The sun was still low in the sky when the Junior Women turned up to complete 4 laps of the 18.2k circuit for the Worlds road race title. Below: Italy and Sweden.
The South African team signed on…
…before one rider brought her bike over to be adjusted.
I was thrilled to see Uzbekistan would be represented in the peloton today! Unfortunately she was too far away for me to break out my Uzbek. Its ok, I'm sure there'll be plenty of other Uzbeks riding this weekend…right?
The commentators called each country individually to the start line.
4 laps to go
Just 100 meters beyond the start line.
Still 4 laps to go
I moved down the circuit a little and caught the peloton finishing their first lap. They were a nervous bunch this morning as there were no fewer than 3 crashes in half an hour.
A Belgian rider was forced to abandon after she inured her wrist in one of the crashes.
I'm always happy to see my fellow Canadian supporters.
Three cheers for Poland!
3 laps to go
There were lots of attacks but none of them could gain any ground.
Long shadows as the sun began to warm up the chilly morning.
With half an hour between laps, I had plenty of time to walk to the castle and find a new spectating spot.
2 laps to go
About half of the riders had been dropped but that still left a massive group of 40+ cyclists bunched together.
The grupetto.
I headed back to the start/finish line and passed the Aussie men's team (minus Adam Hansen) hanging out by the side of the road.
The finish!
The race really came alive in the final few kilometers. Two Italians and the defending Danish champion escaped but could only grab a few seconds. The race came back together, though the trio managed to stay on the front. With 300 meters to go, it was a bunch sprint featuring about 20 riders! The Italian was going full gas while the Dane looked like she still had an extra kick left in her. She managed to pass her Italian competitor and claim a second Junior Women's road race championship!
There had been high hopes that Macey Stuart, after winning the Junior Women's TT, could win today too, but it didn't pan out that way.
The Polish woman in third, Agnieszka Skalniak, never cracked a smile.
Sofia Bertizzolo received her silver medal.
In her last year as a Junior, Amalie Dideriksen pulled on the rainbow jersey one more time.
The podium: 1st Amalie Dideriksen, 2nd Sofia Bertizzolo, 3rd Agnieszka Skalniak.
