Emma Pooley has become the first British woman to win the Road World Championships time trial with a dominant victory in Australia.
The 27-year-old clocked a time of 32 minutes, 48.44 seconds to beat Judith Arndt of Germany by 15.17 seconds.
New Zealand's Linda Melanie Villumsen finished third.
Pooley, who won the time trial silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, had to change her bike at the last minute when officials found a discrepancy with it.
The incident happened just before the start line but Pooley was able to put it behind her and was quickest at every checkpoint on the 22.9km (14.22 mile) course in Geelong.
The Cervelo TestTeam rider was marginally in front at the first checkpoint but gradually extended her lead over the length of the course, posting a time that was 43.94 seconds clear of the field.
She then faced an anxious wait for the other riders but no-one could overhaul her time.
Reflecting on her achievement afterwards, she told BBC Sport: "I slept really well. I wasn't stressed, ate the right things and listened to some Radio 4 comedy to kind of relax.
"If you spend a whole day getting worked up you're just a shivering wreck. You have to banish the doubts and just think 'I've done the best I can and can't do much more.'
"I came over to look at the course in February and was quite taken by it because it was bumpy enough and I felt it would make the rolling time-triallists suffer a bit. It worked out alright!"
The Swiss-based Londoner went on: "The Olympic Games is pretty special, but in a way that was easier for me because I had no expectations and no pressure.
"This time it was different. I trained specifically for this, doing a lot of hill training and intervals on my time trial bike.
"Now I get to wear the world champion's jersey with the stripes for a whole year."
Pooley has the chance to claim a second gold medal in the women's road race on Saturday, but even if she does not win herself she has confidence in her team-mates.
"The good thing about our team is we have lots of people that are strong, and I think we have a really good chance - not necessarily me, I think Lizzie [Armitstead], Sharon [Laws], and Nicole [Cooke] are going really well at the moment."
It caps a fine year for Pooley, who won the Fleche Wallonne in April, the British Road Race Championships title in June as well as the Grand Prix de Plouay in September.
Pooley is also likely to compete in the Commonwealth Games road race on 10 October and time trial on 13 October.
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