David Millar became the first ever rider to complete the 48.5km course at the Chrono des Nations - Les Herbières Vendée under 59 minutes. His 58'53 bettered the old record from Laszlo Bodrogi (59'18) by almost half a minute. Edvald Boasson Hagen came in second, more than two minutes down. Lieuwe Westra was a surprise third, leaving behind specialists like Gustav Erik Larsson.
An honorable mention goes to Philippe Gilbert. While his 30th place out of 35 competitors is nothing to write home about, merely showing up was quite an achievement. One day after he took the Tour of Lombardy under terrible weather conditions and with a detour to Brussels to pick up the Flandrien 2010 award, just making the start line shows how dedicated Gilbert is to the sport.
Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) was the first rider under one hour and two minutes, with a time of 1h01'59. RadioShack's Markel Irizar came close, but his 1h02'25 was only a provisional second place. Next in was Jérémy Roy, with a time of 1h02'57. Rubens Bertogliati was slightly faster, with 1h02'57. French time trial Champion Nicolas Vogondy scored a 1h02'29.
Then came the favorites. Edvald Boasson Hagen powered home strongly in 1h01'12, passing Yoann Offredo just before hitting the finishing straight. Offredo had a 1h03'28. Boasson Hagen held off Gustav Erik Larsson (1h02'03), but was no match for an incredible David Millar.
Alex Dowsett took the U23 race, covering the 38.6km in 48'38, with a gap of 1'23 over second-placed Romain Bacon.
1 David Millar Garmin-Transitions 48.5 km in 58'53.270 (avg 49,420 km/h)
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Sky 00:02:19
3 Lieuwe Westra Vacansoleil 00:03:06
4 Gustav Larsson Saxo Bank 00:03:10
5 Markel Irizar RadioShack 00:03:32
6 Nicolas Vogondy Bbox Bouygues Telecom 00:03:36
7 Rubens Bertogliati Androni-Diquigiovanni 00:03:57
8 Jérémy Roy FDJ 00:04:04
9 Yuriy Krivtsov Ag2r-La Mondiale 00:04:21
10 Paul Poux Saur-Sojasun 00:04:27