A Dutch clean-sweep at the elite women's individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, on Tuesday was no great surprise, but it was nevertheless impressive.
Annemiek van Vleuten got the better of compatriots Anna van der Breggen and Ellen van Dijk, with two Leahs – Canada's Leah Kirchmann and the USA's Leah Thomas – the only thing stopping the Netherlands taking the top four places, with Lucinda Brand the fourth Dutchwomen in the top six.
Van Vleuten defended her 2017 title over the 27.8km course with a 29-second cushion over Van der Breggen, with Van Dijk a little further off the pace another 56 seconds down.
While runner-up Van der Breggen was happy for her teammate and pleased with the domination displayed by her nation, she admitted that she would "like to change the order a bit" next time.
That may yet come on Saturday's road race, where both Van der Breggen and Van Vleuten will fancy their chances on a hilly course as part of a strong eight-woman Dutch team that also features defending road race world champion Chantal Blaak.
Watch the highlights video above of Van Vleuten, Van der Breggen and Van Dijk taking all three medals at Tuesday's time trial in Innsbruck, and then decide whether to bet against the Dutch for Saturday's road race.
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