- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The destination of the rainbow jersey for women’s world road race champion was decided today, under low Autumn sun in Florence, Italy. It was another successful day at the championships, and another hotly contested affair.
Roar Expert Tiffany Cromwell was representing a strong Australian team, which also boasted Carlee Taylor and Shara Gillow, among others.
Their dream of a rainbow jersey was by no means a longshot, but stood in their way were the likes of Marianne Vos and Emma Johansson.
The race lacked pace as they headed to the finishing circuit, with most riders opting to save their legs for the tough climbs.
Once the five laps commenced, the American and Italian teams both set a demanding pace, consistently dropping the weaker members of the peloton.
Cromwell put in an impressive attack on the third lap, chasing after Lucinda Brand of the Netherlands.
Although she was reeled in by the group, Cromwell remained aggressive throughout the remainder of the race, particularly when the road tilted downhill.
The penultimate lap saw Evelyn Stevens (USA) pressing on the front, and she dropped star names such as Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain) and Giorgia Bronzini (Italy); going into the last lap, there were eleven women remaining.
There were three Italians left in the group, and looked to be deliberating tactics.
As they hit the climbs, Guderzo and Longo Borghini put in digs, but nearer the summit of the penultimate climb, Evelyn Stevens and Cromwell both put in fierce attacks.
However, the group remained together going on to the final climb, and this is when the Swede Johansson chose to put in her attack.
This seemed to stir Vos, who immediately moved up to her shoulder, before putting in a dig, and immediately created a gap.
Johansson broke away from the group, along with the Italian Rossella Ratto.
Johansson looked strong, but could not catch Vos, as Ratto was unwilling to chase. Vos had a five second gap when she crested the final climb, but that was enough, and it was Vos who raised her arms in victory for the second year running.
“Of course it’s great to defend the title. They say always it’s hard to win one, but to do it two in a row it’s even more difficult,” Vos said.
“It was especially with such strong competition, the Italians were very strong today, they made it a tough race.”
Australia’s highest finisher was Tiffany Cromwell who finished ninth after an impressive showing throughout the day.
Emma Johansson managed to deservedly outsprint Rossella Ratto for the silver medal.
Forty six women finished the race, with a staggering ninety five women unable to finish, proving the difficulty of the course.
A truly exciting race today, which, if nothing else, surely proves the case for more coverage for women’s cycling.
Make sure you keep it The Roar for the rest of the world championships.
Fancy a wager on your favourite sport? Head on over to PlayUp for great odds and friendly customer service and pick a winner. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.