Another second place for Demi Vollering, but this one must surely sting a little less than that dramatic near miss at last month's Tour de France Femmes.
The Dutchwoman produced the sparkling display she had promised in the elite women's time trial at the Road World Championships in Zurich, but there was little to be done against Grace Brown's 2024 vintage.
Although Vollering led Brown by eight seconds at the second intermediate check, she was overwhelmed by the Australian's superior speed on the flat and fast final 12km along the shores of Lake Zurich. Vollering was still recovering from her effort in the finish area when Brown thundered across the line to claim the title by 17 seconds.
"I gave my everything on the course and then after the finish, you can only hope it's enough," Vollering said when she stopped in the mixed zone after the medal ceremony. "It unfortunately was not enough, but I'm still really happy with this medal because it's my first medal in the time trial championships. It's a new achievement for me and that's something I can be happy about."
Vollering is the peloton's outstanding rider, but a dominant Vuelta Femenina victory notwithstanding, she entered the final phase of the 2024 season with a feeling of unfinished business.
Her Classics campaign passed without a win and the Paris Olympics went by without a medal. Her Tour de France Femmes title defence, meanwhile, was compromised by a crash, though she still came within four agonising seconds of snatching the maillot jaune back on the final haul up Alpe d'Huez.
"The fire is burning after the loss in the Tour de France: I am looking for revenge and very motivated for this World Championships," Vollering had told Dutch broadcaster NOS ahead of Sunday's time trial, and the 29.9km course here was certainly better tailored to her than the flat circuit at the Paris Olympics.
Vollering is a resident of Meggen, just 55km from Zurich, and she had ample opportunity to reconnoitre the course, including the steady climb that led from Oetwil am See towards the first time check after 10.5km. The Dutchwoman built her challenge on that ascent, but although she put half a minute into bronze medallist Chloe Dygert (USA) there, she was six seconds behind Brown at the top.
"For me, it was really trying to give it everything on the climb, of course, because there I could win it," said Vollering, who was undeterred by her small deficit to Brown there. The fast, technical descent that followed had been the subject of some concern before the race, but Vollering took full advantage of her local knowledge to swoop down towards Lake Zurich.
"The last descent was a very tricky one, super fast and bumpy," Vollering said. "In the recon yesterday, my brakes were not working properly so I was really nervous about it, but today it was better. And in a race, you just have a different mindset, so you dare a little bit more.
"I know all the riders were very nervous for this downhill because it was like throwing yourself in a black wall without knowing what was behind there at 90kph or something. It was really scary down there, but I survived."
She thrived too, picking up 14 seconds on Brown ahead of the final time check, which came at the beginning of the grand finale along the lakeshore. By that point, with Dygert and Antonia Niedermaier (Germany) out of the running, Vollering knew she was in a head-to-head for the rainbow jersey with the Olympic champion Brown.
"I had no idea how the legs would be on the last flat part of 12km," Vollering said. "It was just about surviving that part and actually it was not too bad. I could really still push my power, I actually felt quite ok still, so I was really happy about that.
"But Grace was sitting a bit more aero on the bike, and for sure she gained a bit more there, probably. I know I did everything I could. It was not enough this year, but I will work very hard for the future. I think for me, there's still a lot of work to do on the time trial bike, and still a lot of progression."
'In a road race you need a little bit of luck too'
Vollering's future has been a topic of discussion ever since her imminent departure SD Worx-Protime was revealed in the Spring, with FDJ-Suez rumoured as her potential destination.
Any formal announcement, of course, will wait until after these World Championships, where Vollering will have another shot at a rainbow jersey in a road race that seems well suited to her characteristics.
After placing silver behind SD Worx teammate Lotte Kopecky in the event in Glasgow, Vollering will view Saturday's race, with its four laps over the Witikon, as an obvious opportunity to claim a world title. Her display in the time trial, meanwhile, offered a fairly robust indication of her form at this point in the campaign.
"It's not too bad to have a time trial before the road race, it's good preparation for Saturday," Vollering said. "It's another day and I'll try my best there. But it's a road race, so you need a little bit more than only the good legs, for sure.
"In a road race you need a little bit of luck too. And you need to be smart in the head. There are so many factors you need to have to win, it's not only the strongest who wins the road race."
On Sunday, by contrast, the result brooked no debate.
"It's not four seconds, the difference is clear. Grace has really set her sights on the time trials this season, it really wasn't stolen by her. It was very much deserved," Vollering said. "I was so close to that jersey, and you really want it. It hurts for a while, but I am very happy with second place."
