Bruges, BEL – The 100th anniversary of the UCI Road World Championships kicked off on Sunday with the Men’s Elite Time Trial. The event started in the beach town of Knokke-Heist and finished in the downtown square of Bruges. Tokyo Olympians Lawson Craddock (Houston; EF Education - Nippo) and Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates) donned their Team USA kits to take on the 43.3km race against the clock.
Talking about the duo’s performances today, Jim Miller, USA Cycling’s Chief of Sports Performance, said, "Lawson and Brandon both put in great rides. This area of Flanders is dead flat; today was a day for the big men. We will regroup and look forward to the rest of the time trials and, of course, the road races at the end of the week.”
McNulty opened the day for the U.S., thirteenth off the line. At the finish, McNulty stopped the clock at 50:56.39; at the time, this slotted him into fourth. McNulty would remain in the top ten of the race for the following 18 riders. Ultimately, he finished 22 out of 55 starters, 3:08.56 back from winner Filippo Ganna of Italy.
Starting tenth from last, reigning Men Elite Time Trial Champion Craddock slowly cranked up the speed through his ride. He moved from 21st at the first checkpoint, 19th at the second, and finishing in 18th in a time of 50:24.49, 2:36.66 back from Ganna. This is Craddock’s fourth appearance at the Men’s Elite Time Trial World Championships.
1. Filippo Ganna (ITA) 47:47.83
2. Wout van Aert (BEL) +:05.37
3. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) +:43.34
18. Lawson Craddock (USA) +2:36.66
22. Brandon McNulty (USA) +3:08.56
Full Results can be found here.
On Monday, Magnus Sheffield (Pittsford, N.Y.) and Matthew Riccitello (Tucson, Ariz.; Hagens Berman Axeon) will take on the Men U23 time trial. Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.; Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling) and Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Movistar Team Women) will represent the red, white, and blue in the Women Elite time trial event in the afternoon.
Photo by Casey B. Gibson
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