David McCann (Ireland National Team) at the 2009 FBD Insurance Rás.(Image credit: Stephen McMahon)
Irish rider David McCann has said that he is unsure about his condition heading into Thursday's elite world championship time trial, despite breaking a long-running British record.
On Sunday, McCann surpassed Chris Boardman's 16-year mark when he competed in the Port Talbot Wheelers 25-mile time trial in South Wales. He averaged over 33 miles per hour to clock a time of 45 minutes and 54 seconds, three seconds quicker than Boardman's old time, and thirteen seconds faster than second-placed Michael Hutchinson (In-Gear Quickvit RT).
"I had done a short 47-minute ride at home so I knew as I was getting ready for the worlds that I should be pretty close to getting the record," he said to Cyclingnews this week.
"My initial reaction wasn't good. I didn't feel too well that day and I was disappointed that my power output for the race was quite a bit short of my best. But when I heard that I had beaten Boardman's time, that was definitely a consolation to me."
Boardman was one of the best time triallists in cycling's recent history, winning three prologues in the Tour de France, one time trial world championship, an Olympic gold medal for the pursuit and also breaking the world hour record on several occasions.
"Top ride by Dave McCann -25 record 45:54," he said on his Twitter feed earlier this week. "Yet another layer of dust settles on my career! Good to see though, records shouldn't stand forever."
Despite the feat, McCann has mixed feelings about his performance. "I was training through the Port Talbot race and hopefully the low power was just due to that. With some luck I will rebound from the fatigue there, but to be honest the power figures are a bit of a worry as I am not putting out the power that I was a month ago.
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McCann's previous best performance at the World Championships was 15th in 2004. He competed earlier this year with the Ridesport Racing team, but the squad then collapsed. He is currently looking for a team for 2010.
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