Chloé Dygert (USA) reclaimed her position as the fastest individual time triallist in the world, securing her second elite women's rainbow jersey in the discipline at the 2023 UCI World Championships in Stirling, outside Glasgow.
Dygert finished the 36.2km time trial with a winning time of 46:59 and an average speed of 46.2 kph, beating silver medallist Grace Brown (Australia) by just six seconds and bronze medallist Christina Schweinberger (Austria) by 1:13.
"I don't have words. It's been a long three years. To be able to have this jersey is just absolutely unbelievable," Dygert said.
"It was definitely 16km too long. After a certain point I couldn't catch up with my breathing and the fatigue set in. I just did everything I could to make it to the finish. I'm really lucky it was enough.
"I think this is a very special title for everyone behind me. At the beginning of this year it was unclear if I was going to race this season. To be able to be here, and win - it's a huge accomplishment for everybody."
Overwhelming favourite ahead of the race, Marlen Reusser (Switzerland), twice second in the time trial worlds, was forced to pull out of the race just after the first checkpoint.
Dygert had last won the elite women's time trial world title in Yorkshire in 2019 but then crashed while trying to defend that title in Imola in 2020, where she suffered a deep laceration to her left leg and required surgery.
She also took a 14-month break from road racing due to various other health issues that required additional of recovery, including Epstein-Barr virus and heart surgery to treat a longstanding tachycardia issue last year.
In May, she had a remarkable comeback under her trade team Canyon-SRAM on the Women's WorldTour and then went on to secure double road and time trial titles at the US National Championships.
She showed her versatility as a rider at this World Championships, having already won the world title in the Individual Pursuit, adding an eighth elite track rainbow jersey to her decorated palmares.
Neidermaier wins under-23 title
Antonia Niedermaier (Germany) was the fastest under-23 rider to cross the line, with a time of 49:26 to win the rainbow jersey.
Neidermaier, 20, has stunned the professional cycling circuit this year with a first-ever victory on the Women's WorldTour on stage 5 at the Giro d'Italia Donne. However, she crashed the following day and was forced to abandon the race.
She has not raced since the Worlds, but her remarkable performance in the combined elite/under-23 individual time trial has secured the world title ahead of silver medallist Cédrine Kerbaol (France), at eight seconds back, and bronze medallist Julie De Wilde (Belgium), at 40 seconds back.
How it unfolded
There were 86 riders off the starting ramp for the elite women's time trial, all set to contest the race against the clock for the coveted rainbow jersey.
The 36.2-kilometre course was held in Stirling with a flat first two-thirds and a much tougher second section of road, culminating in a demanding ascent to the finish past Stirling Castle.
The first checkpoint was located at 12.6km, the second point at 23.1km, the third point at 31.8km, and officials took the finish times across the finish line at 36.2km.
Defending champion Ellen van Dijk, who won her titles in 2013, 2021 and 2022, is taking time away from competition, so the world title was wide open for a new winner.
Arefa Amini of Afghanistan was the first rider to start her time trial. Another early-starter three times Slovenian champion Eugenia Bujak set the first fastest time at the opening checkpoint after 12.9 kilometres: 15:22 and then finished with 49:28.
It didn't last long, however, as former world champion and reigning US champion Dygert smashed Bujak's time at checkpoint 1, clocking a time of 14:27. Dygert then raced through the next time checks at 27:44, 39:43, and then thundered up the 700-metre climb towards the finish, crossing the line with the fastest time of 46:59 averaging just over 46 km/h.
A mishap caused Lotta Henttala of Finland to lose control of her bike briefly on the cobblestone riser on the course. Although she managed to regain control, she ended up finishing at 53:23.
Schweinberger, Great Britain's Anna Henderson and France's Juliette Labous all had surprise performances. They each came through the time checks with the faster times behind Dygert and briefly held second, third and fourth places for much of the event, respectively.
Tour de France winner Demi Vollering (Netherlands) was one of the later starters, and aiming for a medal. She recently finished second to SD Worx teammate Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) in the stage 9 time trial in Pau. However, she didn't appear at her best in this event, as her time through the first two checkpoints was significantly slower than Dygert's.
Vollering then finished the event 1:27 down on Dygert in sixth place. "The result is not what I hoped for, but I gave everything I had today, and it was not enough," she said.
"I felt happy and healthy, but maybe I was a bit too fresh today. I don't know. I just could not do it today. Sometimes your body needs a wake-up call. I hope this was the wake-up call, but I can only tell after Sunday [road race]."
Dygert's grip on the world title appeared increasingly likely as Reusser, the overwhelming favourite, had only the fourth fastest time through the first checkpoint, having already lost 33 seconds to the American.
Reusser, who had crashed during the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay two days earlier, then slowed to a stop, dismounted her bike and sat at the side of the road shaking her head as her race for a world title ended.
Australia's Grace Brown, who secured the silver medal behind Van Dijk in Wollongong last year, was the closest to Dygert, just 17 seconds behind at the first checkpoint.
She continued pushing hard against Dygert's time, 30 seconds slower at the second checkpoint and then bringing time back on the second half of the circuit, just 25 seconds slower at the third checkpoint.
With a strong finish, Brown stormed through the finish line just six seconds slower than Dygert to take the silver medal for a second year in a row.
"I think I was happy with silver last year when it was my first time on the podium, but since last year I've been dreaming of putting on the rainbow jersey and believing that it's possible," Brown said.
"I didn't quite execute my pacing plan today. I was planning to build a little more in the end, and I went harder in the start. If I hadn't, maybe I could have found those six seconds. I gave it everything I could. Chloé was amazing today and deserves to win that, especially after all the tough things she's been through; it's inspirational."
Schweinberger held on to claim a surprise bronze medal.
"It's unexpected. When I woke up this morning, my goal was top 20. The time trials I've done are usually shorter, so I had huge respect for this parcour," Schweinberger said.
"It's the longest TT I've ever done. I knew I was going to be a good day when after 25km, my power didn't drop. I just kept going."
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