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World Championships - CM
Stuttgart, Germany, September 26-30, 2007
Main Page Results & report Race Details Previous Race Next Race
Race 4 - September 29: Women's road race - 7 laps, 133.7km
Complete live report
Live commentary by Susan Westemeyer and Bjorn Haake
Live coverage starts: 9:00 CEST
Estimated finish: 13:00 CEST
Cyclingnews welcomes you to the live coverage of the women's road race of the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart. The sun is out and the peloton has just made the start. 133 kilometres are ahead of the 142 riders. Seven times they will have to manage the tough circuit
09:12 CEST
And we have the first crash of the
day. New Zealander Toni Bradshaw has crashed on the right hand side of the road
and slid into the barriers. She is slow getting up and grimaces in pain.
09:14 CEST
While the sun is out, the temperatures
are crisp and the riders are equipped with arm warmers and gloves. Bradshaw
is back on her bike and chasing.
09:16 CEST
Marianne Vos is looking to defend
her title, but rates the Germans as very strong, as she indicated in a prerace
interview. The Germans don't have an pressure, as they already won the gold
medal in the time trial through Hanka Kupfernagel.
09:17 CEST
We are still in lap one, but the
climb is already stretching out the peloton and a few riders find the pace a
bit hard so early on. Chapookam Monrudee of Thailand is off the back with a
team-mate.
09:19 CEST
The Italians are currently in control
on the front, but the Australians and Americans are attentive. Zulfiya Zabirova
is off the back. She must have had a mechanical, as she passes Brazilian Fernandes
Silva Clemilda
09:20 CEST
The peloton is now in the descent.
They are in one long line. Even though it's sunny the road is still wet and
treacherous, which is likely the reason why Bradshaw fell earlier.
09:24 CEST
Zabirova is still chasing, but the
speed of the peloton is now between 50 and 60 km/h. Zabirova is holding her
right thigh, maybe she actually also crashed.
09:25 CEST
Hanks Kupfernagel opted for white
gloves and black arm warmers for her red German jersey.
And there is the
first attack!
09:26 CEST
Looks like a rider from Spain, that
makes her way 50 metres ahead of the peloton.
09:27 CEST
But she is quickly reeled in, as
leaves are falling onto the ground. It used to be in August, but now the Worlds
have become the race of the fallen leaves.
09:28 CEST
Jeannie Longo Ciprelli is at the
back of the field, but you can bet the experienced Frenchwoman will not stay
there for long.
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09:29 CEST
The attack from Rodriguez brought
a few seconds of hectic, but now the pace has slowed down again. The next hill
is starting.
09:32 CEST 18.7km/115km to go
The women approach
the start finish line for the first time, going under the red banner indicating
the last kilometre. Well, not yet.
09:34 CEST 19.7km/114km to go
The first lap is
done, at an average speed of 34.709 km/h. It took the riders 33 minutes and
one second to complete.
09:37 CEST
All the favourite teams are in the
front. The Dutch, the Americans, the Italians, the Germans fill the road, as
the pace still allows for them to take the whole road. The Australians take
over at the front.
09:38 CEST
Bradshaw in her black Kiwi outfit
has not managed to get back to the bunch and struggles with two other riders
to regain contact.
09:40 CEST
The pace is picking up on the front,
which will make it harder for anybody already dropped to get back. Again, it
is Great Britain setting the pace.
09:41 CEST
Ouch, the hill is steep and we can
feel the rider's pain going up this steep section. The Italians and Americans
have taken over and ride up on those roads that are still wet a bit.
09:43 CEST
And they are still going up. Uenia
Souza Da Fernende of Brazil is falling off the back.
09:45 CEST
The road is noticeably dryer where
the sun is on it Unfortunately there is an awful lot of shade on the road. And
the fallen leaves are everywhere.
Situation
- Grupo compacto
09:46 CEST
Christiane Soeder, who won bronze
in the time trial, said she has "good form and we have a strong rider with Andrea
Graus." She also didn't think it was a disadvantage to have don a hard time
trial on Wednesday. "I think it's good to go hard three days before the road
race." As for the tactics she indicated "we always want to have someone in the
first group."
