Oh how it hurt, eight laps with two climbs, sixteen climbs in total and it went around and around and around, and as they climbed, the women got dropped one after the other.
The 123 strong peloton afforded itself only 76 finishes, Belen Lopez Morales (ESP) managed to scrape in with a time of +19:35 behind the winner Italian Giorgia Bronzini, Bronzini was riding with her heart and she said at the press conference after the race, “first I race with my heart and secondly for Ballerini.”
Bronzini continued to say that she “waited and thought about the finish….was hard to finish in the small group….”
Marianne Vos of the Netherlands was a clear favourite to win today’s race, she has now placed second four times and it made sense to see her up there on the podium again, although there is no doubt that she would have preferred gold. She said that she thought the race would be harder, “the climb is hard? but after the descent, there’s a long way to go for the final.”
Sweden’s Emma Johansson was knocked slightly by Vos coming in for the final sprint as they crossed the finish line, but the UCI officials have looked at the footage and the medals will stay the same, Johansson said the following on her bronze medal “it was very frustrating… I’m happy to have my first World Championship medal, but you always want more.”
45 of the 123 women who started did not finish the race, they worked hard for their teams, being offered up as a sacrifice to try and keep the strongest rider at the front and out of harm’s way.
Results of the 2010 UCI World Championships Elite Women’s Road Race
1 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)
2 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
3 Emma Johansson (Sweden)
4 Nicole Cooke (Great Britain)
5 Judith Arndt (Germany)
6 Grace Verbeke (Belgium)
7 Trixi Worrack (Germany)
8 Rasa Leleivyte (Lithuania)
9 Elizabeth Armitstead (Great Britain)
10 Carla Swart (South Africa)
Photos ? Sirotti
