World championships: Anna van der Breggen wins women’s elite individual time trial

Anna van der Breggen won the 2020 UCI world road championships elite women’s individual time trial Thursday, in Imola, Italy.

Van der Breggen, 30, has twice finished in second place in the event, in 2018 and 2019.

Van der Breggen trailed by 6 seconds at the intermediate time check, but was able to increase her speed on the trip home.

The Dutchwoman said, “I had no idea where I was. I said to [my sport director] Danny Stam for not giving me [intermediate] time. I just wanted to go as fast as possible to the finish. [It] is [only] when I have crossed the line I knew I had won.”

Van der Breggen is the defending Olympic road race champion, and also claimed the rainbow jersey in the world championships road race in 2018.

Defending world champion Chloe Dygert suffered trouble with her front wheel while going into a corner, just after the intermediate time check.

The 23-year-old crashed over the guard rail at nearly 50kph.

The Indiana native was 26 seconds faster than any other woman through the midway marker when she crashed.

Ellen van Dijk, the compatriot of van der Breggen, had bettered all intermediate time checks until the 2020 European time trial champion Swiss Marlen Reusser came through and rewrote the best times of the day.

Reusser sat in the hot seat for just a short time, however, as van der Breggen claimed the top position just several minutes later.

Racing in her 16th world championships, 45-year-old American Amber Neben finished in sixth place, while American Lauren Stephens finished in ninth place.