Mendriso, Switzerland (September 24, 2009) – Tom Zirbel (Boulder, Colo./Bissell) posted the fourth fastest time in the elite men’s time trial on day two of the 2009 UCI Road World Championships.

The silver medalist from last month’s USA Cycling Professional Time Trial Championships, Zirbel was in the second wave of riders to contest the 49.8-kilometers. On a course that caused riders’ times to be significantly spread out, his time of 1:00.41 kept him in the hot seat until the fifth and final wave went out. Also racing the clock for the U.S. Team was Tom Danielson (Durango, Colo./Garmin-Slipstream) who completed the course in an hour and three minutes to place 23rd.

Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland posted the winning time of 57:55.74 to grab the world title while Gustav Larsson (Sweden) rode to the silver and Tony Martin (Germany) posted the bronze medal time.

Zirbel’s fourth-place finish is another strong result for the American contingent that already collected a world title complements of Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Cervelo-Lifeforce) on Wednesday.

The 2009 UCI Road World Championships will continue with the elite women’s and U23 men’s road races on Saturday and the elite men’s contest on Sunday.