Ellen van Dijk defends time trial title at cycling worlds

WOLLONGONG, Australia (AP) — Ellen van Dijk defended her world title and claimed a third women’s time trial gold medal at the opening event of the world road cycling championships. Taking advantage of a technical course the Dutch athlete maintained a perfectly paced cadence to beat Australia’s Grace Brown by 12.79 seconds at the road cycling world championships. Swiss rival Marlen Reusser took bronze. Olympic time trial champion and two-time world champion Annemiek van Vleuten finished seventh, more than 90 seconds behind compatriot van Dijk.