"I had a problem with my bike, the tire hit the frame. " - Mick van Dijke reflects on disappointing U23 ITT

Despite being one of the pre-race favourites for the under 23 individual time trial World Championship title, Netherlands' Mick van Dijke had to settle for 18th place, a disappointing 1:54 down on eventual winner, Norway's Soren Waerenskjold.

Reflecting on the disapointment, van Dijke had this to say “I didn't have the best day, not the day I wanted. The legs were not very good." Bad legs weren't the only reason van Dijke was off the pace however, issues with his bike plagued his ride much to the Dutchman's frustration, "I had a problem with my bike, the tire hit the frame. I think I went on a bit too long with that. It got worse and worse. Then I switched bikes. Then you know that you lose a lot of time and you can forget about a good result."

The 22-year-old who rides for Jumbo-Visma will now have to switch his attention to Friday 23rd of September and the under 23 road race. Whether in support of Dutch teammate Olav Kooij or for his own goals of wearing the rainbow jersey, van Dijke will be hoping for a better result.

After all as van Dijke said himself, he has had a good preparation, “I prepared very well, I did everything I could. I've been here for two weeks. You have to have a great day and the material has to be one hundred percent. If one thing is missing, you can forget about a good result. That happened today.”