Sydney, Sep 24 (IANS): Australian cyclist Damien Howson has won the world under-23 time-trial title at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Italy.

Howson blitzed the 43km course in 49 minutes 97 seconds, 57 seconds faster than Frenchman Yoann Paillot and won the gold medal in Florence Monday, while Danish top seed Lasse Norman Hansen finished third, reports Xinhua.

"I'm obviously really happy to take away the win," Howson said.

"I'm sure after dinner when things settle down it will hit me that I've finally become a world champion."

The 21-year-old South Australian rising star becomes the third Australian to win the under-23 time-trial world title following Jack Boridge in 2009 and Luke Durbridge in 2011.

Howson, who has signed with Australian professional team GreenEDGE for 2014, is looking forward to his professional career.

"I'm looking forward to the next step of my career in the professional ranks," he said.