Invitations were sent to the 20 leading UCI Women's Teams in the team rankings on 15 August 2012. Sengers Ladies Cycling Team, which entered the top 20 on 26 August was invited as well. Twelve teams accepted the invitation within the deadline and got the right to participate. Each team consisted of six riders.[3][4]
The teams completed a course that was 34.2km (21.3mi) starting from Sittard and finishing in Valkenburg aan de Geul. There were two named climbs: the Lange Raarberg (1300m, 4.5%) and the famous Cauberg (1200m 5.8%) that features in the Amstel Gold Race. The finish was located 1.5km after the top of the Cauberg.[5][6]
Pre-race favourite
Team Specialized–lululemon was the top favourite for the team time trial. The team won all the team time trials that season however the difference in time between the number two in each time trial, Orica–AIS, became each time trial smaller.[7] In April in stage 4b of the Energiewacht Tour Specialized–lululemon won the team time trial over 26.5km (16.5mi) by 40 seconds over Orica–AIS.[8] More close to the World Championships the difference between Specialized–lululemon and Orica–AIS was 29 seconds at the world cup race Open de Suède Vårgårda over 42.5km (26.4mi) (17 August 2012) and eleven days before the World Championships only 19 seconds in stage 2 at the 2012 BrainWash Ladies Tour over 34km (21mi).[9][10] A difference between the time trials that year and the one at the World Championships was that the World Championships was on a hilly parcours and all the other ones were flat.[7]
Race
Team Specialized–lululemon were the last team down the start ramp and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, the squad's weakest climber on paper, put in a shift on the front in the early, flat kilometres, ensuring that the team broke more or less even with Orica–AIS. At the first time check after 11km, the Orica–AIS sextet was less than a second behind Specialized–lululemon. Specialized–lululemon began to come to the fore and the team set a ferocious tempo up the climb of the Lange Raarberg, a little under two-thirds of the way into the race. At the second time check Specialized–lululemon coming through 13 seconds clear of the rivals. With Orica–AIS reduced to the minimum four for the finale, they remained in contention on the final climb of the Cauberg hill and crossed the line after the false flat 1:35 quicker than AA Drink–leontien.nl squad. Specialized–lululemon's Evelyn Stevens hit the front up the Cauberg hill with 20 seconds in hand and once over the top, Amber Neben, Trixi Worrack, Charlotte Becker and local favourite Ellen van Dijk took over for the final push to the line and brought Specialized–lululemon home to claim the first women's world team time trial victory.
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