Patrick Bevin has recorded the best ever finish by a New Zealand male in the time trial at the world road cycling championships in Austria this morning.
Bevin put in a stellar effort on the gruelling 52.1 kilometre course, finishing in eighth to become the first New Zealand male to earn a top 10 in the format.
The 27-year-old has improved his already impressive time trialling skills significantly since he moved to his BMC Racing team, and his all-around abilities shone through to usurp Jesse Sergent's 12th place from 2014 as New Zealand's best in the men's format.
Bevin sat in 14th through the first checkpoint at 16.6 kilometres, but paced himself superbly on the testing and decisive five kilometre climb, which came after 30 kilometres and averaged a seven per cent gradient.
There, Bevin managed his effort to jump up to the seventh best time, and held steady in the fast-paced final 17 kilometres to cross the line in an impressive eighth overall. Bevin finished two minutes and 34 seconds behind dominant victor Rohan Dennis, who crushed the field to claim his first world title, finishing 81 seconds ahead of defending champion Tom Dumoulin, who in turn held off Victor Campenaerts by .53 of a second for silver.
