The Team Sky riders named for the Worlds TTT this weekend make for a very powerful unit.
Team Sky, which counts two Irish riders on its roster, has named its selection for the team time trial (TTT) at the World Championships.
Neither of the Irish riders – Philip Deignan and Eddie Dunbar – is in the team. They were not expected to be selected.
Dunbar (22) is in his first week riding with Team Sky. He has pulled out of the U23 TT at the Worlds in order to focus on the road race.
Deignan is not a time trial specialist and a team test would not be to his liking. It means his omission from the line-up is no surprise.
This Sunday the #InnsbruckTirol2018 World Championships get under way with the team time trial. Here's our lineup for the 62.8km event@jcastroviejo @owaindoull
Vasil Kiryienka@kwiato @GianniMoscon @IStannard pic.twitter.com/x25WfODZhY— Team Sky (@TeamSky) September 20, 2018
The selection named by Team Sky is a very strong one. It contains proven world class time trial riders who combined make for a formidable unit.
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Four-time Spanish national champion Jonathan Castroviejo is named. He won silver in the test at the Europeans this year and took bronze in the individual TT at the Worlds two years ago.
Also in selection is Vasil Kiryienka, the 2015 world champion. Former Italian champion Gianni Moscon is also named, as is Owain Doull, the Olympic champion in the team pursuit.
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And the six-man line-up is completed by former Polish TT champion Michal Kwiatkowski and recent Tour of Britain stage winner Ian Stannard.
We haven't seen Dunbar in TT action for Team Sky yet. But he has ridden very well against the clock in the past. And he is the former junior and U23 Irish champion.
With Team Sky having won a bronze in the TTT last year, it will look to medal again in Innsbruck on Sunday.
The test is a very long one, at 62.8km. It takes place on undulating roads, with a climb near the finish.
It will be very challenging for the riders and as the last trade team TTT at the Worlds, the competition to win will be fierce.
Lack of interest in TTT
The event is being scrapped from the schedule by the UCI after this year’s edition.
Team tests were contested by national teams for over 30 years, from 1962 to 1994. There were four riders per team and the distances were longer, at 100km.
The discipline ceased in the mid 90s and was reintroduced, for trade teams, in 2012. WorldTour teams were obliged to ride the event.
However, they complained it was costly. And many teams, who had no chance of medalling, had no real interest in the event.
The title was won last year at the Bergen Worlds by Team Sunweb; from BMC Racing and Team Sky.
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