The winner of the 2006 Chrono des Nations, Raivis Belohvosciks from Latvia, started with number 21 in the second last heat of the time trial world championship, along with Denmark's Brian Vandborg who was fourth in Salzburg last year. Both riders were unhappy with the start time, which put them at a disadvantage racing on wet roads that had totally dried for the later starters. "I don't know why they didn't put me in this top 15 as I was 12th last year," Belohvosciks said. "Otherwise I would have finished seventh or eighth, in the top 10 for sure, but actually I don't want to complain. Only the medals count."
The UCI decides the start list based on previous results in time trials, but riders such as Australian neophyte Cameron Wurf or Eugene Wacker from Kyrgyzstan rode in the last heat along with Vuelta time trial winner Bert Grabsch, leading to questions about the start order. "In the future we might even issue a UCI ranking for time trials and that will decide for the orders of the start list at the world championship", UCI road coordinator Philippe Chevallier explained to Cyclingnews. JFQ
