Women's Road Race, 113.75 kms14:00 Saturday, October 9, 1999 |
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Verona: Corso Porta Nuova, 7 laps/ 113.75 kmEdita bags it, another silver for AnnaIt was yet another powerhouse team performance by the Lithuanians which secured the gold medal for Edita Pucinskaite in Verona today, with Australia's Anna Wilson easily winning the bunch sprint for silver just 18 seconds behind, and another Lithuanian and 1998 World Road Race Champion, Diana Ziliute, taking the bronze. Immediately after the race, Australian team coach James Victor told cyclingnews.com that Wilson, a dual silver medalist at this year's World Championships, was "over the moon" with her ride. He said the Australian is not a noted climber and was feeling the climb up the Torricelle in the earlier part of the race, but improved towards the end. "We were hoping it could stay together for the bunch kick but the Lithuanians had four strong riders in the final group. We had the twins attacking left and right on the last lap as they headed into the final climb, and every time the bunch was forced to chase them down," he said, referring to the constant attacks by the Polikeviciute sisters, Rasa and Jolanta, which were designed to set up for their noted climber and winner of this year's La Grande Boucle (Tour de France Feminin). "As they got on the climb, Pucinskaite attacked and when she wants to go on a climb, there's not many who can stay with her," the Australian coach said. Pucinskaite, who won the bronze in the ITT on Wednesday, built up a lead of 20 seconds on the climb and with 2 km to go seemed set for an easy victory, but a chase group including Jeannie Longo (Fra) and Valeria Capellotto (Ita) had set off after her. This caused a major reaction within the final selection and the chase group was brought back by the remainder of the bunch, but it was too late and the Lithuanian rode across the line, still 18 seconds ahead. In the sprint Wilson crossed the line a bike length in front of the other Lithuanian, Ziliute. The Lithuanians put on a perfect display of selfless team riding today. Although each rides for different trade teams, when they come together as a national unit they show great solidarity. "I'm thankful there'll only be three of them in the road race at the Olympics next year," Victor said. "A couple of silvers is a good result for us this year," he said of Wilson's efforts, which included a silver medal in the ITT, "we'll do better next year." The Australian coach said one of the hardest decisions he's had to make was to leave out Liz Tadich, a silver medalist in the 1997 World Road Race, from this year's team. "We've built up a great team spirit from hard work and respect for each other," he said. "They've proved they can compete at this level and now they know what to do ... I hardly have to tell them how to ride, they're riding on intuition and experience." The Yellow Machine Wins The Day By Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent Everyone was afraid of the Big Yellow Machine of the Lithuanian Elite Women's team. Although defending champion Diana Zilute was not on a great day, her yellow, red & green clad teammate Edita Pucinskaite, winner of of the '98 Womans Tour De France was clearly the strongest on Saturday afternoon in Verona on the Torricelle circuit. And with the best team, the 24 year old Pucinskaite was able to focus on a key attack which won her the rainbow jersey. The first half of the race was static; although the average speed was high, all of the key players were looking at each other. On the second to last lap, the decisive attack by Pucinskaite left only 15 riders together: Diana Zilute, twin sisters Rasa & Jolanta Polikeviciute and Edita Pucinskaite (Lithuania), sisters Valeria and Alessandra Cappellotto (Italy), Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukraine), Lynn