September 24, 2008 (Varese, Italy) – Veteran Anne Samplonius of Montreal finished in 11th place in the Elite women’s time trial on Wednesday at the road world cycling championships while Julie Beveridge of Calgary was an impressive 17th in her World’s debut.

Amber Neben of the U.S., won the gold medal clocking the 25.15 kilometre course in 33 minutes and 51.35 seconds. Christiane Soeder of Austria was second at 7.56 seconds behind Neben while Judith Arndt of Germany was 21.77 behind the winning time for the bronze.

Samplonius produced a strong middle portion to finish in 34:59.26 while Beveridge clocked 35:44.91 to settle among the top-half of the 43-rider field.

It wasn’t so much the result as the time that pleased the 40-year-old Samplonius who was more than two minutes off the winning time last year and finished 15th.

“For me time is more important than the placing to see how close I was in the mix,” she said. “This year, finally, I pulled off a time trial I’m capable of with a decent time. It was a difficult course. It was hard to figure out the right gear at the right time and I was constantly changing gears. The first six kilometres were a climb so I rode cautiously and that helped me have a very strong middle split. I just wish I could have had a stronger in last 10 kilometres.”

Beveridge, 20, was vying for a top-15 finish.

“I was fairly happy but there was room for improvement,” said Beveridge. “I wasn’t nervous, my teammates kept telling it’s my first Worlds so I can just go out there and have fun. I was just amazed by the crowd, they were everywhere along the course and screaming our names. The roads were phenomenal.”

Canadian national team coach Vincent Jourdain was pleased with the results.

“Julie is going to be around a long time and I really wanted her to get this experience,”said Jourdain. “We saw a lot of potential it’s a great result against an established field. Anne did a great time she should be proud of her race.”


Results

1. Amber Neben (United States Of America) 33:51.35 (44.571 km/h)
2. Christiane Soeder (Austria) 0:07.56
3. Judith Arndt (Germany) 0:21.77
4. Tatiana Antoshina (Russian Federation) 0:23.39
5. Kristin Armstrong (United States Of America) 0:25.27
6. Karin Thürig (Switzerland) 0:29.99
7. Susanne Ljungskog (Sweden) 0:57.38
8. Emma Pooley (Great Britain) 0:57.52
9. Charlotte Becker (Germany) 1:03.32
10. Linda Villumsen (Denmark) 1:05.43
11. Anne Samplonius (Canada) 1:07.91
12. Christine Thorburn (United States Of America) 1:17.16
13. Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (France) 1:20.03
14. Emma Johansson (Sweden) 1:26.31
15. Diana Ziliute (Lithuania) 1:35.83
16. Vicki Whitelaw (Australia) 1:36.23
17. Julie Beveridge (Canada) 1:53.56
18. Martina Ruzickova (Czech Republic) 2:02.24
19. Sharon Laws (Great Britain) 2:03.06
20. Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) 2:11.46
21. Regina Bruins (Netherlands) 2:14.52
22. Pascale Schnider (Switzerland) 2:15.64
23. Bridie O`Donnell (Australia) 2:16.73
24. Alexis Rhodes (Australia) 2:21.11
25. Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) 2:26.84
26. Edwige Pitel (France) 2:37.03
27. Grete Treier (Estonia) 2:40.05
28. Jarmila Machacova (Czech Republic) 2:46.30
29. An Van Rie (Belgium) 2:50.22
30. Marta Vilajosana Andreu (Spain) 2:52.06
31. Trine Schmidt (Denmark) 2:59.46
32. Iturriagaechevarria Mazaga (Spain) 3:04.02
33. Alexandra Burchenkova (Russian Federation) 3:15.01
34. Daiva Tuslaite (Lithuania) 3:20.07
35. Mayuko Hagiwara (Japan) 3:31.31
36. Anna Zugno (Italy) 3:41.23
37. Elena Berlato (Italy) 3:55.35
38. Bogumila Matusiak (Poland) 4:22.49
39. Olivia Dillon (Ireland) 4:25.06
40. Hanna Talkanitsa (Belarus) 5:09.88
41. Kathryn Bertine (Saint Kitts and Nevis) 5:20.61
42. Heather Wilson (Ireland) 5:22.56
43. Polona Batagelj (Slovenia) 8:37.31