Defending champion from last year in Australia, Giorgia Bronzini of Italy is the 2011 Women’s World Road Race Champion after a bunch sprint decided the Women’s World Road Race Championship.
On an uphill finish that is proving to be very tough for the out and out sprinters, Bronzini muscled her way to the line half a length clear of Marianne Vos of Holland with Ina Teutenberg (Germany) a length away in third. Nicole Cooke, Olympic Champion, showed she is still a world force with fourth while Lizzie Armitstead was 7th.
The Race
Judging by the many comments on Twitter, the early stages of the race could hardly have been classed as a race with TT Champion Judith Ardnt seen regularly at the back of the peloton, freewheeling as the skirmishes at the front were not only infrequent but also short lived.
Tactics were the order of the day above brute force and at the head of the cruising peloton were GB’s Emma Pooley, Sharon Laws and Catherine Williamson who were flying the team’s colours during the first half.
Emma Pooley, along with the Russians, was certainly very prominent at the front, making a few moves to string the bunch out but with no-one willing to commit to the move with her, every time a move was made, it would come back together and the bunch would sit up again.
Sharon Laws and Emma Pooley in the thick of the action during the Women’s RR. (Picture Thomas van Bracht)
Even when a handy looking break got away with riders from many of the major cycling nations, the riders still did not commit to the move which was puzzling. The move of the race came when Clara Hughes of Canada counter attacked after a move by former World Champion Amber Neben failed to stick.
(Picture Thomas van Bracht)
Hughes, with half a dozen or so wins this year, half of them in time trials, put her head down and paced herself well. Back in the peloton, no organised chase was forthcoming and the lead of Hughes would yoyo as attacks from the peloton would come and go and her lead would go up and down and then back up.
Into the final laps and there was a rear wheel puncture for Catherine Williamson (nee Hare) but after a long fight in the convoy, she managed to regain the safety of the peloton which was by now at all out war headed by the Dutch who took over responsibility for the chase of Hughes.
Even with three Dutch riders chasing her, the lead of Hughes was still coming down slowly but as the sprint got ever closer, and more and more riders chanced their legs with an attack over the top of the Dutch chase, the speed of the peloton was getting faster and faster.
With so many riders in contention, there were the inevitable crashes but the favourites were now at the front and readying themselves for the sprint to the line which would require perfect timing.
The ever experienced Nicole Cooke got a perfect ride in the Dutch train but it was the kick of Bronzini that saw her sprint clear of the rest, challenged only by Vos and the two crossed the line with the Italian clinching the title by half a length.
For Cooke, it was another fourth but her record of finishes in the top five at this level shows her to be coming back to form at the right time as London 2012 approaches and Lizzie Armitstead also showed that her young legs are now able to compete at the very highest level. Next year’s Olympics promises to be a very exciting race indeed.
Speaking to BBC’s Jill Douglas after the race, Nicole Cooke said for sure, 4th is a frustrating place to finish. “We rode for Lizzie and there were the attacks with two and half laps to go and all the time over the top of the climb but I didn’t go with them as I thought, ‘we’re riding for a sprint, I’m going to save my energy as well so we can all help Lizzie”.
“The girls took Lizzie up to the front so she was pretty well looked after and I was able to get to the front by myself so I thought, I’m up here now, Lizzie will come up to me and she’ll call for the sprint.”
“I heard the crash and kept looking but couldn’t see Lizzie and coming round the last corner, I got myself into a good position on Vos’s wheel and I thought, we’re in the last kilometre now, I have this fantastic opportunity, I am going to go for it.”
“I think I had one of the best reference points for the finish to be honest (Vos’s wheel), and then Bronzini came past, Tuetenburg came past but not quite as fast and Vos got boxed in and was baulked, and I was baulked because I was on her wheel. We both lost speed and then both accelerated but it wasn’t enough for her and not enough for me to get a medal.”
“We’re a team that races to win, that’s a standard that we set, and that is what we want to do and all the girls rode exceptionally well and it’s a shame we don’t have a medal to reward that work because it was a fantastic race for the British team today”.
