In a surprise result, Amber Neben has won today's World Championship time trial. Though most touted her team mate Olympic Gold medalist Kristin Armstrong as the favorite, Neben proved the best on the difficult course in Varese. The 33 year old Neben covered the 25 km course in 33.51.35, for an average speed of 44.571 km/h. Neben finished fourth at Worlds last year, and today's win marks her first World Championship title.
Christiane Soeder of Austria finished just 7 seconds behind the American. Judith Arndt of Germany, who won the overall women's World Cup this year, finished third at 21 seconds. Kristin Armstrong only managed fifth, 23 seconds behind her team-mate. From the beginning of the season, Armstrong targeted the Olympic Games as her primary objective. That effort paid off with a gold medal in Beijing. Little wonder that she had less in her legs for the race in Varese.
More deets and post-race interviews lates.
See the Official Results (pdf) at the UCI's website.
For a non-pdf version, see tuttobiciweb.it.