Mikkel Bjerg of Denmark defied the weather to win the Men’s Under-23 World Individual Time Trial Championships in Harrogate with a time of 40 minutes 20.42 seconds, 26 seconds ahead of his nearest rivals, Ian Garrison of the USA and Brandon McNulty of USA less than two seconds behind Garrison.
Bjerg was the undisputed favourite going in to today’s race, having won the World Championship title for the past two years. His Danish teammate, Price-Pejtersen, as European Champion, was one of the only riders who had beaten Bjerg this year, but a crash early on meant that the rivalry would have to be put on hold for another day.
Today was really, really crazy and they were very difficult conditions out there today. I was told to hold my handlebars tight, keep looking ahead of me, and go full gas through the water. I didn’t have any slips or slides so I am over the moon to have pulled off this third victory.
Their teammate, Morten Hulgaard, was the first to start and his time of 41:16.49 was good enough to keep him on the podium for quite some time, and he eventually finished in 6th place.
The event saw rain of epic proportions descending onto the course, with riders later off in the starting order having to navigate roads that were flooded in places, which no doubt had an effect on the final standings. But that perhaps seals Bjerg’s place in the history books, as his third title came in spite of the conditions.
Chapeau to all riders who competed today in atrocious conditions.
John den Braber on Twitter
Plons ’em erin in Harrogate. 😳 #wkwielrennen #tijdritbeloften #Yorkshire2019 #terlandterzeeenindelucht https://t.co/GqcrPOQXZh
I can’t thank the crowds and communities enough for still coming out in their droves to support the riders on the roadside. Today’s been a real challenge because of the weather but everyone pulled together including the emergency services, the councils, highways agencies, and of course, our Yorkshire Team volunteers who’ve all worked their socks off to keep the racing going.
Ripon looked fantastic today, as did all the communities along the route. A huge thank you once again to everyone and hopefully we’ll have drier weather to come!
Heather Bamforth
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