Grace Brown (Australia) became the first woman in history to win both the Olympic and UCI World Championships time trial titles in the same year, earning the latter in a tense battle on Sunday.
The 32-year-old, who is planning to retire at the end of the season, won her first rainbow jersey in Zurich, Switzerland, beating Demi Vollering (Netherlands) by 16 seconds after a mammoth push to the line.
The back and forth between the pair saw Brown lead at the first time check, before dropping eight seconds behind at the second. The Olympic champion then pulled it back on the finish alongside Lake Zurich, overhauling Vollering to win her second gold medal of the summer.
"It honestly feels like I'm in a bit of a dream these last couple of months," Brown said afterwards. "These big goals seem ambitious, but I've been able to get out on the road and do it and realise those dreams. It's really cool.
"The experience of the Olympics and that success on my shoulders already gave me a lot of confidence. I was riding in the last couple of kilometres and I just kept telling myself I can be world champion. That gave me the strength to push all the way to the end."
Throughout her effort, Brown was spurred on by timing updates in her ear from her team. The Australian said it "took me a couple of kilometres on the flat to get into the rhythm" after falling behind Vollering, but then "gained strength" towards the finish line.
Asked if she has any doubts about retiring, Brown said: "I'm still finishing after the end of this season. I just feel really, really lucky to end my career like this. It’s special."
Last year's winner Chloé Dygert (USA) finished third at 56 seconds, earning herself the bronze medal. Twenty-one-year-old Antonia Niedermaier (Germany) successfully defended her under-23 world title, finishing in fourth place.
How it happened
The women's time trial course in Zurich brought the shortest in six years at the UCI Road World Championships, stretching out 29.9km. Still, with 327m of elevation gain, it offered suitably challenging terrain. Almost all of the climbing came in the first half of the course, which cut through the Swiss countryside, and finished with a long drag along Lake Zurich.
The early starters swapped quickly through turns in the hot seat. Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) was the first big contender of the day to begin her assault, aiming for a record-equalling fourth world time trial title. A former Hour Record holder, the Dutchwoman immediately notched up the level, going fastest through the two intermediate time checks, and setting a benchmark of 41:03, almost 40 seconds better than the previous best.
Van Dijk's standard was then bettered and bettered again. First the reigning under-23 world champion, Niedermaier, was quickest to the first time check, at 10.4km, before Vollering and Brown went faster still. Dygert came through 36 seconds adrift of Brown, while Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Anna Henderson (Great Britain) started slower among the favourites, both around a minute down.
The class of Vollering and Brown became clearer as their efforts went on. The 2023 Tour de France Femmes winner hit over 80km/h on her descent down to the lakeside, where she overtook Juliette Labous (France), who started 90 seconds ahead of her. At the second time check, at 20.5km, the Dutchwoman topped the table, but only with an eight-second advantage over the Olympic gold medallist.
The rainbow jersey looked destined for Vollering's shoulders when she rose out of the saddle across the line. The first rider to clock under 40 minutes, she collapsed to the floor and lifted her palms to her head. She then crossed her fingers on both hands. The moment lasted only a few minutes.
Brown, "haunted" by the six seconds that separated her silver from gold last time round, chipped away at the deficit in the final third of the course. She finished along the shores of Lake Zurich in supreme control, wearing a grand smile after the line, the victor at last, after two years as runner-up. Vollering was among the first to congratulate her.
Results
UCI Road World Championships elite women's time trial: Gossau > Zurich (29.9km)
1. Grace Brown (Australia) in 39:16
2. Demi Vollering (Netherlands) +16s
3. Chloé Dygert (USA) +56s
4. Antonia Niedermaier (Germany) +1:05
5. Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) +1:39
6. Christina Schweinberger (Austria) +1:44
7. Anna Henderson (Great Britain) at same time
8. Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) +1:47
9. Juliette Labous (France) + 1:51
10. Amber Neben (USA) + 2:20
