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Chris Froome undecided about making bike switch in time trial as Briton eyes gold at UCI Road World Championships

Chris Froome will start on his time trial bike, but is undecided about whether he will switch to a road bike for the final climb - AFP
Chris Froome will start on his time trial bike, but is undecided about whether he will switch to a road bike for the final climb - AFP

To change or not to change? That is the question which has been exercising Chris Froome’s mind in the build-up to Wednesday’s elite men’s world time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway.

With a steep 3.4km climb to the finish line in Bergen  rising over 300m at an average of just over nine per cent  there is potentially a huge gain to be made for riders who switch from a time trial bike to a lighter road bike at the foot of Mount Floyen.

Tom Dumoulin, silver medallist at last year’s Olympics and the favourite for Wednesday’s race, has already indicated that he will switch, as has his Dutch team-mate Wilco Kelderman. “I think you can climb 10s of seconds faster on a road bike than on a time trial bike,” Kelderman said.

Froome, though, said on Tuesday he was still in two minds about attempting a high-speed changeover. “To be completely honest I don’t know yet,” he told Telegraph Sport. “I’m going to ride up there on my time trial bike later on and see how it goes. Then I’ll make a call after that.

“I estimate you’d probably lose about 15sec in loss of momentum and getting on the bike again and getting back up to speed.

“Of course time trials can be lost by five or 10 seconds. So it could be decisive. But with a finish like that we could see massive time gaps. 20, 30, 40 sec between the top four or five guys. So I think at the end of the day the strongest guy out on the course will win.”

Tom Dumoulin - Credit: Getty Images
After winning the team time trial with Sunweb on Sunday, Tom Dumoulin will again go for gold Credit: Getty Images

Unusually – and controversially in many eyes  cycling’s world governing body the International Cycling Union (UCI) has formally sanctioned a switch of bikes, although there will be a limit as to how far helpers can ‘push’ a rider after the change, with a 20-metre long mat on a cobbled section that must not be exceeded.

Froome, who earlier this month became the first rider in history to follow up victory in the Tour de France with victory in the Vuelta a España, said victory over the 31km course would be “an incredible end to an incredible season” but  added that he had “no expectations” of himself.

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Profile for Wednesday's elite men’s world time trial at the UCI Road World Championships

“Obviously it’s not something I’ve trained specifically for,” the 32 year-old said. “I’ve come here off the back of the Tour and the Vuelta with whatever form I’ve got on that start line. And I’m up against guys who have focused the last few months of their season specifically one this.

“So it’s a tricky one. But at the same time I’d much rather be here and be giving it a shot, rather than being at home and wondering ‘what if’.

“I’ve no expectations for Wednesday but if I could pull it off it would be magic, an incredible end to what has been an incredible season already.”

Should Froome win on Wednesday then the Kenya-born Briton will become only the fifth rider to hold the world time trial title in the same year as winning a grand tour and the first rider since Miguel Indurain in 1995 to win it while Tour champion.