Junior Men's and Elite Women's World Championships Road Race
9/24/11 - Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Cedar Springs, MI/Colavita-Baci p/b Cooking Light) gave the U.S. its best finish of the day at the UCI Road World Championships with an 18th place result in the elite women’s road race on Saturday. The junior men also contested their world championship road race on the penultimate day of competition in Copenhagen. The elite men’s road race will mark the final race of the week-long event on Sunday.
Elite Women’s Road Race
A hefty pace in the elite women’s road race helped a number of attacks get quickly covered over the 140-kilometer event; including a late-race attempt by former time trial world champion Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./HTC-Highroad). It was however Clara Hughes (CAN) who got away on the seventh of 10 laps around the 14-kilometer circuit in Rudersdal.
It came down to the final kilometers before the powerful peloton was able to reel in the time trial continental champion, Hughes, and set up the sprinters for the uphill finish.
“We kept getting up and then jostled out of position, then with 700 meters to go we got jostled back again,” stated Cliff-Ryan. “The other Americans got caught behind the crash so it was just Shelley and I to fend.”
Cliff-Ryan went on to sprint for 18th place and Olds 22nd. A late-race crash did take down a number of riders and slow several more leaving time trial national champion Evelyn Stevens (New York, N.Y./Columbia-HTC) and Neben in 72nd and 73rd. After doing the bulk of the work on the day Amanda Miller (Fort Collins, Colo./HTC-Highroad) and Robin Farina (Charlotte, N.C./NOW and Novartis) finished 90th and 101st.
Italy’s Giorgia Bronzini outsprinted Marianne Vos (NED) and Ina Teutenberg (GER) to defend her road race world title.
Junior Men’s Road Race
As expected the junior men’s road race was fast and aggressive from the start with numerous breaks and an average speed above 43-kilometers. A long, two-rider break was finally reeled back in on the seventh of nine laps and it was not long after that a pair of riders from France, Belgium and the Netherlands each got a jump on the field.
As the peloton closed in, the Americans began to organize at the front with Paul Lynch (Colchester, Conn./Hot Tubes Development Cycling) and Matthew Lipscomb (Decatur, Ga./Greenville Spinners Bicycle Club/Hincapie Development team) preparing to set up Alex Darville (Santa Barbara, Calif./Echelon Santa Barbara). Darville, who finished on the podium twice during this year’s Tour de l’Abitibi, was however unfortunately taken out by an unavoidable crash that erased 15 riders near the front of the peloton.
“With around seven kilometers to go we had it set up pretty well and were getting ready to get going and Alex unfortunately crashed,” said Lipscomb.
The lead break of six proved it is possible to stay away on this largely flat course, crossing the line just ahead of the peloton with Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier powering to the finish to collect another world title for the French.
National road race champion Alexey Vermeulen (Pinckney, Mich./Prochain) was the first American finisher in 56th. Lynch and Lipscomb crossed the line with the peloton after slowing for the crash and Darville was 109th. Kristo Jorgenson (Boise, Idaho/BYRDS) and Colby Wait-Molyneux (Vancouver, Wash./Hammer Nutrition-CMG Racing Team) also finished the race in 138th and 143rd respectively.
Elite Men’s Road Race
The elite men’s road race will wrap up the week in Denmark beginning at 10 a.m. local time. The nine-man U.S. team line-up will include: Brent Bookwalter (Athens, Ga./BMC Racing), Matthew Busche (Wauwatosa, WI/Team Radio Shack), Timmy Duggan (Boulder, Colo./Liquigas-Cannondale), Tyler Farrar (Wenatchee, Wash./Garmin-Cervelo), Benjamin King (North Garden, Va./Team Radio Shack), Jeff Louder (Salt Lake City, Utah/BMC Racing), John Murphy (Athens, Ga./BMC Racing), Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo./BMC Racing) and Andrew Talansky (Napa, Calif./Garmin-Cervelo).