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Usage: Click a photo to display. Use the left & right cursor keys to move to previous or next image. Click an image to close. Photos Thomas van Bracht
Result
1. Giorgia Bronzini, Italy,
2. Marianne Vos, Netherlands,
3. Ina-Yoco Teutenberg, Germany
4. Nicole Cooke, Great Britain
5. Julia Martisova, Russia
6. Chloe Hosking, Australia
7. Lizzie Armitstead, Great Britain
8. Ludivine Henrion, Belgium
9. Rasa Leleivyte, Lithunia
10. Aude Biannic, France
47. Lucy Martin, Great Britain
65. Katie Colough, Great Britain
69. Emma Pooley, Great Britain
81. Sharon Laws, Great Britain
Full Result
1Â BRONZINI Giorgia ITA 3:21:28 +0
2Â VOS Marianne NED @ st
3Â TEUTENBERG Ina GER @ st
4Â COOKE Nicole GBR @ st
5Â MARTISOVA Julia RUS @ st
6Â HOSKING Chloe AUS @ st
7Â ARMITSTEAD Elizabeth GBR @ st
8Â HENRION Ludivine BEL @ st
9Â LELEIVYTE Rasa LTU @ st
10Â BIANNIC Aude FRA @ st
11Â BUBNENKOVA Svetlana RUS @ st
12Â NUMAINVILLE Joelle CAN @ st
13 NÖSTVOLD Lise NOR @ st
14Â JOHANSSON Emma SWE @ st
15Â VERBEKE Grace BEL @ st
16Â KOZONCHUK Oxana RUS @ st
17Â KIRCHMANN Leah CAN @ st
18Â CLIFF-RYAN Theresa USA @ st
19Â BRZEZNA Paulina POL @ st
20Â FAHLIN Emilia SWE @ st
21Â DE VOCHT Liesbet BEL @ st
22Â OLDS Shelley USA @ st
23Â MOOLMAN Ashleigh RSA @ st
24Â VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek NED @ st
25Â ITURRIAGAECHEVARRIA MAZAGA Eneritz ESP @ st
26Â KAPUSTA Sylwia POL @ st
27Â AMIALIUSIK Alena BLR @ st
28Â WHITELAW Vicki AUS @ st
29Â FERRIER-BRUNEAU Christel FRA @ st
30Â TREIER Grete EST @ st
31Â ZABELINSKAYA Olga RUS @ st
32Â VAN DE WINKEL Joanna RSA @ st
33Â WILLOCK Erinne CAN @ st
34Â TAYLOR Cherise RSA @ st
35Â SUNDSTEDT Pia FIN @ st
36Â SHAW Rhae-Christie CAN @ st
37Â DE VUYST Sofie BEL @ st
38Â BECKER Charlotte GER @ st
39Â BACCAILLE Monia ITA @ st
40Â D`ETTORRE Alessandra ITA @ st
41Â BATAGELJ Polona SLO @ st
42Â LAMBORELLE Nathalie LUX @ st
43Â VYSOTSKA Eivgenia UKR @ st
44Â LESUEUR Melodie FRA 3:21:36 +8
45Â POLSPOEL Maaike BEL @ st
46Â MUNOZ Paola CHI 3:21:39 +11
47Â MARTIN Lucy GBR @ st
48Â OLIVEIRA Flavia BRA @ st
49Â SOSENKO Aleksandra LTU @ st
50Â HAGIWARA Mayuko JPN @ st
51Â CHANPENG Nontasin THA @ st
52Â GILMORE Rochelle AUS @ st
53Â JASINSKA Malgorzta POL @ st
54Â HOHL Jennifer SUI @ st
55Â RAMSDEN Denise CAN @ st
56Â DÃœSTER Sarah GER @ st
57Â LONGO BORGHINI Elisa ITA 3:21:45 +17
58Â SOSNA Katarzyna LTU @ st
59Â ARNDT Judith GER @ st#60 113 CHACON GARCIA Lilibeth VEN @ st
61Â SCHWAGER Patricia SUI 3:21:49 +21
62Â RIABCHENKO Tetyana UKR @ st
63Â CANTELE Noemi ITA @ st
64Â WORRACK Trixi GER 3:21:55 +27
65Â COLCLOUGH Katie GBR 3:21:57 +29
66Â LETH Julie DEN 3:22:00 +32
67 LEAL BALDERAS Verónica MEX 3:22:07 +39
68Â GONZALEZ Angie Sabrina VEN 3:22:08 +40
69Â POOLEY Emma GBR @ st
70Â THOMASSON Martina SWE 3:22:09 +41
71Â AUBRY Emilie SUI @ st
72Â STEVENS Evelyn USA @ st
73Â NEBEN Amber USA @ st
74Â BRAS Martine NED @ st
75Â GARCIA Danielys VEN @ st
76Â SANCHIS CHAFER Anna ESP @ st
77Â CILVINAITE Inga LTU @ st
78Â SCHNIDER Pascale SUI @ st
79Â SCHAUSS Fabienne LUX @ st
80Â NOVAK Alenka SLO @ st
81Â LAWS Sharon GBR @ st
82Â HARE WILLIANSON Catherine GBR @ st
83Â RYAN Carla AUS @ st
84Â LINDBERG Marie SWE @ st
85 HÄUSLER Claudia GER @ st
86Â OLSSON Madeleine SWE @ s
87Â CORDON Audrey FRA @ st
88Â WHITTEN Tara CAN @ st
89Â GILLOW Shara AUS 3:22:15 +47
90Â MILLER Amanda USA @ st
91Â BRENNAUER Lisa GER @ st
92Â ANDRUK Alona UKR 3:22:17 +49
93Â MUSTONEN Sara SWE 3:22:18 +50
94Â KRASNIAK Julie FRA 3:22:25 +57
95Â GUNNEWIJK Loes NED 3:22:32 +1:04
96Â ANTOSHINA Tatiana RUS 3:22:36 +1:08
97Â SCANDOLARA Valentina ITA 3:22:39 +1:11
98Â BLAAK Chantal NED 3:22:45 +1:17
99Â WILD Kirsten NED @ st
100Â GROOT Robyn RSA 3:22:47 +1:19
101Â FARINA Robin USA @ st
102Â LOHSE RASMUSSEN Dorte DEN 3:22:52 +1:24
103Â HUGHES Clara CAN 3:23:06 +1:38
104Â JANELIUNAITE Edita LTU 3:23:33 +2:05
105Â DE SAINT Magdalena FRA @ st
106Â BURCHENKOVA Alexandra RUS 3:23:41 +2:13
107Â MOBERG Emilie NOR 3:23:44 +2:16
108Â GUDERZO Tatiana ITA 3:23:51 +2:23
109Â CECCHINI Elena ITA @ st
110Â SPRATT Amanda AUS 3:24:05 +2:37
111Â VILLUMSEN Linda Melanie NZL @ st
112Â LOPEZ MORALES Belen ESP @ st
113Â JUODVALKYTE Urte LTU 3:24:08 +2:40
114Â PINTARELLI Daniela AUT 3:24:59 +3:31
115Â MACLEAN Jessie AUS 3:25:51 +4:23
116Â ARYS Evelyn BEL @ st
117Â HAHN Jacqueline AUT @ st
118Â TJASA Rutar SLO 3:28:50 +7:22
119Â CHAPOOKHAM Monrudee THA 3:29:11 +7:43
120Â THORSEN Thea NOR 3:30:20 +8:52
