COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Six Americans competed in the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in the Elite Women’s Road Race on Saturday in Imola, Italy. This was one of the most challenging courses for a World Championship road race. After five laps of the course, totaling 144km, Anna van der Breggen (NED) doubled up on her rainbow stripes for the event, after winning the Time Trial just days before.
The race began at a steady pace with teams eyeing each other, wary to attack early. Krista Doebel-Hickok (Marina del Rey, Calif.; Rally Cycling) would make the first attack of the day. The next major move in the race came from American rider Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.; Trek-Segafredo) breaking away with a group of nine at 85 kilometers left in the race, where they were able to separate from the peloton by over two minutes. With roughly 50 kilometers to go, the breakaway was caught, but Wiles did not fade. Not long after, Lauren Stephens (Mesquite, Texas; Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank) saw herself at the front of the peloton with Doebel-Hickock still in the mix as well.
On the last climb of the penultimate lap van der Breggen, along with teammate Annemiek van Vleuten and Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini would attack, with the eventual champion pulling away. She would increase her lead to almost three minutes at one point. With van der Breggen far off the front, Longo Borghini would attack again during the final lap, and only a handful of riders were able to react. Stephens rode across the finish line in the next group back finishing in eleventh place, clocking a time of 4:13:05. Wiles and Doebel-Hickok rode through the Imola Speedway finishing straight in 26th and 29th, respectively.
Final Results
1. Ana van der Breggen NED 4:09:57
2. Annemeik van Vleuten NED +1:20
3. Elisa Longo Borghini ITA +1:20
11. Lauren Stephens USA +3:08
26. Tayler Wiles USA +3:08
29. Krista Doebel-Hickok USA +3:08
37. Coryn Rivera USA +10:16
69. Amber Neben USA +15:08
DNF. Ruth Winder USA
Racing continues tomorrow with the Elite Men’s Road Race starting at 1:00am PT / 4:00am ET
The roster is as follows:
Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas; EF Education First Pro Cycling)
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz; UAE Team Emirates)
Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colo; Team Jumbo Visma)
Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif.; EF Education First Pro Cycling)
You can watch all the racing live on the Olympic Channel. Follow @USACyclingLIVE on Twitter for live updates throughout the race along with @USACycling and @UCI_cycling. For more information on start times and who to watch, click here.
Photos By Rob Jones
