Australian outsider tops the standings after scintillating ride
  

  By Worlds Correspondent
Malte Ågård
  
  Stockholm - Byron Wallis scorched an elite Men's time trial field at the World Championships Individual Time Trial, powering his way to his first ever world title.
  
  The Team Dodge rider became only the second ever Australian to put on the Rainbow Jersey as Time Trial champion after Nicholas Hayden managed it on home soil five seasons ago.
  
  The 29-year-old Wallis set the fastest time at each split, making the most of a brief dry interlude to smash the course record and come in six seconds faster than his nearest challenger, Japanese rider Takaki Takeshi (CCFC). Domingo Astarloza was third for Bywater CT.
  
  The world championship win capped off a disappointing season for Wallis as he admitted nothing had gone right with him up till that point.
  
  Mobbed by team mates at the race's conclusion, the new time trial champion emerged to a horde of journalists from all over the world, asking questions ranging from the repetitive to the downright bizarre.
  
  "Lucky? I honestly doubt it," he responded to persistent queries as to whether he had cashed in on his rivals's difficulties in the bad weather. "I've been training all season for this so it's a bit of an insult to imply that.
  
  "After all, I did finish fifth last season, so you could hardly say I was an unknown."
  
  The Melbourne based time trial specialist appeared miffed that he had to repeatedly correct journalists calling him 'Brian', and also seemed to object at a line of questioning where someone put forward the theory that he had taken unnecessary risks to clinch the championship.
  
  "You're saying I adopted too risky a race strategy? I can categorically deny that.
  
  "It's not like I was not wearing underpants.

In fact, I have on my lucky red pair today."
  
  Weather Wreaks Havoc
  While Wallis enjoyed some good fortune as the sun peeked out of the clouds for a brief moment, the day's racing was made difficult by frequent bursts of rain.
  
  German rider Burkhard Wurst (Equipo Easy On) was the early leader as the fourth racer to start and held on to first position for most of the day before the elite time trialers started to get on the course and seriously challenge his time.
  
  Cris Bolano of Team Whalers looked to have comfortably beaten his time as he drew close to the finish line, but misjudged the final corner and wasted precious time in skidding to a complete stop.
  
  Racing was made all the more harder as strong winds started blowing from the east, making navigating the course all the more tricky.
  
  Bolano's team mate Corwin Wyeth finally managed to beat Wurst's early time, only to see Canarian rider Domingo Astarloza pip him by mere seconds as the very next rider to cross the line.
  
  Defending champion Peter Gorlovich of Team Whalers started out strong, but faded as he progressed through the 61km course, with the inclement weather and strong winds taking its toll. He eventually finished way down the pecking order, managing only 28th place.
  
  There was still time for more drama though, as Takaki Takeshi came away with an unlikely silver medal. The enthusiastic Japanese youngster looked to have blown his chances by going too hard at the start, but somehow managed to pick up the pace again towards the end to separate Wallis and Astarloza.
  
  Appearing at the post race press conference, he happily admitted that he had changed his name so that his initials would match his pet event.
  
  "I mean, who want to interview Takaki Fukumame?" he chortled, "Call me T.T. Next year, number one!"
  
  The World Championships resume tomorrow, with the Elite Men's Road Race starting at 15:40 GMT.