Bessette (Canada), Geraldine Lowenguth and Jeanne Longo-Ciprelli (France), Anna Wilson (Australia), Nicole Brändli (Switzerland), Zulfia Zabirova (Russia), Joanna Sommariba (Spain) and Daniela Veronese (San Marino). As the 15 hit the bell lap, Lithuania's Big Yellow Machine went into high gear. They pulled back an attack by Alessandra Cappellotto and then Rasa and Jolanta Polikeviciute attacked the group one after the other, keeping the pressure on the French and especially the Italians to chase them down. As the final climb of Torricelle approached, Rasa Polikeviciute got away again and was quickly joined by Alessandra Cappellotto. As the duo gained time, Longo-Ciprelli was forced to chase, while Polikeviciute sat on Cappellotto's wheel, playing the team role perfectly. At the base of the steep part of Torricelle, Pucinskaite made her expected attack and in a few seconds, she had opened up a 50 meter gap. Behind the flying Lithuanian, Stiajkina, Valeria Cappellotto and Longo-Ciprelli struggled to keep Pucinskaite in sight as she steadily gained ground. By the summit of the 283 meter Torricelle, Pucinskaite had 25 seconds and although the chasers tried, she had maintained her advantage at the base of the decent with only 3.5km to race. Stiajkina, Valeria Cappellotto and Longo-Ciprelli were absorbed by the rest of the chasers with 1.5km left, but it was too late. Pucinskaite rounded the final turn onto Corso Porta Nuova with 15 seconds in hand, pumping her upraised arms in a joyous victory salute while behind her, Anna Wilson's powerful sprint beat defending champion Diana Zilute. Although Pucinskaite will likely leave her current trade team Acca Due-O Lorena Camice next year to ride for Alfa Lum, but no matter where she goes, the rainbow jersey will be astride her shoulders. Edita Pucinskaite Results1 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) 2.59.49 (Av: 39.95 km/h) 2 Anna Wilson (Aus) 0.18 3 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) 4 Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukr) 5 Valeria Cappellotto (Ita) 6 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) 7 Joane Somarriba Arrola (Esp) 8 Daniela Veronesi (Smr) 9 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Fra) 10 Nicole Brändli (Sui) 11 Géraldine Loewenguth (Fra) 12 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) 13 Lyne Bessette (Can) 14 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) 0.43 15 Alessandra Cappellotto (Ita) 1.28 16 Susy Pryde (Nzl) 4.33 17 Chantal Beltmann (Ned) 18 Goulnara Ivanova (Rus) 19 Alison Sydor (Can) 20 Heidi Van De Vijver (Bel) 21 Elisabeth Vink (Ned) 22 Anke Erlank (Rsa) 23 Roberta Bonanomi (Ita) 24 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) 25 Barbara Heeb (Sui) 26 Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel (Fra) 27 Lenka Ilavska (Svk) 28 Cindy Pieters (Bel) 29 Annie Gariepy (Can) 30 Fatima BlazquezLozano (Esp) 31 Valentina Polkhanova (Rus) 4.33 32 Yvonne Schnorf (Sui) 6.46 33 Karen Kurreck (Usa) 34 Tracey Gaudry (Aus) 35 Valentyna Karpenko (Ukr) 36 Valentina Gerasimova (Rus) 37 Leigh Hobson (Can) 38 Ragnhild Kostol (Nor) 39 Juanita Feldhahn (Aus) 40 Bogumila Matusiak (Pol) 41 Chantal Daucourt (Sui) 42 Sigrid Corneo (Ita) 43 Wenche Stensvold (Nor) 44 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) 45 Kimberly Smith (Usa) 46 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) 47 Oksana Saprykina (Ukr) 9.19 48 Rosa Maria BravoSoba (Esp) 12.50 49 Svitlana Hihilyeva (Ukr) 50 Marie Höljer (Swe) 51 Marion Brauen (Sui) 52 Zinaida Stahurskaya (Blr) 53 Miluse Flaskova (Cze) 54 Solrun Flataas (Nor) 55 Vanja Vonckx (Bel) 56 Lucia Pizzolotto (Ita) 57 Alexandra Koliasseva (Rus) 58 Natalya Kishchuk (Ukr) 59 Zita Urbonaite (Ltu) 60 Sanna Lehtimaki (Fin) 61 Séverine Desbouys (Fra) 12.50 62 Tina Liebig (Ger) 16.29 63 Sarah Symington (Gbr) 18.35 64 Laurence Restoin (Fra) 65 Arenda Grimberg (Ned) 66 Erica Green Groenewald (Rsa) 67 Susan Carter (Gbr) 20.13 68 Magali LeFloch (Fra) 20.28 69 Yuliya Murenka (Ukr) 70 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) 71 Sara Carrigan (Aus) 72 Larysa Chuyenka (Blr) 73 Vanessa Rochelle Cheatley (Nzl) 74 Tatsiana Makeyeva (Blr) 75 Kim Shirley (Aus) 76 Irina Chuzhynova (Ukr) 77 Ioulya Razenkova (Rus) 78 Rosalind Reekie May (Nzl) 79 Priska Doppmann (Sui) 80 Montserrat Alonso Bernal (Esp) 81 Lensy Debboudt (Bel) 22.27 82 Ghita Beltman (Ned) 83 Ulrike Baumgartner (Aut) 84 Kerstin Scheitle (Ger) 22.44 85 Alison Wright (Aus) 25.00 86 Dorota Czynszak (Pol) 87 Karla Polivkova (Cze) 28.05 88 Miho Oki (Jpn) 89 Lisbeth Simper (Den) 29.42 90 Karen Dunne (Usa) 30.48 91 Rikke Sandhoj Olsen (Den) 92 Ruth Martinez Gomez (Esp) 93 Gabriela Gonzalez De Ferrat (Mex) PreviewBy Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent Defending Elite Women's champion, Diana Zilute of Lithuania has had a big season, winning the Women's Tour De France in August. Although Zilute tested positive for high levels of caffeine in the Tour, she was absolved as there were irregularities in the test protocol - so Zilute will race today. Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel of the Netherlands, winner of the time trial won't be riding the road race, so Zilute's principal rivals for the rainbow jersey will be World Cup star Anna Wilson (Australia), Alessandra Cappelotto of Italy, Valentina Polkanova of Russia and Hanka Kupfernagel of Germany. And don't ever rule out Jeannie Longo of France; if she gets in a good break, the ever competitive forty-something is always dangerous. But Zilute's powerful Lithuanian team should control the race and set the stage for her second consecutive win. (However, we know who we're going for back in Sydney!) Complete Starting listAustralia Sara Carrigan (Aus) 07-09-1980 Juanita Feldhahn (Aus) 07-06-1973 Tracy Gaudry (Aus) 17-06-1969 Kim Shirley (Aus) 17-12-1975 Elisabeth Tadich (Aus) 11-10-1976 Anna Wilson (Aus) 26-11-1971 Alison Wright (Aus) 02-11-1980 Austria Ulrike Baumgartner (Aut) 12-05-1974 Belgium Lensy Debboudt (Bel) 20-09-1977 Cindy Pieters (Bel) 24-01-1976 Heidi Van de Vijver (Bel) 31-12-1969 Vanja Vonckx (Bel) 12-02-1973 Belarus Larisa Chuyenka (Blr) 25-05-1979 Tatsiana Makeyeva (Blr) 07-09-1976 Zinaida Stahurskaya (Blr) 09-02-1971 Aksana Zviagintseva (Blr) 09-06-1978 Canada Lyne Bessette (Can) 10-03-1975 Annie Gariepy (Can) 12-05-1975 Leigh Hobson (Can) 10-08-1970 Clara Hughes (Can) 27-09-1972 Linda Jackson (Can) 13-11-1958 Chrissy Redden (Can) 16-03-1966 Anne Samplonius (Can) 11-02-1969 Alison Sydor (Can) 09-09-1966 Colombia Paola Madrinan (Col) 18-10-1973 Czech Republic Miluse Flaskova (Cze) 18-04-1974 Karla Polivkova (Cze) 01-12-1964 Spain Montserrat Alonso Bernal (Esp) 24-09-1975 Fatima Lozano Blazquez (Esp) 14-05-1975 Rosa Maria Bravo (Esp) 25-08-1976 Margarita Fullana (Esp) 09-04-1972 Dori Sanchon Ruano (Esp) 11-01-1969 Joane Arrola Somarriba (Esp) 11-08-1972 Finland Sanna Lehtimaki (Fin) 16-11-1975 Pia Sundstedt (Fin) 02-05-1975 France Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel (Fra) 02-03-1975 Séverine Desbouys (Fra) 17-08-1974 Géraldine Loewenguth (Fra) 05-06-1964 Jeannie Longo Ciprelli (Fra) 31-10-1958 Laurence Restoin (Fra) 04-04-1976 Britain Caroline Alexander (Gbr) 03-03-1968 Sally Boyden (Gbr) 07-04-1967 Ceris Gilfillan (Gbr) 03-01-1980 Louise Jones (Gbr) 08-06-1963 Sarah Symington (Gbr) 25-09-1969 Michelle Ward (Gbr) 02-08-1976 Germany Judith Arndt (Ger) 23-07-1976 Jacqueline Brabenetz (Ger) 20-10-1979 Cornelia Dreher (Ger) 10-03-1979 Mandy Hampel (Ger) 12-10-1977 Vera Hohlfeld (Ger) 24-02-1972 Natascha Klewitz (Ger) 15-08-1978 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) 19-03-1974 Tina Liebig (Ger) 28-04-1980 Petra Rossner (Ger) 14-11-1966 Kerstin Scheitle (Ger) 05-06-1977 Haiti Marie