09:48 CEST
The women are riding through a neighbourhood
now -- but where is everyone? Inside, watching the race on TV?
A
Serbian rider is having an extremely difficult time with the climb and seems
to have fallen way back.
09:50 CEST
The Serbian rider is Dragena Kovaocevic.
It looks like she may get some company soon as more and more can't keep up the
pace.
09:54 CEST
The weather forecast has improved
over the last few days. Instead of the heavy rain they were predicting for the
entire weekend, they are now calling for partly cloudy and 15°. Right now it
is only 11°, which we find a bit chilly.
09:56 CEST
Will we see a successful breakaway
today? Or a mass finish? Or will the leaders keep up such a high pace over this
difficult course that more and more will fall off the back, leaving us with
a small group to fight it out at the end?
10:00 CEST
Emma Pooley of Great Britain, who
finished 8th in the time trial, said "I think it will be a war of attrition,
lots of people falling off the back. It would be unusual for a break to get
away, because no one wants to let anyone get away. I think the group will be
whittled down on the road. I would prefer to be in a break, although there are
some technical and narrow bits on the road, which could make it difficult
10:01 CEST 34.7km/99km to go
Less than 100 km
left and most of the peloton is still together.
10:03 CEST
Oops! A crash? A mechanical? Something
happened to Christine Thorburn of the US which caused others to stop. Now she
is scurrying around trying to catch up with the group.
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10:06 CEST 38.7km/95km to go
The second round
is now history as the peloton rolls over the finish line. with a n average lap
time of 34 km/h. The lap took just over 33 minutes. Five more to go!
10:13 CEST
Oenone Wood of Australia is near
the front of the long, drawn-out field. She is easy to pick out because of her
magenta T-Mobile Team helmet. Which reminds us that Chantal Beltman is making
quite a fashion statement today with her magenta T-Mobile helmet and orange
Netherlands kit -- maybe we should put o our sunglasses before we look at her
again.
10:15 CEST
The Italians are a big presence at
the front of the field. They will definitely be looking to Noemi Cantele to
take the win today.
10:19 CEST
The race started this morning at
nine, which meant an early start to the day for the ladies. Pooley told us,
"I like racing in the morning. Getting up at 6 a.m. is a bit much, though."
10:21 CEST
Beltman of the Netherlands won't
be going for her own chances today but is supporting teammate Marianne Vos,
who won the World Cup in the last race. Beltman, who rides for T-Mobile, has
had a good season, though, winning the World Cup race in Sweden and finishing
second overall by two seconds in the recent Giro di Toscana.
10:24 CEST
The blue Italian jerseys are right
up there at the front of the group, keeping all the chances for Cantele open.
Noemi Cantele rides for the Bigla team. The 26 year-old Italian had a good season
and among other things most recently won the Giro
della Toscana Int. Femminile in Italy. She'll be one of the favourites on
this tough course today.
Situation
- Grupo compacto
10:31 CEST
Marianne Vos of the Netherlands has
to be the big favourite today. Only 20 year old, she is the defending world
champ, and is also world cyclo-cross champion. She won the Women's World Cup
this year, snapping it away from Nicole Cook at the last mintues. She won two
World Cup races, and numerous stages and races this year.
Vos rides
for Team DSB Bank and lives in the small dutch village of Babylonienbroek --
a name we find enchanting.
10:34 CEST
One of the Brazilinas has attacked
-- but nothing came of it. The favourites aren't going to let anyone go at thi
point.
Austrian Christiane Soeder is at the end of the pack.
10:36 CEST
Also Jeanne Longo is at the back
of the pack.
the Brazilian is Clemilda Ferandes Silva and she stay
at the front -- but together with all the others as they approach the finish
line yet again.
10:37 CEST
THe ladies hang a right in a downtown
Stuttgart shopping district. There are more on-lookers here, more on the sunny
side of the street than in the shade -- which isn't hard to understand.
