Dominant McNulty makes junior time trial his own

It was a good day for US riders as Brandon McNulty picked up the men’s junior individual time trial title while compatriot Ian Garrison also finished on the podium.McNulty, 18, rode the course in 34 minutes 42 seconds, good enough for a 35-second triumph over Denmark’s Mikkel Bjerg. “It was a very hard race, but I pulled off the gold medal. I conserved my energy initially and started pushing hard from the 10th minute. From then on, it was all or nothing for me. I’m so glad I won,” said McNulty, who finished third at last year’s Worlds in Richmond.McNulty saw last year’s gold and silver medallists Leo Appelt of Germany and Adrien Costa of USA respectively, progress to the Under-23 ranks, and conquered the second American gold medal in this event after Phinney prevailed in 2007.Starting last from the ramp, McNulty left no doubts on The Pearl circuit. The American set the fastest intermediate times in all sections to finish the 28.9km course in 34:42.29, averaging 49.964 kilometres per hour.McNulty extended his lead to eight seconds at the midpoint, and then took flight in the third quarter of the course, stretching his advantage to 30 seconds over Bjerg by the final check point. The American gave a visual demonstration of his dominance by catching his one and two-minute men in the closing kilometres, and he punched the air as he crossed the line in the day’s fastest time. “I’m from Arizona, so I’m used to the heat. I conserved my energy initially and started pushing hard from the 10th minute. From then on, it was all or nothing for me,” McNulty said. Garrison finished 53 seconds behind his countryman in 35:35.37. “I’m very happy because this medal was unexpected. I wasn’t even in the top 15 before starting. I began slowly, conserved my energy and pushed hard towards the end,” stated the bronze medallist. Bjerg took silver in 35:17.47 and his compatriot Julius Johansen finished fourth in 35:44.84. “It was a pretty hard race and I pushed from the start. I’m still young and I can always come back again next year. I’m really happy,” Johansen said.Norwegian Iver Knotten, who had come third in the recent European Championships, took sixth place in 36:15.28.European Champion and pre-race favourite Alexys Brunel could not impress on the world stage. The 18-year-old French prodigy started second-last, but his chances of a medal were dashed from the early stages of the race. Despite the one-minute gap, he was overhauled by McNulty and eventually finished with a disappointing 34th place in 37:57.21. “The sun was too strong and I was so tired towards the end of the race,” Brunel explained.Stefan Bissegger, who had started two minutes ahead of McNulty, also saw the American passing by. The Swiss rider, who was fourth in the European Championships, finished 35th in 37:59.97. His compatriot Marc Hirschi, who took silver in the European Championships, finished eighth in 36:25.99.The men’s individual time trial will take place today.RESULTSJUNIOR MEN’S INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL1. Brandon Mcnulty (USA) 34:42.292. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) +35.183. Ian Garrison (USA)  +53.084. Julius Johansen (DEN)  +1:02.555. Ruben Apers (BEL)  +1:24.056. Iver Knotten (NOR)  +1:32.99 7. Awet Habtom (ERI)  +1:40.02 8. Marc Hirschi (SUI)  +1:43.70 9. Jaka Primozic (SLO)  +1:53.95 10. Jarno Mobach (NED)  +2:00.53