Four Etixx - Quick-Step riders were selected by their respective countries to participate in the 53km UCI World ITT Championship on Wednesday, the 23rd of September.
The riders selected are as follows:
Tony Martin (Germany)
Rigoberto Uran (Colombia)
Petr Vakoc (Czech Republic)
Yves Lampaert (Belgium)
Martin, three-time UCI World TT Champion and current German TT Champion, is hoping to get back in the rainbow jersey once again. Uran is the current Colombian TT Champion and is aiming for a top result. Vakoc and Lampaert are both young riders, hoping to gain important experience in Richmond.
"It's a course that I really like," Martin said. "I did reconnaissance twice yesterday, and then one more time today. Yesterday we went deeper into the race details, analyzing it technically, and today we tried to simulate the actual race day, including the usage of radios. I'm happy about the approach we did going into the race. I like the parcours a lot. It has wide roads and good asphalt, and it is always a little bit up-and-down. It's for guys with a lot of power, not necessarily climbers. I also like the total distance at 53 kilometers. It will be a time trial of more or less an hour. It's demanding, but I've showed in the past that I can handle this kind of distance. I am very relaxed about it. There will also be a pretty consistent tailwind, so the time trial will be fast. It's also important that I am the last to start. In that scenario I can do my race, but I will know exactly how to gauge my effort compared to all the best times of my competitors. It will be a small advantage. I believe I am ready for this race. I prepared hard for it and I will try to do my best. I'm really looking forward to this race tomorrow."