Norway’s Tobias Foss won a surprise gold in the time trial at the Road World Championships in Australia as Britain’s Ethan Hayter finished fourth.

Hayter had to swap bikes after a mechanical problem on his run, finishing nearly 36 seconds behind the winner and 30 seconds from the podium.

In the women’s race, the Netherlands’ Ellen van Dijk defended her title.

The 35-year-old finished ahead of Australia’s Grace Brown and European champion Marlen Reusser of Switzerland.

There was disappointment for Van Dijk’s compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten, as the Olympic champion could only manage seventh.

Van Dijk more than matched Brown’s brave attempt to seal a home victory to win by 12.73 seconds in 44:28.60.

“I never expected to win. I didn’t think it was a perfect course for me but I had a good mental and physical approach with my coach,” said Van Dijk.

“I just thought I would give it my all today. A podium spot would be nice, but if it’s not, it’s not, I still had a great year. I never thought I would win today.”

A twisting, technical course on the New South Wales coastline also upset the favourite in the men’s race with Italy’s Filippo Ganna, attempting to win a third successive title, only able to finish seventh.

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, who won the Vuelta a Espana last weekend, finished third, adding to silver and bronze from the 2019 and 2021 events.

Kung looked on course to deny Foss his victory as he led by 12 seconds through the final checkpoint, but he couldn’t match the Norwegian’s finish.

Foss pinched himself as he watched his rival come through the line, and said the result was far beyond his expectations.

“If I was top 10 today I would be really satisfied, so to wear that jersey will be really special,” he said. “I will try and honour it as much as I can.

“It really feels like I am in some kind of a dream. I got the signals that my legs were really good, but this is more than I can ever dream for.”