Kethlie Boulin (Hai) 09-09-1966 Marieta Ceide (Hai) 19-06-1966 Marie Yolette Joseph (Hai) 19-04-1972 Estere Michel St Fleurant (Hai) 09-00-1977 Hungary Veronika Pare (Hun) 09-09-1977 Italy Roberta Bonanomi (Ita) 15-10-1966 Alessandra Cappellotto (Ita) 27-08-1968 Valeria Cappellotto (Ita) 28-01-1970 Sigrid Corneo (Ita) 27-04-1971 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) 14-01-1974 Paola Pezzo (Ita) 08-01-1969 Lucia Pizzolotto (Ita) 14-11-1970 Japan Akemi Morimoto (Jpn) 22-02-1968 Miho Oki (Jpn) 08-03-1974 Ayumu Otsuka (Jpn) 01-10-1978 Lithuania Vilma Balciunaite (Ltu) 04-01-1977 Gintare Duseviciute (Ltu) 05-09-1980 Gitana Gruodyte (Ltu) 06-04-1979 Edita Kubelskiene (Ltu) 01-03-1974 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu) 31-03-1976 Lina Pakalnyte (Ltu) 04-07-1979 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) 25-09-1970 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) 25-09-1970 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) 27-11-1975 Liuda Triabaite (Ltu) 07-07-1965 Zita Urbonaite (Ltu) 03-09-1973 Erika Vilunaite (Ltu) 25-12-1980 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) 28-05-1976 Macedonia Irina Cebotari (Mda) 23-06-1973 Viorica Ureche (Mda) 13-11-1974 Maria Vrednic (Mda) 12-05-1972 Mexico Gabriela Gonzalezdeferrat (Mex) 27-04-1972 The Netherlands Chantal Beltman (Ned) 25-08-1976 Ghita Beltman (Ned) 05-04-1978 Arenda Grimberg (Ned) 10-03-1978 Edith Klep (Ned) 20-01-1976 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) 26-09-1975 Elisabeth Vink (Ned) 25-01-1973 Norway Kari Aud Berg (Nor) 02-06-1976 Ingunn Bollerud (Nor) 16-11-1972 Cecilie Christiansen (Nor) 07-05-1979 GunnRita Dahle (Nor) 10-02-1973 Solrun Flataas (Nor) 28-08-1967 Ragnhild Kostöl (Nor) 25-05-1969 Jorunn Kvalö (Nor) 15-07-1975 Wenche Stensvold (Nor) 08-06-1975 Linn Torp (Nor) 22-04-1977 Monica Valen (Nor) 15-09-1970 New Zealand Vanessa Rochelle Cheatley (Nzl) 07-11-1978 Jacinta Coleman (Nzl) 17-07-1974 Susy Pryde (Nzl) 15-10-1973 Rosalind Reekie-May (Nzl) 03-02-1972 Kirsty Robb (Nzl) 23-05-1979 Poland Dorota Czynszak (Pol) 22-01-1980 Bogumila Matusiak (Pol) 24-01-1971 Monika Tyburska (Pol) 27-05-1979 Malgorzata Wysocka (Pol) 15-06-1979 South Africa Anke Erlank (Rsa) 28-06-1977 Erica Greengroenewald (Rsa) 25-09-1970 Russia Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus) 02-01-1973 Valentina Gerassimova (Rus) 26-01-1964 Goulnara Ivanov (Rus) 25-12-1971 Olga Khortova (Rus) 08-01-1975 Alexandra Koliasseva (Rus) 18-08-1968 Valentina Polkhanova (Rus) 15-08-1971 Ioulia Razenkova (Rus) 02-07-1975 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 28-04-1969 Elena Tchalykh (Rus) 25-03-1974 Elizaveta Valeeva (Rus) 15-08-1971 Olga Zabelinskaia (Rus) 10-05-1980 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) 19-12-1973 Daniela Veronesi (Smr) 13-06-1972 Switzerland Nicole Brändli (Sui) 18-06-1979 Marion Brauen (Sui) 03-05-1977 Chantal Daucourt (Sui) 23-06-1966 Priska Doppmann (Sui) 10-05-1971 Barbara Heeb (Sui) 13-02-1969 Yvonne Schnorf (Sui) 28-07-1965 Slovakia Alena Barillova (Svk) 05-09-1969 Lenka Ilavska (Svk) 05-05-1972 Sweden Jenny Algelid (Swe) 06-03-1976 Marie Höljer (Swe) 22-10-1965 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) 02-03-1972 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) 16-03-1976 Ukraine Irina Chuzhynova (Ukr) 07-08-1972 Svitlana Hihilyeva (Ukr) 15-05-1969 Valentiana Karpenko (Ukr) 09-12-1972 Natalia Kichtouk (Ukr) 27-05-1968 Yuliya Murenkaya (Ukr) 03-02-1975 Oksana Saprykina (Ukr) 18-01-1979 Tatiana Stiazhkina (Ukr) 10-04-1977 Yevgenia Vysotska (Ukr) 11-12-1975 USA Alison Dunlap (Usa) 27-07-1969 Karen Dunne (Usa) 30-12-1967 Mari Holden (Usa) 30-03-1971 Karen Kurreck (Usa) 13-06-1962 Emily Robbins (Usa) 03-09-1974 Kim Smith (Usa) 28-01-1968 Julie Young (Usa) 07-04-1966 Uzbekistan Fatma Galiulina (Uzb) 30-05-1969 Yugoslavia Ildiko Fabo (Yug) 17-05-1975 |