UCI Road World Championships: Ellen van Dijk wins elite women’s time trial

Ellen van Dijk rode a flawless race to win the 2022 UCI World Championship individual time trial title on Saturday evening.

It was the third time trial world title for the Dutchwoman, who beat hometown favorite Grace Brown by 12.73 seconds. Marlen Reusser of Switzerland took the bronze medal.

After nearly three hours in the hot seat, Brown watched her time fall to Van Dijk, the last rider down the ramp.

In a surprising upset, two-time time trial world champ Annemiek van Vleuten did not make the podium in Wollongong, finishing seventh, 1:43.02 behind Van Dijk.

Italy’s Vittoria Guazzini finished fourth 52.11 behind Van Dijk, taking the U23 gold.

@ellenvdijk 🇳🇱 railing it towards the rainbow🌈?

It's looking good for the defending champion. #Wollongong2022 pic.twitter.com/NHT8uysH9x

— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 18, 2022

The women opened up 2022 UCI Road World Championships with the elite and U23 time trial running as one event. The riders were met with sunny skies but gusty winds would hit them all sides as they made their way around the technical course through Wollongong.

With the riders completing two laps of the Wollongong circuit, they were set off in three batches to avoid riders on different laps crossing over. Home favorite Brown was among the first 10 that rolled down the start ramp and her time of 44:31.33 set a benchmark that was going to be hard to beat.

The second tranche of riders saw pre-race favorite Annemiek van Vleuten set off and she was seen as the first major threat to Brown’s dominant time. However, it quickly became clear that Van Vleuten was not on her best day, and the Dutchwoman was already some 26 seconds behind Brown at the first check.

Indeed, Brown would have to wait until the final portion of riders set off on course before she had to worry about being knocked off the top spot on the podium. The Australian looked comfortable as she signed autographs for fans who were waiting at the front of the hotseat stage.

Reusser and Van Dijk, who finished second and first in last year’s competition in Flanders, were the last riders to set off down the starting ramp. Both began quickly and were ahead of Brown at the first intermediate check, with Van Dijk going over 20 seconds faster.

While Reusser had begun to fade by the second checkpoint, Van Dijk was still going strong and had more than 20 seconds in hand on Brown. The Dutchwoman began to give away time in the final stretch but she still had 12 seconds in hand by the line.