Hughes on top again in time trial

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In her first Canadian Championships since her return to competitive cycling, Clara Hughes of Glen Sutton, QC, won the 21.6 kilometre women’s elite race with a time of 30:25, beating Tara Whitten (Edmonton, AB) of Team TIBCO To-The-Top into second place.

Hughes, who returned to cycling this year, was fastest at every intermediate split, and finished 22 seconds clear of former national champion Tara Whitten of Edmonton, with newcomer (and former triathlete) Rhae Shaw, who lives in Seattle, third. Hughes was also racing after a bad crash while training on the time trial course two days earlier.

“It was a good time trial, certainly not my best time trial," Hughes said afterwards. "I crashed earlier this week training on the time trial course. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to race today, but I did a good job at conserving my energy. I didn’t think about it today, and I said to myself ‘just do everything that you can.'

"I'm so happy to win here, in my first national championships since 2003. The time trial is my focus to prepare for the world championships, and this is another step in my return."

Denise Ramsden (Juvaderm - Specialized) was the top Under-23 woman.