In the morning, things no longer looked so good for the top favourites at this World Championships. A duel between the Italians and defending champion Elisa Balsamo and the serial winners from the Netherlands had been expected. But one of the favourites, Dutch rider Demi Vollering, runner-up in the Tour de France, had to pull out in the morning due to a positive coronavirus test.
Diagnosis: Elbow fracture
And behind Annemiek van Vleuten's start, who had regularly crushed her rivals this year, there was a question mark for a long time. Shortly after the start of the team time trial three days earlier, her chain fell off the large chainring during the start - the world number one hit the tarmac hard. Diagnosis according to the team bulletin: broken elbow.
And so it came as no surprise that the once top favourite of the race was repeatedly left behind on the circuit in Wollongong and disappeared into the blur of the cameras as Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Liane Lippert from Friedrichshafen sought the early decision on the steep ramps.
Van Vleuten outdoes the competition
With 800 metres to go, van Vleuten flew past the hesitant leading group with a bandaged arm and a seated attack to win her second World Championship title in the road race. "I couldn't sprint because of my elbow, so I had to attack from behind - it was my only chance. I waited for them to sprint past me - but they never caught me," reported the winner at the finish.
"Unbelievable," was the verdict of former pro Claudia Lichtenberg as an expert on the Eurosport microphone about this comeback. Team-mate Marianne Vos, who was actually chosen as captain of the Dutch team on this day, crossed the finish line shaking her head. "Annemiek is Annemiek - she's not going to break," she said a little later at the finish line on the microphone of local TV station NOS. Annemiek van Vleuten doesn't seem to know pain. The Dutchwoman was even accused of bluffing in view of her incredible resurrection. "I was in hellish pain," she replied to critical questions.
But the winner of the Tour de France was not the strongest in the field in this world championship race. That was the leader of the German national team, Liane Lippert. The course on the Western Australian coast was tailor-made for the German - with short, poisonous climbs.
The 24-year-old appeared to be at the peak of her career in Australia - she was the strongest on Mount Pleasant, which was up to 14 per cent steep, but she was unable to find any partners to help her overtake Vos, van Vleuten & Co. in the long term: Neither the Italian Elisa Longo Borghini, with whom she was at the front of the race for a time, nor the closing racers Niewiadoma, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (South Africa) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Denmark) were able or willing to work with commitment. With their hesitant riding style, they played into the hands of their pursuers, including the ailing van Vleuten - whose bad luck turned into good luck.
In the end, Lippert finished fourth in the chasing sprint, just missing out on a medal - behind the fast Belgian Lotte Kopecky and Silvia Persico from Italy. "It's frustrating. I had the feeling that I was the strongest in the group. I really wanted to finish on the podium and gave it my all. But the others took it easy and the chasers were able to catch up. I can't understand that," said Lippert after the race.
Next year, Lippert will switch to Team Movistar alongside world champion van Vleuten. While van Vleuten in the rainbow jersey is heading towards what is supposed to be her last season and the end of her career, Lippert has known since the race in Wollongong that the future belongs to her.
World Cycling Championships 2022: Women's race results (164.3 km)
- Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), 4:24:25 hrs (37.282 km/h)
- Lotte Kopecky (BEL), +0:01 min.
- Silvia Persico (ITA)
- Liane Lippert (GER)
- Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (DEN)
- Arlenis Sierra (CUB)
- Juliette Labous (FRA)
- Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL)
- Elise Chabbey (SUI)
- Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA), all same time
... 20th Ricarda Bauernfeind (GER), +0:13
Cycling World Championships in Australia: The women's individual time trial
Ellen van Dijk now has three world championship titles in the individual time trial in her palmares. With another title win, the 35-year-old Dutchwoman could draw level with record world champion Jeannie Longo (France). In Australia, van Dijk won ahead of Australian Grace Brown (twelve seconds back) and European champion Marlen Reusser from Switzerland (41 seconds back). Best German: Mieke Kröger in twelfth place.
Cycling World Championships in Australia: U23 classification
- Niamh Fisher-Black (NZL), 4:24:26 hrs.
- Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR), +0:12 min.
- Ricarda Bauernfeind (GER), gl. time
Discussion about U23 classification
Equal rights?
For the first time, there were medals in the women's U23 category at a road world championship. The first gold in the road race went to the New Zealander Niamh Fisher-Black. The 22-year-old Ricarda Bauernfeind from Eichstätt took bronze behind Great Britain's Pfeiffer Georgi.
However, unlike the men's race, there was no separate race. Similar to the classification for the white jersey of the best young rider in the Tour de France, the finish of the women's elite race was analysed by year of birth.
Bauernfeind and Georgi therefore sprinted for the medals in the middle of the second chasing pack. "It's not a good idea to do it this way," said German national coach André Korff, criticising the race even before the start. In the end, the BDR team had to decide whether to use World Championship newcomer Bauernfeind as a strong helper for Lippert or whether to pursue a double strategy and aim for medals in both competitions.
Both Lippert and Bauernfeind were in favour of a separate race in the transition class between the junior competition and the elite race. "Basically, an U23 classification is good, it was still missing. But it distorts the result if you integrate it into the elite race," said Bauernfeind before the start. "As with the European Championships, it should be possible to organise a separate race at the World Championships. We envisage it differently in the future," emphasised Lippert. The world cycling organisation UCI still needs to make improvements in terms of equality.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
