Lucy Garner of Great Britain is Junior Women’s World Champion! With a perfectly timed sprint, Lucy Garner not only showed at 16 how fast she is on a bike but also how smart she is when faced with the biggest sprint of her life.
After having spent a few kilometres off the front solo chasing the two leaders from Germany and Italy in the closing stages of the race, Lucy melted back into the wheels and on the uphill finish, waited for her moment before unleashing a sprint we have seen many times this year on the road and track in Britain.
Lucy didn’t just win the sprint, she streeted her rivals who were left floundering in her wake as she attacked down the right from six or seven lengths back and one by one, sprinted past her rivals who had misjudged their effort before there was only clear air for Lucy to cut through before raising her arms in victory.
The look of disbelief then took over as Lucy suddenly realised she was World Champion!
It was all a far cry from the early stages of the crash when Lucy, complete with GB colours on her fingernails, was caught up in a crash. Lucy managed to get back into the race whilst the Aussie World TT Champion (Junior women) was carted off in an ambulance.
Despite lots of attacks, nothing was sticking until a Dutch rider got away and was joined by six chasers including Britain’s Silver medallist from the Time Trial, Elinor Barker. The group however was not committed and as they were caught, two more riders escaped, Mieke Kroger (Germany) & Rossella Ratto (Italy).
At one stage with a lead of 30 seconds plus, they looked likely to be the ones fighting out the victory for the race but first the Belgium team and then Denmark took up the chase. Lucy Garner however didn’t think it was going to be enough and attacked solo and started to chase down the leaders who were by now playing games.
Whilst Garner stayed away for a few kilometres before being caught by the fast moving peloton, the Italian Ratto started to sit on and the German was forced to do all the work. This played into the hands of the peloton who didn’t catch the leaders until the finish straight.
The sprint for the line then began but unlike Lucy who had made a note of how tough it was, the others ran out of legs just as Lucy launched her bid to be World Champion and no-one had an answer to her blistering sprint which took her well clear of her rivals.
The East Midlands young lady was World Road Race Champion and better still, a first year junior at that which means she will get to ride in the jersey next year in Junior races.
Afterwards Lucy told the TV “There were two riders up the road and I didn’t think we were going to catch them. Our team did so well early on attacking and making all the moves and get them back. I had ridden the course before so I knew where the finish was and a lot of the girls went quite early. I knew if I went early, I’d blow, so I paced myself and managed to get it! Once I get going, I put the head down and go straight for the finish line.”
“I didn’t expect this. The team really worked hard, went in early breaks while I just stayed sheltered. On the last lap, with the two riders (Ratto and Kröger) in front, I still tried to go with 5 km to go, but I did not manage to cross to them. I was quite surprised that we caught the two in front as the chase was not very organised, but as soon as we had them in sight ,I knew then that we would catch them which we did at the bottom of the finishing hill.”
“In the sprint a few riders went early but I just sat in because I knew that if I went early I would blow. I think that I timed it just right and went with 150 metres to go and then I just kept my head down all the way to the line. Even if you can see the finish from the bottom, it is still is a long finish and you have to be careful not to go too early. There are quite a few uphill finishes in UK races, so I am quite used to this. I have also been training for this, as I had heard that it was an uphill finish.”
Jessy Druyts (BEL) Silver medallist – “It was a race with a lot of attacks but no one really getting away. When Ratto went, I thought that the race was over, but then with less than one kilometre to go I realised that it was going to be a sprint so I just tried to be in front.”
Christina Sigaard (DEN): “It was a typical Junior womens race, sometimes very fast, other times very slow. We had Sofie Valin to do the hard work, and Fie to protect me in the sprint. I thought it would be a shorter sprint, but it was already going into the corner before the hill! It is an unbelievable course, great fans, I could not even feel my legs on the hill with all the people there!”
