Sawt Falasteen - Australia's Brown defies the rain to win Olympic time-trial gold

The 32-year-old finished 1min 31sec ahead of Britain's Anna Henderson with world champion Chloe Dygert snatching third after a nasty fall, less than a second off silver.

US rider Dygert is also racing the road race and track events and took her final corners with particular care, rather than racing out of them.

Competing in her final season, Brown came fourth in the same event at the Tokyo Games.

A day after a prolonged downpour drenched the opening ceremony, lighter rain persisted, adding an edge of danger to the race through the streets of the French capital.

Czech rider Julia Kopecky finished down the rankings and admitted the course was frightening.

"I fell and it hurt I can tell you," the 19-year-old told AFP at the finish line.

"The crowd motivated me to finish fast," she said, adding the road race next Saturday was her target.

Ellen van Dyke of the Netherlands was expected to medal but came 11th, having broken an ankle in the Vuelta and returning to competition after having a baby last October.

L.AbuTayeh--SF-PST