On a wet Saturday chockablock with attacks, Lotte Kopecky defended her world title in Zürich, Switzerland, winning a six-up sprint. Busy all day, the Dutch were shut out of the elite medals but won the U23 championship through Puck Pieterse. Magdeleine Vallieres was top Canadian at 14th, while Ava Holmgren’s 22nd was fourth in the U23 category.
Ava Holmgren just missed out on the U23 medals.
The Course
Each road race route of the 2024 Worlds included some combination of the circuit around Lake Greifen and the 26.8-km circuit that took in the east side of Lake Zurichsee and contained the 1.4-km, 7.2-percent Wilikon climb, with a connector between them. The elite and U23 women’s race consisted of one Lake Greifen loop and four Lake Zurich loops for a total of 154.1 km. Surprise! It was another wet road race.
#zurich2024 WE
Uster
Zürich
154 Km
Weather: 10°C, moderate rain
Route: https://t.co/SJB2OdCjli pic.twitter.com/WGuwAxdK5n
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) September 28, 2024
The Canadian contingent consisted of elite riders Alison Jackson, Olivia Baril, Clara Emond and Vallieres and U23’s Holmgren and Mara Roldan.
There was a minute’s silence at the start line for Muriel Furrer, who died from injuries suffered in the Junior women’s race on Thursday.
It wasn’t easy for a breakaway to hold fast, and the Lake Greifen circuit produced no escape with stamina, although there were plenty of attempts. But on the first climb of Wilikon, a strong group containing two Aussies distinguished itself, grew and crossed the line with a slight lead. Eighty-one kilometers remained. This move couldn’t survive the next trip up Wilikon. Surprisingly, Elisa Balsamo was dropped.
As the Dutch continued to power the peloton, 40 riders were left heading into the final two laps. Holmgren, Baril and Vallieres were still there.
On the penultimate climb of Wilikon, the Dutch shattered the group. Kristen Faulkner, Holmgren and Tour de France winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma were among those popped.
Vos puts in a hard turn before Vollering takes over.
This decanting created a tough dozen. Marianne Vos, Demi Vollering, Kopecky and Elisa Longo Borghini were all accounted for. After Belgian Justine Ghekiere and Dutchie Riejanne Markus bolted, the Vollering group grew again, Niewiadoma, Vallieres and Holmgren latching back on. Vos and Aussie Ruby Roseman-Gannon bridged over to the leaders. When it heard the bell the quartet was a minute clear.
Ava Holmgren hangs tough to compete for the U23 medals.
The final trip up Wilikon fragmented the chase, and Holmgren fell back. Longo Borghini and Vollering bridged over to the Vos group. The new additions and their injection of pace made it difficult for Vos to hang on. Longo Borghini kept pushing the pace, but she couldn’t prevent Chloe Dygert, Liane Lippert and Kopecky from joining in. This was it: somewhere in the nontet was the champion, the silver and the bronze.
After the descent from the heights, there was one more lump before the road flattened. The Italian forced open a gap on this rise, but Vollering brought Kopecky and Lippert back to her. With 3.5 km to go it looked like it was the Netherlands vs Italy vs Belgium vs Germany, but cat and mouse games put Dygert and Roseman-Gannon back in the picture.
Longo-Borghini went first, Kopecky stayed right in the middle of the group, and Dygert flashed in on the Belgian’s left to grab silver. The Italian rounded out the podium.
Sunday is the conclusion of Zürich 2024, the 273.9-km elite men’s road race featuring Michael Woods, Derek Gee, Guillaume Boivin and Pier-André Côté.
2024 UCI Road World Championships, Elite Women
Gold) Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) 4:05:26
Silver) Chloe Dygert (USA) s.t.
Bronze) Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy) s.t.
14) Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) +3:00
41) Olivia Baril (Canada) +10:10
51) Clara Emond (Canada) +11:01
64) Alison Jackson (Canada) +18:31
2024 UCI Road World Championships, U23 Women
Gold) Puck Pieterse (The Netherlands)
Silver) Neve Bradbury (Australia)
Bronze) Antonia Niedermaier (Germany)
4) Ava Holmgren (Canada)
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