World Championships: Villumsen flies under the radar ahead of women`s time trial
(Cyclingnews.com)

Two years ago at the World Championships in Richmond, Linda Villumsen stormed to victory in the women`s time trial. It was a stunning win for a rider who had built a reputation on so many near misses in major championships. The ensuing drama that developed over her decision to ride a non-team regulated bike somewhat overshadowed the post-race euphoria but two years on, the experienced Kiwi is back at the Worlds and hoping to repeat her Richmond experience - minus the bike drama. On Sunday the 32-year-old marshalled her Team Virtu teammates through the demanding team time trial and helped secure a respectable fifth place finish. The former world champion`s responsibility within the six-rider team grew in importance after they lost Amber Neben early on to a mechanical. `My legs are feeling good and I`ve got a day to recover and to get my head in the game,` Villumsen told Cyclingnews at the finish. `Today was a good TTT but it would have been better if we`d had all six of us together. We had some bad luck but hopefully, that turns around.ADVERTISEMENT `At first I thought I could help Amber by giving her a push but then I saw that it was wrapped around her pedal. There wasn`t much I could do and we were told to just keep going. She nearly came back but we couldn`t look behind. We had a bit of a communication problem but we`re new at this. We`ve not done many TTT together and we`ve lots of girls but I think that we had a really good effort.` Like Neben, Villumsen has raced sparingly this season. She skipped the spring because she `doesn`t like small roads and elbows` and is `too old for that now` but she has cherry-picked a calendar of races in order to prepare for the Worlds. She was on the attack at La Course earlier this summer with a trademark move that was only snuffed out towards the end of the race. In August, she finished third in the individual test at the Boels Ladies Tour and finished fifth overall. It`s against the clock where Villumsen excels and al ...