A dropped chain proved costly for New Zealand veteran Gordon McCauley at the UCI World Road Cycling Championships in Geelong today.
The 38-year-old finished 39th in the 45.8km elite men’s time trial after losing nearly a minute when his chain came off.
McCauley, the national time trial champion, was the oldest rider in the field and overall was satisfied with his efforts with preparations aimed more at the flat course for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
"It's good considering I'm the oldest guy in the field and I work for a living, plus I stopped when my chain came off so I can't be too upset."
"It felt good to be close to a guy like [Martin] Velits on a hilly course like this.To be so close to Velits and these guys is pretty good and stands me in good stead for the Commonwealth Games.
"I said if I have a really awesome day I might finish in the top 25 but I just didn't want to disgrace myself in front of an ‘almost’ home crowd.”
Team-mate Jack Bauer (Nelson), who flew in to Melbourne only two days ago after answering an SOS when Jeremy Vennell withdrew with illness, managed a satisfying 23rd place
He was just over four minutes down on winner Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) who made history as the first to win the elite men’s time trial four times, finishing more than a minute clear of his nearest rival.
Cancellara clocked 58min 09sec for the hilly circuit with Great Britain’s David Millar second and Germany’s Tony Martin third
Tomorrow is the Under-23 men’s road race over 159km of the testing circuit in Geelong.
Results
Elite Men Time Trial, 45.8km
| 1. | Fabian Cancellara | SWI | 58:09 |
| 2. | David Millar | GBR | +1:02 |
| 3. | Tony Martin | GER | +1:12 |
| 4. | Ritchie Porte | AUS | +1:19 |
| 5. | Michael Rogers | AUS | +1:25 |
| ... | |||
| 23. | Jack Bauer | NZL | +4:17 |
| 39. | Gordon McCauley | NZL | +7:46 |
