Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team will be well represented at the World Individual Time Trial Championship with five riders being selected to fight for the Rainbow stripes at the 46.2km time trial on Wednesday. The course, including the Cauberg in the final kilometers, is a very demanding parcour with few uphill sections. Four OPQS riders were part of the team that won the TTT Championship on Sunday.
Tony Martin —World Time Trial Champion — and Bert Grabsch will be riding for Germany. Kristof Vandewalle will represent Belgium. Sylvain Chavanel will ride for France, and Peter Velits will race for the Slovakian team.
Martin performed one lap of the TT course today, followed by OPQS Sports Director Jan Schaffrath, the Sports Director for the German team at Worlds.
"It was good training," Martin said. "We studied the best trajectory and the pace I have to maintain on different parts of the course. With Schaffrath we had a look also at the wind that could be a factor tomorrow. I'm in good condition, my Specialized machine is ready and set up for the race. I have also recoverd from the effort of the TTT. Tomorrow it will be a nice race with some of the best specialists of the world. I am ready to fight and will try to defend the title I won last year."
The start times for OPQS are as follows:
Kristof Vandewalle 14:50
Peter Velits: 14:58
Bert Grabsch 15:06
Sylvain Chavanel 15:10
Tony Martin 15:24