Ordinary sunglasses, Worlds debut at 51 and a borrowed 2015 TT bike: 3 stories you may have missed in Montréal

The World Championships remain one of the few occasions in professional cycling where the sport's biggest stars share a start list with riders from countries rarely seen at the highest level. On Sunday, that produced a 51-year-old first time Worlds rider, a Zimbabwean forced onto a bike belonging to her team manager and an unforgettable appearance from Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau provided the more unusual sight of the men's time trial.

Gil Gomes and Apolinário Cá lined up on regular road bikes, in stark contrast to the highly optimised time trial machines used by Remco Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna and the other specialists. Gomes completed the look with conventional sunglasses and a vented road helmet, while much of the field opted for integrated visors and aerodynamic time trial helmets.

The pair also finished at the bottom of the standings. Cá placed 59th, 23 minutes and 14 seconds behind Evenepoel, while Gomes was the final classified rider at 24 minutes and 34 seconds. The Belgian averaged more than 52 kilometres per hour on his way to the title. Gomes averaged 33.8.

Cá had arrived in Montréal as Guinea-Bissau's national time trial champion, with Gomes having finished third in the same championship earlier this year. Their appearance offered a rare glimpse of just how wide the range can be at a World Championship, from riders competing almost entirely outside professional cycling to the best time trial specialists in the sport.

Alyssa Burgess was one of the most unusual names on the start list in Montréal.

Born in 1975, the Cayman Islands rider lined up for her first Road World Championships at the age of 51.

Burgess covered the 39.2 kilometre course in 1:09:00, averaging just over 34 kilometres per hour. She finished 45th among the 47 women to record a time, 18 minutes and 36 seconds behind winner Marlen Reusser.

Two riders finished behind her. Zimbabwe's Rongina Ngandu was 4 minutes and 2 seconds slower, while Iran's Sajadeh Siyahian crossed the line 10 minutes and 15 seconds after Burgess.

There was another notable comparison. Burgess was 27 seconds faster than the previously mentioned Gil Gomes, who completed the same course in 1:09:27 in the men's time trial later that day.

Skye Davidson had to improvise before she had even started her World Championships.

The Zimbabwean suffered a mechanical problem with her own time trial bike during Saturday's course reconnaissance, leaving her without the bike she had planned to use for Sunday's 39.2 kilometre test.

Her team manager Nathan van Vuuren stepped in with his own Cervélo P3. According to Cycling Weekly, Davidson had never ridden the bike before the race. Her usual bike is a size 54, while the borrowed P3 was a 56.

The bike was also considerably older than much of the equipment around her in Montréal. The P3 dates from around 2015 and was fitted with rim brakes, mechanical Shimano Dura Ace and clip on aero bars.

Despite the late change, Davidson made it to the start and finished 40th, 11 minutes and 38 seconds behind Marlen Reusser.

The time trial will not be her only appearance in Montréal. Davidson is also due to compete in the elite women's road race later in the week.