Anna Henderson Wins European Time Trial Silver

Vegan cyclist Anna Henderson has won silver in the women's time trial at the European Road Championships in Drenthe in the Netherlands. The 24-year-old Briton finished 43.36 seconds behind Switzerland's Marlen Reusser, who took the European title for a third year running, BBC Sport reports.

Henderson was the 25th of 30 riders down the start ramp and went straight into the lead, which meant a nervous wait in the hot seat. Only Reusser, the last rider out, could beat her time. Austria's Christina Schweinberger took bronze, and Elinor Barker finished ninth.

It was a great opening day for Great Britain, with Josh Tarling winning the men's race and Zoe Backstedt taking under-23 gold. Henderson, who rides for Jumbo-Visma, had come fourth at the World Championships in Glasgow last month, and she was delighted to go one better than her target:

It was a really tough course. It was technically maybe not the hardest but physically and mentally it was hard. I was really happy with my ride. I wanted a top five finish today but to get a podium is really special.

Henderson once described herself as "one of the biggest meat eaters out there". Then she made the connection between meat and animals, and it changed everything. "I made that connection and then I couldn't eat meat anymore or any animal products," she told Rouleur magazine in 2021, as quoted by Yahoo Sport. Riders worry it will be hard, she said, but she has found the opposite: "I feel no difference, I feel better. I'm faster, I'm a bit leaner and I love it."

She would like to see more of the pro peloton give it a go. In a sport obsessed with power-to-weight, her results are a strong argument.

This is Henderson's second big time trial silver in two summers after she took silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Earlier this month plant-based Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam at 36, and in August Venus Williams beat a top-20 seed in Cincinnati at 43.

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