Hayley Simmonds responds to disappointing World Championships with second place at Chrono des Nations

Hayley Simmonds rode to a podium finish at the prestigious French time trial Chrono des Nations

Hayley Simmonds in the elite women's TT at the 2016 World Road Championships

(Image credit: Watson)

Hayley Simmonds bounced back from her disappointing ride at the Time Trial World Championships by taking second place at Chrono des Nations on Sunday.

The British time trialling supremo could only ride to 25th at the Worlds in Doha a little under a fortnight ago, citing changes to her bike that affected her aerodynamics and actually made her bike fall foul of UCI regulations.

Her ride in Qatar was some way short of her expectations and her ability, but she replicated her domestic form in France when she was just 37 seconds shy of winning one of the iconic time trials.

Belgium's Ann-Sophie Duyck rode the 20.9km course in the fastest time of 28:55, with Finland's Lotta Lepistö beaten to second place by Simmonds.

>>> Hayley Simmonds: How losing 45kg helped her realise her time trial potential

A measure of Simmonds's performance was that Duyck came eighth in the Worlds TT, and Lepistö 11th, just days before she claimed bronze in the road race. Amber Neben, this year's time trial world champion, won the Chrono des Nations in 2011.

In the men's race, second and third in this year's time trial Worlds took the top two spots. Team Sky's Vasil Kiryienka won for the second successive year, with Movistar's Jonathan Castroviejo five seconds adrift.

How to pace a time trial

Ireland's Ryan Mullen, who spent more than an hour in the lead of the World Championships TT before finishing fifth, was 30 seconds off a podium, with Denmark's Martin Toft Madsen riding to third ahead of the Cannondale-Drapac rider.

Mullen has previously won the U23 event twice, a title that Alex Dowsett has also won. David Millar won the men's race in 2010.

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Chris Marshall-Bell

A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and feature writing across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013.


Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in a number of places, but mostly in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.


He lives in Valencia, Spain.