Zoe Bäckstedt (Great Britain) scored victory at the under-23 women's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships, putting in a dominant ride over the 22.6km course in Kigali to win by almost two minutes.
British time trial champion Bäckstedt, who won the junior time trial title three years ago, topped the leaderboards from start to finish to take the win, beating Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia) into second place at each checkpoint and at the finish line.
20-year-old Bäckstedt set a time of 30:56.16 to beat Chladoňová's time of 32:47.01 by a massive 1:50 at the finish to take the win, while Federica Venturelli (Italy) set the third-quickest time of the day with 33:07.74 to score the bronze medal.
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10 seconds off bronze, Felicity Wilson-Haffenden came home in fourth for Australia, while Alena Ivanchenko rounded out the top five a further second back.
"I feel like I coped with [the pressure] OK. I was nervous before the start and I think that's natural in one of these championship events. I just did some pre-race rituals like I always do before a time trial to keep my head happy," Bäckstedt said after the finish.
"Those two climbs we had to do just zapped your legs completely, but I have to say it was quite fun on the downhill to go super quick. I'm looking forward to seeing what my maximum speed was on that one.
"Hearing that I was only up by 16 seconds at the first time check, I thought 'OK, it's possible to lose that on the last climb', but I just kept pushing as hard as I could on that second between the two climbs and then on the last part I was chasing the rider in front of me and hoping to catch her by the finish.
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"It means a lot, also to be able to do it in both categories. Hopefully, next time I can try out for the elites."
The podium trio with their medals (Image credit: Getty Images)
How it unfolded
Home rider Claudette Nyirarukundo (Rwanda) was first off to start the time trial. She set the first time at the finish with 37:14.33, though one which was quickly beaten by Anastasiya Samsonova with a 35:28.39.
The 12th rider to start, Alena Ivanchenko, was next to top the timing charts, setting a time of 33:18.60 at the finish to go well clear in first place. Ava Holmgren (Canada) would come closest to challenging Ivanchenko among the next group of riders, going within five seconds at the second checkpoint before finishing her ride at 43 seconds down in second place.
It would be some time before a rider beat Ivanchenko's time. Alli Anderson (Australia) missed out by 31 seconds at the finish, but Viktória Chladoňová sped through the first checkpoint with a time of 16:44 to go 37 seconds clear.
At the second checkpoint, that advantage grew to 42 seconds, and at the finish, Chladoňová took over the hot seat with a time of 32:47.01, 31 seconds clear.
Millie Couzens (Great Britain) was also doing well on pace for second at the finish. She went through the first checkpoint 18 seconds slower than Chladoňová and made up three seconds at the second checkpoint.
Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia) raced to the silver medal (Image credit: Getty Images)
She crossed the line 46 down on Chladoňová for provisional third place, but out on course, Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Australia) was going quicker than anyone by 10 seconds at the first checkpoint and 33 seconds at the second.
Wilson-Haffenden wouldn't take over the hot seat, however, fading in the final section of the course to finish with a time of 33:17.91, 30 seconds down on Chladoňová.
Federica Venturelli was in the mix for the medals, too, taking second place at the second checkpoint with a time of 24 minutes, though at this point all eyes were on the last woman out on course – race favourite Zoe Bäckstedt.
Bäckstedt didn't disappoint in the early stages of the race. She caught and passed Julia Kopecky (Czechia), who started 1:30 earlier, before the first checkpoint, and duly set the quickest time there with a time of 16:17.
Chladoňová's time held strong in the meantime, with Venturelli coming through the finish in second place. Her time of 33:07.74 put her into provisional silver medal position, knocking Wilson-Haffenden into provisional bronze.
Bäckstedt was all set for gold, however. She went quickest by 34 seconds at the second checkpoint and then passed her three-minute rider Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg) as she stormed home with a time of 30:56.16 to take the title.
Federica Venturelli (Italy) took bronze with the third-quickest time (Image credit: Getty Images)
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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