10:38 CEST
Multi world champ Jeannie Long has
opted for red knee warmers to go with the red French shorts. At 48 years of
age she is only just starting to win some more races. La grande dame of cycling
finished seventh in the time trial.
10:40 CEST 57.7km/76km to go
WE have the first
attacks as the group passes the finish line for the third time. WE'll get those
names for you in a minute.
10:43 CEST
We don't know if it's the fact that
the sun is starting to warm up the air or the pace is starting to have an effect,
but many riders have rolled down their arm warmers.
10:45 CEST
We still don't now who was in that
attack, but Hanka Kupfernagel went with them and doomed the group. All back
togeher now and it looks like the have the turned the speed a notch. The peloton
is strung out rather than bunched togeher.
10:46 CEST
They are going up again, with the
Italians leading the way.
10:47 CEST
The fans along the way are clapping
rhythmically as the women go by, helping them up the hill.
10:47 CEST
Magali Mocquery of France is finding
the going hard.... and she is not the only one.....
10:48 CEST
Longo has moved up to the front of
the group.
10:50 CEST
An Italian shoots out and quickly
gets a small lead. We only know that it can't be Cantele, as not one is following.
It's not, it is Tatiana Guederzo.
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10:50 CEST
10:49 AM
Trixi Worrack had
trouble on the hill, dropping a chain. She got a little push from a team-mate
who was riding by and is on her way again.
10:52 CEST
Guderzo has company now, as three
others have joined her. Actually they seem to have passed her. The four aren't
riding togehter as a group and the Italian is having trouble staying with them.
10:54 CEST
The group of four is Guderzo, Kupfernagel,
Katheryn Curi of the USA, and Oxana Kozonchuk of Russia. They have a small but
decent lead.
10:56 CEST
The break is broken, so to speak.
They are back together again.
10:57 CEST
Veronica Sprügl of Austria is the
next to fall off the back. The pack is getting smaller every round.
10:59 CEST
Luise Keller of Germany is in the
front of the pack and takes time to eat an energy bar. The Germans celebrated
a birthday yesterday -- Trixi Worrack -- and we wonder if they had a real birthday
cake or just stuck a candle on an energy bar?
11:02 CEST
One former World Champion who is
missing here is Nicole Cooke of Great Britain. She led the World Cup rankings
all year, only to have Vos win it in the last race. But Cooke had to undergo
knee surgery recently, so she is home watching the race on TV rather than riding
in it.
11:04 CEST
The course runs through a lot of
wooded areas, which means shade, which means the road is still wet there. It
also means there are a lot of leaves on the road. So there are some dangers
out there.
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11:06 CEST
American Mara Abbott is at the back
of the bunch. A small gap that developed she has to close, which won't help
in conserving energy. The road race is a little longer than most races throughout
the year.
11:09 CEST
Abbott spoke
to Cyclingnews earlier this year.
11:13 CEST 76.7km/57km to go
And once agin we
hit the finish line giving us only three more rounds to go. Will this be the
deciding round? Will a group get away? Or will the leading teams finally pick
up the speed so much that they drop most of the "hangers-on"?
11:15 CEST
That last lap went by in 32'39",
with an average speed of 35km/h. We figure there are still 70 or so in the group.
Situation
- Grupo compacto
11:16 CEST
The wind is blowing heavily now and
the speed of the pack has picked up. We can expect the pack to start shrinking.
11:18 CEST
They are flying now....... just down
a descent and then it's up up up again.
11:20 CEST
Three Italians and three Russians
are at the front. Right now they are all up out of their saddles, in the climb.
11:20 CEST
Three red-black outfitted Germans
have moved up to join the leaders
11:21 CEST
Trixi Worrack and one of the Russians
have a difference of opinion, with the German giving quite a shove with her
shoulder.
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11:23 CEST
Attack! A Spanish rider -- Eneritz
Iturriagaechevarria. She wins the prize for longest one-word name.
11:25 CEST
The Spaniard quickly builds up a
nice little lead.
11:28 CEST
She is not all that far away, but
within sight of the pack. And a blue jersey is on her way to join the Spaniard.
11:29 CEST
The long drawn-out pack has caught
her up. and they are all struggling up the climb.
