For the majority of the cycling fraternity, the team time trial at the World Championships is little more than the curtain raiser for a week of racing that builds towards the elite road races. Yet, for Michael Hepburn (Orica-Scott), it´s the highlight of the entire year. The Australian, who came through the ranks as part of his national track programme, has been a mainstay in Orica-Scott`s Worlds TTT set-up since 2013, picking up two silver medals and a bronze for his efforts. But, like his team, Hepburn has yet to taste victory in the most important time trial on the UCI calendar. `It´s my favourite day of the year, the team time trial,` he tells Cyclingnews after one final reconnaissance of the 42.5km course in Bergen. `I think a lot of my teammates share the same passion for it. You´ve got the team aspect to it, it´s time trialling, so I love that, and it´s a bit like the pursuit on the track. I really enjoy it and you can see the standard getting higher and higher every year. We´ve been close a number of times and it´s about time we pulled it off.` Orica have only missed the podium once since the event´s inception in 2012, and were brutally cut adrift of the win by under a second in 2013. The team may not have won a TTT since the 2015 Giro d´Italia - when Hepburn was also in the team - but they remain a real threat for Sunday´s test. Along with BMC Racing, Team Sky, and defending champions Quick-Step Floors, they are among the favourites. `We´ve always been up there and we´ve won other teams time trials,` Hepburn says, making his case for an Orica success. `We have a really solid group and we´ve been training and racing together for a number of years. It´s a very even group and there´s no `stand-outs´. We´re all at a really high level. I really believe that we can be around the mark. We´ve been trying for a few years now, and our big goal is to win.` Orica arrived in Norway over a week ago and have spent the last few days analysing the course in gre ...
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