. We have seen a real amount of progress

:27:50. > :27:52.in anti-doping. We have a good relationship with the World

:27:53. > :27:57.Anti-Doping Agency. All of that stuff is going very well. Is the job

:27:58. > :28:01.what you expected it to be? Well, there is a bit more travel than I

:28:02. > :28:05.expected. I seem to spend as much time on airplanes and in hotels as I

:28:06. > :28:09.have at home, in Switzerland or in Lancashire. I'm not complaining. I

:28:10. > :28:15.enjoy meeting people. That is part of the job. I'm looking forward to

:28:16. > :28:18.the next few years. Key to that manifesto was your commitment to

:28:19. > :28:22.women's cycling. Do you feel there is real progress being made? I do.

:28:23. > :28:27.There is a way still to go. We are at the moment where women's sport is

:28:28. > :28:31.being taken more seriously, by the public, by the media, by sponsors.

:28:32. > :28:36.We are proud of that. We are doing what we can. We have invested a lot

:28:37. > :28:41.of money this year. We will continue to do that. I can't flick a switch

:28:42. > :28:45.and make everything go alright. I can't make everything equal. We are

:28:46. > :28:49.progressing in the right direction. Another big challenge of course

:28:50. > :28:52.coming in was to clean up the image of the UCI and the sport in general.

:28:53. > :28:59.Do you think that's going in the right direction? I do. We have had a

:29:00. > :29:02.lot of progress. The establishment of the independent reform commission

:29:03. > :29:06.that we have got under way, that is doing its work now. It will report

:29:07. > :29:09.at the end of January. I am confident that it will not just

:29:10. > :29:16.review what's happened in the past, but u -- but make some good

:29:17. > :29:21.recommendations for the future. The work we are doing on this new

:29:22. > :29:25.tribunal, I think we can claim we are amongst the leaders in the fight

:29:26. > :29:28.against doping in any sport. What about these World Championships. You

:29:29. > :29:33.enjoying it? It is great. Ponferrada is a wonderful part of the world in

:29:34. > :29:55.this part of Spain. It's not the easiest place to get to. It is on

:29:56. > :30:06.the brilliant pilgrimage route. Brian Cookson there. Rob, he came to

:30:07. > :30:07.power against Pat McQuaid. It is a tough job to be in office and then

:30:08. > :30:18.make changes. How is he doing? I think he is doing well, but like I

:30:19. > :30:22.said in the interview, you do not just flicked a switch and work work

:30:23. > :30:27.with those people, no doubt the people under Pat McQuaid, he is

:30:28. > :30:31.working with a lot of the same people, so gradually he had to

:30:32. > :30:36.change it and how worse things. You cannot just go in with an iron fist

:30:37. > :30:39.and brawl that way. I think the direction that the UCI is going is

:30:40. > :30:43.certainly the right to Rex on, but they will have to wait and see.

:30:44. > :30:50.Here's a quarter of a way through his stint now, and he has got a few

:30:51. > :30:55.more grey hairs. If that is not stress, I am not quite sure what

:30:56. > :30:58.that is. The big thing for him, one of the big things will be when the

:30:59. > :31:04.commission on anti-doping that he set up reports. It is not quite a

:31:05. > :31:08.truth and reconciliation that we saw in South Africa, but that report

:31:09. > :31:12.will be significant in his presidency. I think so, it is

:31:13. > :31:15.something that is due in the sport. As I say, is going in the right

:31:16. > :31:24.direction and I think that everything that Brian is doing is

:31:25. > :31:28.for the good of the sport and he has his best intentions. No podium

:31:29. > :31:34.finish and fortunately for Ben Swift, but he rode well. The piece

:31:35. > :31:41.de resistance as far as the Brits go came from Bradley Wiggins.

:31:42. > :31:45.COMMENTATOR: Sir Bradley Wiggins, can he add the world time trial

:31:46. > :31:52.title to his vitally impressive resonate? Tony Martin going for his

:31:53. > :31:56.fourth world title in a row. It is going to be the fastest four

:31:57. > :32:01.seconds. Tony Martin leading the way. Bradley Wiggins is usually so

:32:02. > :32:05.good at measuring his effort. Martin, two and a half seconds

:32:06. > :32:10.slower than Bradley Wiggins. His back is against the wall now.

:32:11. > :32:17.Bradley Wiggins is going to have to produce this, I think. This is going

:32:18. > :32:21.to be the fastest time. Will it be a right to gold? Here comes Tony

:32:22. > :32:22.Martin. He is not going to do it. Bradley Wiggins is the world

:32:23. > :32:39.champion. What a performance from Sir Bradley

:32:40. > :32:44.Wiggins. Hilly course, 50 kilometres per hour average. How does he do it?

:32:45. > :32:49.The mind boggles. I was down there after the race, and we were just

:32:50. > :32:53.waiting for an interview with Brad. And Dave Brailsford turned up, we

:32:54. > :33:01.had a quick chat on the side, and he said yes, 50 kilometres down, and he

:33:02. > :33:05.said the average... 50.4 guilders per hour... I will not say exactly

:33:06. > :33:11.what he said! But it was incredible. It was an extremely measured effort,

:33:12. > :33:17.as we would expect from Bradley, but he delivered it on the day, and

:33:18. > :33:21.overtook Tony Martin. That was his second world title of the week that

:33:22. > :33:27.he had lost bearing in mind that they did not retain their team time

:33:28. > :33:33.trial to win. He was going for four in a row, Tony Martin. I guess for

:33:34. > :33:40.Bradley, winning in the rainbow jersey was one thing, but beating

:33:41. > :33:45.Tony Martin made it extra suite. That is the icing on the cake. The

:33:46. > :33:49.way that Tony Martin finished, he gave everything, he was distraught.

