Third World Championships team time trial victory for Etixx-QuickStep
Etixx-Quick Step returned to the top step of the Worlds team time trial podium after a two-year absence with defending champions BMC Racing settling for the silver medal. Having missed the podium last year, Orica-BikeExchange finished in third place for their fourth medal in five attempts.
The blue and black Etixx-Quick Step team covered the 40km course in 42:32, with German duo Tony Martin and Marcel Kittel both doing huge pulls in the final kilometres to get the better of BMC in the second half of the course after both teams were tied on time at the 27km check point.
"The guys did a really great job. They stayed in one line, never hesitated in the corners and did what they had to do. The team was smooth and strong, even on the technical parts, so congrats to our riders. Simulating a course makes a big difference, and doing this in our preparations for Qatar helped us a lot today," sports director Tom Steels said of the team's win.
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The win was Martin's third for Etixx-Quick Step and his last, with the 30-year-old moving on to Katusha from the 2017 season. He said the Doha win was his best yet.
"I've raced all the team time trials since the discipline returned at the Worlds, came every time on the podium and won twice, but this victory is different. I want to thank the team for today and for these five years, they were incredible," Martin said.
For the full race report, results and photographs, click here.
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