Victorian rider Grace Brown has kicked off the UCI World Road Championships in spectacular fashion for Australia by claiming the silver medal in the women’s time trial race in Wollongong.
Brown, 30, was among the favourites going into the opening race of the week-long championships and showed why with a powerhouse performance in the 34.2km time trial, posting a time of 44: 41.33 after going out in the first of two morning groups.
But after her time proved too good for many of Brown’s rivals, the last cyclist to start, Dutch rider Ellen van Dijk surged home and beat the home crowd favourite by 12.73 seconds. It was van Dijk’s third time trial world championship victory.
Australia’s Georgia Baker finished in eighth, with a time 1:46.44 behind the winner.
Brown’s silver medal was the best result for Australia in the women’s time trial was a silver medal for Anna Millward (nee Wilson) in 1999.
Brown, who won the Commonwealth Games time trial gold medal earlier this year, clocked an average speed of 45.9kph on a tricky city circuit in Wollongong, an hour south of Sydney.
Australian Grace Brown competes in the individual time trial at the UCI World Championships in Wollongong.Credit:Brook Mitchell
In a 45-woman field, Brown’s main rivals started in the second grouping. Olympic time trial Annemiek van Vleuten, from the Netherlands, dropped behind Brown’s intermediate times early, and couldn’t haul her back in.
Swiss star Marlen Reusser was under Brown’s time at the first intermediate but dropped behind on the second ultimately she came home 30 seconds behind Brown, who had waited more than an hour on stage to learn what colour medal she would win.
But van Dijk powered out and was under Brown’s time throughout her ride. The Dutchwoman was 10 seconds up at the first intermediate and then 22 seconds at the second.
But despite slowing slightly in the final third, van Dijk crossed the line with a 12.73 second buffer to claim the win.
“It was the perfect course for me,” van Dijk said.
“I never thought I would win today, actually.“I had no idea how I was riding … I paced my effort really well.
“It was nice to see Reusser a little bit ahead of me near the end, so I knew it wasn’t a bad day for sure.“But I was so surprised at the finish.”
The men’s time trial begins at 1.40pm.
MORE TO COME
Stan Sport is the only place to watch every race from the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong from September 18 – 25.
View the Stan Sport schedule here.
