Austrian Time Trial Championships – Matthias Brändle – I hope I have shown that I belong at the Olympic Games –

THE QUOTE

“In defending this title, I hope that I have proved that I belong at the Olympic Games,” Matthias Brändle said after his victory in the Austrian time trial championships on Saturday. “I had the strength and the heart to win this distinctive jersey. Obviously, I am very happy with this victory, but I took a lot of risks in order to achieve this goal. In the final kilometers, I felt like I must have been at the center of a big storm. It was raining a lot, and the gusts of wind were sweeping the course. At the finish line, I still was 42 seconds ahead of the rider in second place. It’s a pretty big gap, and I think I proved that I could be a member of the team selected to go to the Olympics in Rio.”

THE NUMBER

47.3km/h. That was the average speed that Brändle, who also formerly held the world hour record, managed to post in his time trial victory around the Wallersee. He only took 27’53” to swallow 22 kilometers of the course.

THE PERFORMANCE

This is the fourth national time trial championship that Matthias Brändle has won. The Austrian rider, a time trial specialist, has already won this event in 2009, 2013, and 2014.

Pictures – BettiniPhoto & Angelika Kaufmann-Pauger