Sylvain Chavanel earned his 4th French National Time Trial Championship, with the fastest checkpoint times, and a finishing time of 57'34".
Chavanel's effort never wavered as he was the fastest time at the 9km and 33km checkpoints by 1" over the same rider: Jeremy Roy (FDJ-BigMat). Roy finished before Chavanel, and rain began to pour at the finish line. However, Chavanel only got stronger, besting Roy by 13" at the finish. Yoann Paillot was 3rd, with a time of 58'35".
"The parcour was completely flat," Chavanel said. "It wasn't easy to interpretate. For the entire time trial my heartset didn't work, so I had no point of reference. In the last part I went full gas, even if in the last three kilometers I had to fight against the rain. Roy did a great race. He was strong even in Suisse. I knew he would be a competitor."
Eddy Seigneur was the only other French rider in history to win four national time trial championships, winning in 1996, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Chavanel won his three other titles in 2005, 2006, and 2008.
"I'm also happy that I reached the record of Seigneur," Chavanel said. "But for me, the most important thing is that next week I will start at the Tour prologue with this brand new jersey. It will give me a great motivation, and I can't wait to show it off at the Tour!"
Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Jerome Pineau also performed well, finishing in the top 20 (18th place).