Result
1. Lucy Garner, Great Britain
2. Jessy Druyts, Belgium
3. Christina Siggaard, Denmark
4. Manon Soutris, France
5. Christina Perchtold, Austria
6. Sheyla Ruiz, Spain
7. Lisa Kullmer, Germany
8. Beatrice Bartelloni, Italy
9. Markus Kelly, Holland
10. Silvija Latozaite, Lithuania
31. Amy Roberts, Great Britain
51. Hannah Barnes, Great Britain
52. Elinor Barker, Great Britain
FULL RESULT
1Â GARNER Lucy GBR 1:46:17 +0
2Â DRUYTS Jessy BEL ” ”
3Â SIGGAARD Christina DEN ” ”
4Â SOUYRIS Manon FRA ” ”
5Â PERCHTOLD Christina AUT ” ”
6Â GUTIERREZ RUIZ Sheyla ESP ” ”
7Â KÃœLLMER Lisa GER ” ”
8Â BARTELLONI Beatrice ITA ” ”
9Â MARKUS Kelly NED ” ”
10Â LATOZAITE Silvija LTU ” ”
11Â RATTO Rossella ITA ” ”
12Â KASHIRINA Svetlana RUS ” ”
13Â USABIAGA BALERDI Irene ESP ” ”
14Â KIRSCHENSTEIN Katarzyna POL ” ”
15 VAN SEVEREN Céline BEL ” ”
16Â DREXEL Ingrid MEX ” ”
17Â BRÃœHWILER Larissa SUI ” ”
18Â WILLIAMSON Sophie NZL ” ”
19Â PILOTE-FORTIN Gabrielle CAN ” ”
20Â VANNUCCI Chiara ITA ” ”
21Â MUNDY Jessica AUS ” ”
22Â ZEMAITYTE Ruta LTU ” ”
23Â KOSTER Anouska NED ” ”
24Â SKJOLDEN Marthe Emilie NOR ” ”
25Â NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna POL ” ”
26Â FISCHER Lisa GER ” ”
27Â BONDARENKO Alina RUS ” ”
28Â TALEN Rebecca NED ” ”
29Â CHAUMET Oriane FRA ” ”
30Â ORTMÃœLLER Madeleine GER ” ”
31Â ROBERTS Amy GBR ” ”
32Â KYVA Anna UKR ” ”
33Â WILKOS Katarzyna POL ” ”
34Â CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia ITA ” ”
35Â RICE Allison AUS ” ”
36Â OYARBIDE JIMENEZ Lourdes ESP ” ”
37Â NESSMAR Alexandra SWE ” ”
38Â LLORET LLINARES Elena ESP ” ”
39Â DE JONG Thalita NED 1:46:26 +9
40Â LARSEN Fie Degn DEN 1:46:27 +10
41Â ALBERSHARDT Addyson USA ” ”
42Â DOBRYNINA Kseniya RUS ” ”
43Â RYAN Alexis USA ” ”
44Â WINTGENS Marlene BEL 1:46:30 +13
45Â IMSTEPF Rita SUI ” ”
46Â LODEWIJKS Steffi BEL ” ”
47Â CHEKINA Alexandra RUS ” ”
48 KRÖGER Mieke GER ” ”
49Â VALIN Kamilla Sofie DEN 1:46:36 +19
50Â EWART Annie CAN ” ”
51Â BARNES Hannah GBR 1:46:48 +31
52Â BARKER Elinor GBR ” ”
53 MUCCIOLI Dalia ITA 1:46:52 +35
54Â ERIKA Varela MEX 1:47:35 +1:18
55 MORIN Valentine FRA 1:47:37 +1:20
56Â NGUYEN Thi That VIE 1:54:11 +7:54
57 POSKAITE Egle LTU ” ”
58Â LAIZANE Lija LAT 1:54:19 +8:02
59Â FERNER Felicia SWE 1:54:21 +8:04
60Â RODRIGUEZ GUTIERREZ Carolina MEX 1:54:28 +8:11
61Â BRIEN Alizee CAN 1:54:37 +8:20
62Â AHLSTRAND Emma SWE 1:57:58 +11:41
63Â FERENCIC Antonela CRO 2:00:25 +14:08
64Â TIGANOVA Iana UKR ” ”
65Â SHMAYANKOVA Marina BLR 2:01:37 +15:20
66Â KOMOS Alicja POL ” ”
67Â MATTER Pia Charlotte NOR 2:01:40 +15:23
