He passed the first time check at the 7km mark in the fastest time .
He still had to wait for the arrival of pre-race favourites Jerome Coppel and Sylvain Chavanel to find out whether he was in medal contention .
He passed the first time check at the 7km mark in the fastest time but he still had to wait for the arrival of pre-race favourites Jerome Coppel and Sylvain Chavanel to find out whether he was in medal contention .