Marlen Reusser defended her elite womens time-trial title with a measured effort over the 39.2km course in Montral, overcoming a spirited Zoe Bckstedt, who finished an impressive second place on her senior Worlds debut. Briton Bckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) led through the first two intermediate checks before the experienced Swiss rider turned the tide on the young pretender, winning in a time of 50:24, 40 seconds ahead.Germanys Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ) finished in third place ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team l'Imad) and Cdrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly). Reusser paced her time-trial to perfection, defending the title she won last year in Kigali, Rwanda, with an average speed just shy of 47km/h.On a flat course, Reusser powered over the long, straight sections, but held something back for a tricky last kilometre which featured a tough drag to the line. The Swiss put almost 30 seconds into Bckstedt at the very end. Reusser was delighted to take the win, especially as the race took place on her 35th birthday. "It's a good present. I also thought, if I win or not, anyway I have something to celebrate," the Movistar rider said afterwards. She commented on the length of the course, which was around double the distance of any other time-trial in the WorldTour this season. Despite her experience, Reusser was unclear on how to pace her effort. "It made me really nervous.On one hand I really was looking forward to it because it has so many challenges, technical aspects,which makes it much more interesting to ride,"she said."But from the side of pacing and understanding how fast you should goand how you should also cope with these challenges on the way,I was really nervous and I wasn't really sure because we don't have time trials like this often.""Until an hour ago I was not 100% sure and also on the course I was not 100% sure," Reusser added.Last off the start-ramp, Reusser came into the race as the favourite to retain her title. However, she said that she didn't feel pressure."I always tell myself there is no pressure.[Winning] should be something that is so difficult each time,no matter if you won before or not. It's a challenge each time again."It's always the same pressure because I think many of us are here to win and we do a lotand especially many people around us do a lot...We shouldn't have the pressure because it's sport. It's about trying to win and fighting."More to come...