World Cycling Championships 2015 Richmond: Route TTT

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Sunday, September 20, 2015 - The UCI World Championships in Richmond USA open with the team time trial. In 38.8 kilometres the teams race mostly on wide open roads, while the finale offers a short steep climb followed by a false flat in the last kilometre.

In the course of 38.8 kilometres the elevation change is 560 metres. The highest point is in the deep finale when 50 height-metres are climbed in 350 metres, averaging 6.9%. Then a sharp left turn on E-Broad and a false flat of 680 metres straight to the finish line. Exactly the same arrival as we will see in the ITT and the road race.

The race kicks off at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden at the northside of Richmond. The teams race downtown on Lakeside Avenue and after blasting through Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom they take route 5. In 13.7 kilometres the riders head in a straight line south on flat open roads. This scenic sector offers little shelter en eventually the roads narrow.

At Kingsland Road the teams head back towards Richmond. First they wind through National Battlefield Park, a historic Civil War site. During the American Civil War Richmond served as the Confederate capital.

Shockoe Bottom is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Richmond and it’s there the teams re-enter the city. In Shockoe Slip riders take a hard right turn and climb up Governor Street, the aforementioned 350 metres ascent at 6.9%. At the top, teams turn left onto the false-flat finishing straight of 680 metres.

The TTT was reintroduced to the UCI World Road Championships in 2012. It is the only discipline with trade teams. Omega Pharma-QuickStep (Etixx-QuickStep) won in 2012 and 2013, while BMC was strongest last year in Ponferrada.

The start will be at 1:30 PM local time and the finish approximately 3:35 PM.