:33:50. > :33:52.The way that he rode out there today, firstly for Jan Degen cold

:33:53. > :33:57.going out there on the front to try to put pressure on himself, but

:33:58. > :34:00.obviously with the pressure of staying out here. -- John

:34:01. > :34:03.Degenkolb. By going out there to try to get another world title, you

:34:04. > :34:08.cannot leave that without getting the world title. In a few years he

:34:09. > :34:14.has done that. We will talk about that in a second, but second place

:34:15. > :34:18.here! You are very much one of the guys that people were looking at to

:34:19. > :34:23.win this rainbow jersey. He came frustratingly close, I would

:34:24. > :34:26.imagine. That is right. I saw the World Championship slip away from me

:34:27. > :34:30.in the last couple of kilometres, but I am happy with the race, I did

:34:31. > :34:35.everything I could and that the end of the day I was beaten by the

:34:36. > :34:38.better guy. When you saw him go did you think that he would stay away? I

:34:39. > :34:41.did not see him slipping off the front but I could see that he was

:34:42. > :34:45.just off there going over the last climb and from there I knew it was

:34:46. > :34:49.going to be very difficult. It was a great effort from the chasers. It

:34:50. > :34:53.was a great effort from the chase and also some fantastic work from my

:34:54. > :34:57.Australian team-mates. They really supported me throughout the race,

:34:58. > :35:00.thanks very much to them. Congratulations on the silver

:35:01. > :35:08.medal. Dave Brailsford is here as well.

:35:09. > :35:24.I think we are on. Simon Gerrans riding well there. We can now go

:35:25. > :35:27.back out there to Dave Brailsford. Just so you can congratulate Simon

:35:28. > :35:33.Gerrans about the silver medal, who dares, wins, coming over the top of

:35:34. > :35:41.that... Unfortunately... Unable to get amongst it? I thought that Ben

:35:42. > :35:44.Swift rode a perfect race, he had to gamble, tried to come back at the

:35:45. > :35:48.end. The team looked better this year, they did the job really well,

:35:49. > :35:55.showing what great form he had. And I think that there is a young group

:35:56. > :36:00.coming through, looking forward to that for years, but that can happen

:36:01. > :36:04.often, the way that he got his team riding at the start, taking the race

:36:05. > :36:10.on, and in the final, it was a class act and deserve it win. You will be

:36:11. > :36:14.making a guest appearance leading the great British team on behalf of

:36:15. > :36:17.Shane Sutton. How has it been for you, obviously seeing Bradley

:36:18. > :36:23.Wiggins taking the rainbow jersey. That was the highlight. It has been

:36:24. > :36:28.quite a few years in the making as well, to see him get that title was

:36:29. > :36:32.just amazing, really. Super talent, and a super result. That was

:36:33. > :36:36.fantastic. And for the rest of the week it has been fantastic to be

:36:37. > :36:43.involved in the junior accommodation, the women, the under

:36:44. > :36:46.23, seeing the youngsters through. I have really enjoyed being involved

:36:47. > :36:51.in anything that has a union Jack on it. A number of patriotically live

:36:52. > :36:54.on in the country, and whenever you can race for your country and try to

:36:55. > :37:03.help out, it means a lot. It has been fun. Thank you for joining us.

:37:04. > :37:07.Nice thoughts from Dave Brailsford. Going back to Bradley, we had this

:37:08. > :37:12.accommodation yesterday, but Bradley and the performances he has put

:37:13. > :37:16.together, it puts him up there with the all-time greats. It does when

:37:17. > :37:21.you look at the list of his results and the breadth of his results on

:37:22. > :37:29.the track at world, Olympic and Road records. The grand Tour, the Tour de

:37:30. > :37:33.France, it is incredible, and it is one that so many riders would have

:37:34. > :37:37.been desperate for. And basically, none of them have achieved that. It

:37:38. > :37:44.is the sheer volume that he has not had because of the way that he has

:37:45. > :37:48.gone about his job, picking results, and going for those, like as David

:37:49. > :37:53.said, it has been a long time in the making. When he gets focused,

:37:54. > :37:58.nothing much stands between him. We finished here, but do not go

:37:59. > :38:01.anywhere. On BBC Two the sporting action continues because we have the

:38:02. > :38:09.world Canoe slalom Championships from Maryland. And then on Tuesday

:38:10. > :38:13.from 3pm, coverage of the world gymnastics Championship. That is

:38:14. > :38:17.coming from China. And then we can draw your attention to this get

:38:18. > :38:20.inspired initiative that will give you all sorts of ideas you need to

:38:21. > :38:26.get involved with sport. Have a look at that. That is it from

:38:27. > :38:31.Ponferrada. This has been a night that likes a good book a tonic that

:38:32. > :38:32.has taken on the headlines, Bradley Wiggins has got a rainbow jersey to

:38:33. > :38:37.add to his Olympic title.