Hansen Australian TT champ

Queensland road professional Adam Hansen claimed his first national title with an impressive ride in hot conditions to win the 39 kilometre elite men's time trial at the Scody 2008 Australian Open Road Championships near Ballarat, Victoria.

The 26 year-old, who rides for Team High Road, averaged a little over 45 kilometres an hour for a time of 51:41.23, almost a minute faster than silver medallist Rory Sutherland (Healthnet), with Queensland's Ben Day (Toyota-United) coming in third. "It hasn't sunk in yet," said Hansen who represented Australia in the event at last year's World Championships in Germany. "I came down here to win so I am really happy."

The Cairns native was not affected by the soaring temperatures in the region, attributing a strong programme, that included training up to eight hours a day in the Queensland heat, as the reason for his win. "I was really geared up today coming all the way down from Cairns and I trained really hard for this race," said Hansen. "The great thing about TTs is that they are not a gamble like a road race, its man against man, so I had a great chance today and it paid off."

Hansen now turns his focus towards the men's road race on Sunday, where he will ride alongside High Road team mate Michael Rogers. Rogers, absent from the time trial, played a small part in his victory giving him the pre-race advice of "ride hard".

Fresh from his team's win at the Bay Cycling Classic last week, Sutherland took silver for the second year in a row. "It's a trend that I don't really want to keep happening," said Sutherland who was nonetheless satisfied with his ride.

2003 champion, Day was unable to match the pace of Hansen. "It was damn hot today and hats off to Adam and Rory, they rode really well," said Day. "There was nothing more that I could have done out there."