Roglič lagged behind Dumoulin by 57.79 seconds, while Froome was 1:21.25 slower than the winner of the 31 km race that ended in a steep climb.

"I decided to focus on time trial at the World Championships at the beginning of the season, when I saw that the track here suited me. It was a good goal," Roglič said after the race.

Commenting on his company on the podium, the Slovenian added that it "is very nice to end up in the company of these exceptional cyclists...I'm trying to become a cyclist for the greatest races," he noted.

This was the first individual time trial at a World Championships to end in a climb and the cyclists were allowed to switch bikes during the trial for the first time ever. The conditions were tough, with competitors climbing hairpin bends in rain.

Roglič switched his bike before starting the climb with an average incline of 9.1% in place nine. The winner of this year's Tour de France most demanding hill stage proved what he is made of, gaining advantage over most of the competitors during the climb.

Slovenian Jan Tratnik, who was in the lead for a significant portion of the race, ended the trial in tenth place, 1:43.45 behind Dumoulin.

"I'm not quite aware yet that I'm the tenth best time trialist in the world. I counted on being somewhere between 20th and 30th place," Tratnik said. "I really spent a long time in the saddle, I had a bit of a sore behind. But it was worth it," he added.

Roglič is the first Slovenian to win a medal in a World Championship time trial and the second to win a medal at World Championships, as Andrej Hauptman bagged bronze at the worlds road race in Lisbon in 2001.