2018 World Cycling Championships Innsbruck: Men's individual time trial - record-breaking world champion Martin no chance against hotshot Dennis
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· 27.09.2018
In the Inn Valley, the ageing record-breaking world champion had no chance against the outstanding Rohan Dennis and five other rivals. Two victories in 2017, only one at the national title fights this year, ninth place at the World Championships last year, now seventh. The dominance is gone, an era seems to be coming to an end.
But Martin is working against this impression. Not only because he is looking for a so-called fresh start in a new team - probably LottoNL-Jumbo - from 2019. After his first disappointment in the shadow of the Hofburg, the 33-year-old Swiss by choice was already talking about the next title race: "Next year in Yorkshire, the course should be flat again". It wasn't in Innsbruck and the surrounding area. The five-kilometre climb in the Gnadenwald forest finally put Martin off course for the podium.
"The climb was brutal," said the Lusatian-born rider, who was not deterred from starting in Innsbruck by a fractured vertebrae that forced him to abandon the Tour de France. For Rohan Dennis, who had even taken over 1:21 minutes off defending champion Tom Dumoulin at the finish after 52.1 kilometres, the details of the course didn't matter.
High speed at the start, a climb in the second third or a classic course at the end: the Australian, who covered the demanding course at an incredible average speed of 49.6 kilometres per hour, was always the fastest at all intermediate times.
He continued his winning streak this season. Innsbruck marked his seventh victory in the battle against the clock. Sunweb captain Dumoulin, who had the Giro d'Italia and the Tour in his legs, was only able to beat the Australian once in the first time trial of the Tour of Italy in 2018.
Dennis, who is known as a hot-tempered man who gets rowdy on the team bus when things go wrong, was just happy this time. "A childhood dream has come true. I've never stood on the podium at a World Championships in any age group before," said the 28-year-old, who will be a father for the first time in the next few weeks.
Dennis and Dumoulin will probably continue to be ahead of Martin in the time trial. In addition, youngsters such as Maximilian Schachmann are increasingly making their voices heard. Martin's rival Marcus Burghardt, who is two years older, agrees. "Tony is no longer the youngest and a lot of youngsters are coming up," said the veteran, the extended arm of the German national team management on Sunday, at the end of the World Championships in the road race.
