It was a bittersweet moment for Shanks, knowing she is in the form of her life in a discipline that no longer offers the chance of Olympic glory in London later this year as the event has been dropped from the cycling programme.
"It cuts deeper that it's Olympic year," Shanks said. "It hurts a bit but this is the best consolation prize I could ask for."
Still, she now has a second coveted world champion's rainbow jersey that she can have framed on the wall.
Shanks took control of the final against Great Britain's Wendy Houvenaghel from the start, establishing a lead of more than half a second at the first of three kilometres. She extended that lead to 1.390s at the 2000m and there was no coming back for the Brit.
"It's a great feeling," Shanks said. "I've been world champion once before and it's so hard to get. Once you have that feeling, it makes you want it even more.
"My form in the team pursuit has been good. My data has shown that. My legs felt great today," she said.
Shanks' parents, Kay and Roy, a sister, Maxine, and brother Derek were in Melbourne to watch her compete.
Her grandparents, Madelene and Watson Barkman, watched her winning ride on television in Dunedin and described it as a very good race against a competitor she had been "neck-and-neck with" several times.
"We're absolutely thrilled. She works so hard," Mrs Barkman said.
It was sad the race was no longer in the Olympics, she said.
Shanks admitted the individual pursuit had become a secondary focus after being discontinued as an Olympic discipline. Instead, she has focused on honing her combination with Lauren Ellis and Jaime Nielsen in the team pursuit.
But last night was all about her. She scorched into the gold-medal slot with a 3km ride of 3m 27.268s, taking 1.207s off her previous personal best.
"I had to make a PB just to make the final," she said.
