MENDRISIO, SWITZERLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Tom Zirbel of the USA en route to finishing 4th during the Elite Men's Time Trial at the 2009 UCI Road World Championships on September 24, 2009 in Mendrisio, Switzerland. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Fabian Cancellara — aka Spartacus, aka the Swiss Time Machine — crushed the field on his home turf, winning the world time trial championship in Mendrisio, Switzerland, on Thursday. Cancellara finished the 49.8-kilometer course in 57 minutes, 54 seconds, 1:27 ahead of Gustav Larsson of Sweden and Team Saxo Bank. Larsson finished second to Dave Zabriskie in the Tour of Missouri time trial, and sang the praises of the local course as excellent training for the worlds. Nice to see it panned out that way.

Wonder if Zabriskie has any regrets.

Larsson’s claim is backed up by the finishes of Tom Zirbel of the USA and Bissell, and Italy’s Marco Pinotti. Zirbel and Pinotti finished third and fourth, respectively, in Missouri, and fourth and fifth, respectively, at Worlds.

Here’s the Top Ten:

• 1. Fabian Cancellara, Switzerland, 49.8km in 57:55.74 (51.58kph)
• 2. Gustav Larsson, Sweden, at 1:27.13
• 3. Tony Martin, Germany, at 2:30.18
• 4. Tom Zirbel, United States, at 2:47.12
• 5. Marco Pinotti, Italy, at 3:02.88
• 6. Janez Brajkovic, Slovenia, at 3:08.49
• 7. Koos Moerenhout, Netherlands, at 3:11.59
• 8. Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan, at 3:20.95
• 9. Ignatas Konovalovas, Lithuania, at 3:33.88
• 10. Bert Grabsch, Germany, at 3:37.39