Villumsen continues TTing to the podium

Jun 13th, 10.  There aren't too many time trial races to contest, but whenever Linda Villumsen steps up to the starter's block she delivers.  Today the Kiwi was 2nd in the new UCI race, Chrono Gatineau in Canada.

Villumsen podiumed again today on her TT bike ©RoadCycling.co.nz, photo from the NZ Nationals

Villumsen, third in the World Championship time trial last year while racing for Denmark before she became a Kiwi, clocked 23m16s for the 17.7km time trial.

Her HTC Columbia teammate Evelyn Stevens (USA) won.

Villumsen was the 9th rider to start in the 43 rider field, and her time remained as the fastest until Stevens - 7th from last to start - finally broke it by 11.52 seconds.

The last time trial Villumsen raced was in France, the prologue of the Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin where she also placed second.

With this form Villumsen will be a strong contender for a time trial medal in her first Commonwealth Games competition come October.

Today's race was the first race of the first edition of La Grande Visite de Gatineau, in Gatineau, Quebec.

This new UCI two-day event features today's 17.7 km individual time trial and a 99 km road race tomorrow.

"The course was a really nice 17km, mostly flat, out and back course," Stevens said after her time trial victory.

"This is the first year this race has been put on, it is great that the city of Gatineau decided to host a UCI race in North America. Tomorrow we have the road race and we have a really strong team here, so I expect a good result."

Fellow Kiwi Rushlee Buchanan (Colavita Baci) was 18th today. She and Jo Kiesanowski (Team TIbco), who didn't contest the time trial, will compete in the road race tomorrow.