Wiggins out to provide hosts’ first golden moment

Bradley Wiggins goes to the start-line in the men’s Olympic time-trial today as the red-hot favourite having blitzed all before him in last month’s two Tour de France tests against the clock.

Wiggins, a former track medallist at the Athens and Beijing games will aim to get the country’s first gold medal of these games four days after Mark Cavendish failed in his bid for same in the road race.

The time-trial is the discipline that suits Wiggins best and with Australia’s Cadel Evans ruling himself out, it’s one less obstacle for the Londoner to negotiate.

But in Tony Martin (Germany), Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) and Spanish powerhouse Luis Leon Sanchez, Wiggins is in for a tough battle over the 44 kilometre course which starts at 2.15pm.

Cancellara, however, has suffered a more difficult season than most and the man known as ‘Spartacus’ missed many of the spring Classics after crashing in the feed zone in the Tour of Flanders and breaking his collar bone in four places. But more pressingly, Saturday’s crash in the Olympic road race will have hampered his training over the last couple of days.

From an Irish point of view Belfast rider David McCann is our only rider in the race and the 39-year-old, despite having ridden two Games in the past, makes his debut in an Olympic time-trial.

Like Wiggins, the discipline is suited to McCann’s characteristics and his stated goal before the Games was a top-10 finish.

Manager Martin O’Loughlin believes he could potentially produce one of his best ever rides.

“David has been altitude training in Spain recently and having spoken to people who were with him, like Tommy Evans (Ireland triathlon coach), his training went amazingly well.

“He is hitting the right numbers and he may be looking at a career best performance or thereabouts in the time trial.”