UCI Road World Championships: Ellen van Dijk takes gold in the time trial for the Netherlands ahead of Grace Brown

Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) has defended her time trial jersey in style, beating home favourite Grace Brown (Australia) in a thrilling opening to the world championships in Australia. The Dutchwoman was the final rider on the time trial course, powering home to win by just over 12 seconds from the Commonwealth Games champion Brown, with Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) taking third.

Ad “I didn’t expect to win it,” van Dijk confessed afterwards, with a beaming smile as she looked slightly surprised to find herself in the victor’s chair. World Championships‘Disappointed’ — Craddock to miss Worlds after visa mishap20 HOURS AGO The course consisted of two laps around Wollongong in perfect conditions, with the sun high overhead and temperatures hovering around the 19 Degree mark for a total of 34.2km of racing.

It was the exact same course and distance that faced the men later on in the same day, with the women getting to test their mettle against the clock first on the tree-lined streets. Brown was easily the early name to watch, with decent time trialling pedigree this season having already won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

But Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio had cautioned that this course wouldn’t necessarily suit the pure time trial specialists, stating: “Cornering is crucial, I don’t think your typical time trial [rider] can get the momentum they usually get.” It is the second time Australia have hosted the World Championships, and home rider Brown did indeed set the early pace as she finished in a competitive 44:41.33. She cut a relaxed figure as she waited in the hot seat, opting to park herself at the front of the stage, legs dangling over the edge as she chatted with the fans below.