Ajman 9km ITT

If you thought the first two stages were boring, you ain’t seen nothing yet. We have a 9km TT, 4.5km out and 4.5km back. The cycling equivalent of watching paint dry. I know some of you out there love this discipline, but I’m not one. I can appreciate an aero TT position, but that’s about it. At least it’s only 9km!

Weather

The wind is coming from the west and should strengthen throughout the day, eventually reaching 28km/h, and then weaken a little. The riders have a tailwind for the first half, then headwind for the second. The riders who start in the middle of the day will face a slight disadvantage.

Contenders

Filippo Ganna – of course he starts as the overwhelming favourite. He’s already won two TTs this season, he’s been looking very strong so far this season. Ineos now have Dan Bigham working with them, he’s one of the best aerodynamicists in the world, he’s previously worked with Jumbo-Visma. He will already have spent time with Ganna trying to make him even better than he currently is. Beating Ganna over a flat 7km is close to impossible.

Stefan Bissegger – 2021 was his first full season as a pro, and he won TTs in Paris-Nice and the Benelux Tour, what a first year. The Swiss rider is incredibly powerful, and his team invest a lot of time into their bikes and equipment. Most of us would rather lose than win wearing his stupid helmet, but not Bissegger. He doesn’t mind looking like an alien if he’s winning. He was 2^nd to Ganna last year, losing 14 seconds over 13km. Not finishing on the podium would be a surprise.

Tom Dumoulin – the former world champion is back. He’s got a beautiful position on the bike; I’m hoping to see him getting back to near his best. After a long spell out he was able to claim the silver medal in Tokyo, a stunning performance considering his time out of the sport. 

Johan Price-Pejtersen – the young Dane won the under 23 TT world championship last year, he is a huge talent. Some riders take some time to transition to the world tour, I’m looking forward to seeing if he can hit the ground running. He’s starting very early in the day when he’ll get the best of the weather conditions.

Luke Plapp – 2^nd to Price-Pejtersen at the worlds, the young Aussie is another who could surprise the more experienced names. He’s got plenty of power, but I wonder if he’d prefer a longer TT.

Mikkel Bjerg – three time under 23 TT world champion, but he’s yet to win a TT at the highest level. He was almost unstoppable as an under 23, surely, it’s only a matter of time before he lands a big win. He also starts early.

Jonathan Milan – the young Italian won the gold medal in the track pursuit in Tokyo, he was part of the team led by Filippo Ganna. The length of this TT is very good for him, he’s someone who is capable of surprising his rivals.

Tadej Pogačar – 4^th last year, he’ll be expecting a solid top 10 performance.

João Almeida – 6^th last year, he’s another who’ll be looking to finish in the top 10.

Prediction Time

Another win for Filippo Ganna.