Ellen van Dijk’s silver medal was tinged with a bit of disappointment after she came so close to a second rainbow jersey in the elite women time trial at the UCI Road World Championships. Van Dijk (Netherlands) missed out by just six seconds to another former world champion in Amber Neben (United States).
"I wouldn’t say I’m happy with it, but I can say that I’m satisfied. I went full gas out there, and silver is still silver, and Amber was simply better out there," Van Dijk said after collecting her silver medal.
It is the second time in recent months that van Dijk has left a major competition not entirely happy with her result. A mistake during the time trial at the Olympic Games in Rio, which saw her run off the road, ended up with her finishing just outside the medals in fourth place. This time, however, she does leave with a medal around her neck, to add to the gold that she won at the European Championships last month.
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"Two times that I didn’t get it but yes it is a silver medal," she said. "In Rio I was close to gold I think, but I screwed it up myself. I would have loved to take the rainbow stripes but I couldn’t. It’s a time trial, and I love time trialling because it is such an honest discipline because the best one wins, and today it was Amber. I have to settle for the second place.”
Van Dijk was the final rider of the third group to leave the start ramp just before 3 p.m. local time. Her first split was almost six seconds slower than Neben, but she had turned that around by the end of the first lap, posting the fastest time at that point. She forged on and passed an ailing Audrey Cordon but lost ground to Neben on the second go around the Pearl.
Van Dijk, who won gold with her Boels Dolmans team in the team time trial, had been one of the major favourites going into the event. She said afterwards that there was nothing more she could have done to take home the rainbow jersey.
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