Women’s World Championship Road Race: Riders to Watch
This week, the world’s best road racers are in Richmond, Virginia, for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, where medals will be awarded in three disciplines to Junior, U23, and Elite competitors. While every race will be exciting, the headline events are the Women’s and Men’s Elite Road Races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The riders face eight laps of a technical, 10-mile circuit in downtown Richmond, featuring two cobbled climbs and several twists and turns.
To help us decide who to root for during Saturday’s 80-mile women’s race, we turned to the experts of Voxwomen, an online video channel that exclusively covers women’s cycling. Here are their picks for Saturday’s road race:
Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain)
This year’s UCI Women's World Cup Series winner has the form and motivation to win. Armitstead is a punchy rider who can sprint just as well as she can climb; expect to see an attacking race from the British National Champion. The tougher the race, the more Armitstead flourishes.
Emma Johannson (Sweden)
One of the most established (and classiest) riders in the peloton, Johannson excels on the road is in great form following a win in the Lotto Ladies Tour. After finishing on the podium at the World Championships twice before, you can never count her out. Johannson also announced that she’s looking to race for just two more years, so she’ll be eager to finally take the rainbow stripes for the first time.
Anna van der Breggen (The Netherlands)
It’s been a breakthrough year for this Dutch cyclist. To name but a few of her victories: She raced up the Mur de Hoy to win Flèche Wallonne; she took the overall title at the Giro d’Italia Femminile; and she even attacked and soloed to victory in the flat and fast criterium along the Champs Elysees at La Course. Van der Breggen has proved she can do it all. Backed by a strong team, she will be a serious contender in Richmond.
Jolien D’Hoore (Belgium)
Despite leading the UCI Women’s World Cup into the final round, D’Hoore decided not to start the last race and instead focused on preparing for the World Championships. She won the Crescent V?rg?rda Road Race last month, and her impressive acceleration and tactical prowess makes her a favorite in Richmond.
Shelley Olds (US)
Olds is our favorite for a sprint finish. The American has the speed to win, and will be hoping to make her mark on home soil. Olds will also have a strong team including Megan Guarnier, who has also had an outstanding year, and time trial specialist Evelyn Stevens.
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (France)
We couldn’t forget Ferrand-Prevot, who concurrently holds an incredible four world titles across three disciplines: team relay and cross-country on the mountain bike, the Elite road race title, and the Elite cyclocross title. The reigning World Champion has incredible talent and is looking to repeat her win from 2015. She certainly won’t go down without a fight!
Follow Voxwomen on Twitter (@voxwomen) and look for them online at voxwomen.com.
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