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Svein Tuft Wins Canadian National Time Trial Championship
June 22, 2012
Svein Tuft won his fifth consecutive Canadian National Time Trial Championship, his eighth time trial title in total, in Lac-Mégantic today. Posting a time of 47:25 on the 39 kilometer course, Tuft bested ORICA-GreenEDGE teammate Christian Meier, who took silver, by 2:08.
"I wanted to defend the title, of course, but for me, my approach and the way I ride are more important to me than the result," said Tuft. "I'm not interested in only having a good ride today. I'm looking down the road at the World Time Trial Championships. It's a huge goal for the team, and I want to contribute to us having a good crack at it there. Every time I'm on the time trial bike, it's in preparation for that end of the season goal."
"Today is super satisfying," he added. "I did everything I could with the course I had."
Both Tuft and Meier said the Lac-Mégnatic course favored Tuft's strengths.
"The time trial was run on wide open roads over heavy rolling terrain," Tuft said. "It was hot and windy today. We did three laps, and on the return trip, we climbed into a headwind. As long as the climbing isn't too steep, a heavy course suits me."
Experienced in time trials of this distance in all conditions, Tuft cut back on his warm-up and paid extra attention to his hydration ahead of the effort in the heat.
"I've learned that a long warm-up isn't important when it's this hot," noted Tuft. "It's far more important to focus on cooling efforts and hydration. I definitely did that. I spoke regularly with Marc Quod, the trainer for our team. He kept me on course with the appropriate approach. While my experience has helped me know how to prepare, it's definitely nice to have him as back-up to guide me."
In addition to contact with Quod, Tuft and Meier enjoyed on-site support from the British Columbia provincial team.
"We're both from BC, and we're here with our provincial team," explained Tuft. "They've been really super to us. They have no obligation to look after us. They have a bunch of young kids - juniors, U23 riders, upcoming guys. They run a good program, and we're lucky to have their support."
Tuft believes the Scott Plasma3 offered an additional advantage during the championship event.
"We're so far ahead in the sense of aerodynamics on the Scott Plamsa," said Tuft. "This is especially advantageous on a windy, difficult course such as this one. It's not like I can just let the bike do everything for me, but when riding downhill into a headwind, these bikes handle like nothing I have ever ridden. Christian and I definitely benefited from the work of the technical team within ORICA-GreenEDGE and the sponsors that provide the best aero equipment out there."
While Meier was happy with his result, he was slightly less satisfied with his effort. Like Tuft, he credits the Scott Plasma3 and Scott TTS aero helmet with elevating his performance.
"I was hoping for a good showing after Tour de Beauce where I had a decent time trial," said Meier. "In the end, my result today was much better than my ride. The first lap of three went well for me, and by the midway point of the second lap, I could already feel my power dropping. From there, it was more damage control than anything else. Today was a huge testament to our equipment. Despite failing power, I was able to maintain good speeds."
"Svein was a real ripper out there," added Meier. "He truly showed his class with the time trial win."
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