Amalie Dideriksen claims rainbow jersey in the women’s road race
Denmark’s Amalie Dideriksen outpowered all the favourites to capture the 2016 UCI World Championships Elite Women’s Road Race Gold in a fast and furious bunch sprint finale.
Dideriksen narrowly beat the Netherlands’ top contender, Kirsten Wild, by half a wheel’s breadth at the end of a drawn-out bunch sprint. Finland’s Lotta Lepisto claimed the bronze, with 2015 World Champion Elizabeth Deignan in fourth for Great Britain.
Twice a Junior Road Race World Champion, in 2013 and 2014, Dideriksen has now repeated her past successes in dramatic style at senior level after the 20-year-old forced her way onto Wild’s back wheel when the leading peloton roared into the finishing straight of the 134 kilometre race.
Then with one last driving acceleration, the former Danish national champion soared past Wild to claim her country’s first ever elite Women’s Road Race title.
“I dreamed of this. Winning here is a surprise for me too.” Dideriksen, 25th last year in her first Elite Womens’ Road Race in Richmond’s World Championships, said afterwards.
“But today I had such good teammates, who even brought me back after a crash and kept on bringing me bottles so I have to say a huge thanks to them.”
“I chose Wild’s wheel in the sprint. I hoped for a top 10 when I came here. I’m 20 years old and it was a goal for the future to win the Worlds. But I felt pretty great the entire race. I tried to stay calm and at the front of the peloton and not waste too much energy, and I’ve beat a top-class sprinter so I’m so happy.”
World Championships 2016 – women elite road race results:
| 1 | Amalie Dideriksen (Denmark) |
3:10:27 |
| 2 | Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) |
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| 3 | Lotta Lepistö (Finland) |
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| 4 | Elizabeth Deignan (Great Britain) |
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| 5 | Marta Bastianelli (Italy) |
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| 6 | Roxane Fournier (France) |
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| 7 | Chloe Hosking (Australia) |
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| 8 | Sheyla Gutierrez Ruiz (Spain) |
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| 9 | Joelle Numainville (Canada) |
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| 10 | Jolien D’hoore (Belgium) |
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