Zabriskie clocked a time of 57 minutes, 55.15 seconds over the 45-kilometer course as the fastest American finisher while teammate Jason McCartney (Coralville, Iowa/Discovery Channel) finished 20th in his first elite men’s world championship time trial. McCartney rode a 58:24.31 to finish 2:42.96 off the pace of Cancellara.

Laszlo Bodrogi (HUN) won the silver medal, 52.06 back, and Stef Clement (NED) took home the bronze, 57.71 seconds slower than Cancellara.

Zabriskie started quickly but consistently fell off the pace as the race progressed. He began by posting the third-fastest time split at the first checkpoint eight kilometers into the race. At the second time split 22 kilometers in, he had dropped to fifth. At the 31-kilometer mark, Zabriskie was running eighth before losing an additional five spots at the finish line.

McCartney, who ran as high as 15th at one point, notched a top-20 result amongst a solid field of 69 competitors despite having just completed the 23-day Vuelta a España, the season’s third Grand Tour.

In fact, of the riders in Thursday’s field who completed the Vuelta, only Clement was faster than McCartney.

“It was O.K., but I didn’t feel like I felt last week,” McCartney said in reference to his seventh-place finish in the stage-20 time trial of the Vuelta on Saturday. “Bodrogi and a lot of those guys dropped out early to rest (for the world championships). It’s a huge difference. That’s the difference between being fresh and a being a little stale. And it’s always tough when you take two or three days of rest and have a travel day. It’s always special to finish a Grand Tour, so that was important to me as well as winning a stage.”

Lingering rain showers throughout the morning and early afternoon affected much of the field and left the course wet and slippery for many of the top-seeded riders who started last. Like most competitors, McCartney was forced to adjust his efforts to the conditions over the two-lap race.

“It was a little wet the first time, and you didn’t know on the descents if it was wet or dry, so I took it a little cautious,” McCartney explained. “You never know, and if you go down, then it’s all over. I tried to come back a little stronger on the second lap, but it wasn’t enough.”

Both McCartney and Zabriskie will have another chance to contribute to Team USA’s success at the world championships as both riders are scheduled to start Sunday’s 267-kilometer road race along with George Hincapie (Greenville, S.C./Discovery Channel), John Devine (Dixon, Ill./Discovery Channel), Tyler Farrar (Wenatchee, Wash./Cofidis), Bobby Julich (Glenwood Springs, Colo./Team CSC) and Christian Vande Velde (Boulder, Colo./Team CSC).

The 2007 UCI Road World Championships will take a day off Friday before returning Saturday with the elite women’s and U23 men’s road race. Scheduled to start for the U.S. National Team in the women’s event are Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Team Lipton), Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./Flexpoint), Christine Thorburn (Sunnyvale, Calif./Webcor Builders), Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Webcor Builders), Katheryn Curi (Mountain View, Calif./Webcor Builders), Lauren Franges (Asheville, N.C./Team Lipton) and Tina Pic (Dahlonega, Ga./Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light). The five athletes representing the U.S. in the U23 road race will be Peter Stetina (Boulder, Colo./Slipstream-Chipotle), Craig Lewis (Spartanburg, S.C./Slipstream-Chipotle),Tejay Van Garderen (Fort Collins, Colo./VMG Racing), Max Jenkins (Berkeley, Calif./California Giant) and Tom Peterson (Boulder, Colo./Slipstream-Chipotle).

For a photo gallery of the world championships, visit www.usacycling.org/gallery.

A live broadcast of the 2007 UCI Road World Championships is also available at WCSN.com.

2007 UCI Road World Championships
Stuttgart, Germany
September 26-30, 2007

Elite Men’s Time Trial
1. Fabian Cancellara (SUI) 55:41.35
2. Laszlo Bodrogi (HUN) +52.06
3. Stef Clement (NED) +57.71
12. David Zabriskie (Salt Lake City, Utah) +2:13.80
20. Jason McCartney (Coralville, Iowa) +2:42.96

About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 60,000 members and 2,500 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men’s road). For more information, visit www.usacycling.org or contact USA Cycling Director of Communications, Andy Lee at 719-866-4867.