11:30 CEST
The next Italian goes, with her long
ponytail flapping in the wind. It is Tatiana Guderzo.
11:31 CEST
Guderzo is really going for it, keeping
up a fast pace.
11:34 CEST
Guderzo has a hair band to keep her
hair together, but she is flying right now, really pushing it on the flat Stuttgart
roads. Her lead is approximately 200 metres.
11:36 CEST
Eva Lutz of Germany leads the chase
but the Italians make their ambitions more than clear, as some riders on the
back have trouble with the change in rhythm.
Guderzo has a lead
of about 15 seconds.
11:38 CEST
There is no unanimity in the peloton
right now although a German has not moved back into the lead.
Oops
another attack, but they all go with her. Guderzo's lead is 22 seconds.
11:40 CEST
A Brazilian is at the front, with
a Swiss rider and Kupfernagel, they are a meter or two ahead. But Beltman of
the Netherlands leads the peloton to catch them and quash that attempt.
11:41 CEST
The peloton has Guderzo in its sights
now.
CRASH!
11:42 CEST
About a dozen or more are down. The
wind pushed over the barriers, right in front of the riders who were on the
left hand side of the street. Priska Doppmann, Maribel Moreno Allue, Regina
Bruins and Edita Pucinskaite are among the victims.. We may have some injuries.
11:45 CEST 95.7km/38km to go
Two laps to go now,
with Guderzo hanging on to her slight lead. The last lap was run in 31.52, with
a speed of 35.9 km/h.
11:50 CEST
Cantele got caught in that crash
and crossed the line 43 seconds behind the pack, accompanied by teammates who
will do their all to bring her up to the front.
And at the front,
we have to American women right now. They are really pushing the pace.
11:52 CEST
Amber Neben is one of those Americans
in the lead, but now an Italian has joined them - -it is Cantele!
11:53 CEST
Cantele and Neben have a good sized
lead now. Behind them the peloton is falling apart.
11:54 CEST
Worrack, Beltman, Wood and a few
others are in pursuit. The two leaders are only a few seconds ahead now, before
a chase group of 12 or so.
11:55 CEST
Cantele is doing most if not all
of the lead work.
11:56 CEST
We hear that there was another crash
in the pack. Soeder of Austria who won bronze in the time trial went down. She
is up and walking but holding her lower back.
11:58 CEST
Neben grabs a water bottle as the
two leaders pass through the second feeding zone. The pack isn't all that far
behind them.
12:00 CEST
Cantele is feeling strong and really
would like to reach her team-mate Guderzo. Two Italians and an American would
be a good setup for the Squadra Azzurra. Neben is taking some turns,
too and is looking good.
The wind has taken down another section
of barriers, but no riders this time, thank goodness.
12:01 CEST
Vos is near the back of the following
pack -- a sign of weakness, or saving her strength for a big attack later?
12:03 CEST
Neben and Cantele have a 22 second
lead over the pack.
12:05 CEST
The race is definitely turning into
a war of attrition. The pack continues to shrink. It is about 40 riders now,
but should shrink again on the next climb. And we expect the speed to kick up
a notch soon, too.
12:07 CEST
The Germans are leading the chase
now. Eva Lutz and Hanka Kupfernagel want to set up a win for their captain Judith
Arndt.
12:08 CEST
Sorry, it's Claudia Häusler, not
Eva Lutz.
12:10 CEST
They are in round 6 now, and going
51 km/h. Vos has moved up a bit closer to the front of the pack. Cantele and
Neben's lead is now only 10 seconds.
12:11 CEST
Kupfernagel is working hard to close
the gap to the two in front.
12:11 CEST
Amber Neben has had a good year.
She won the Route
de France Féminine. She also finished second
behind Kristin Armstrong in the US national time trial championships. The
32 year-old rides for Buitenpoort/Flexpoint.
12:12 CEST
And just as we write that, it is
over for her. The next attack goes, with Emma Pooley, who recently
talked to Cyclingnews, and three others.
12:13 CEST 113.7km/20km to go
But that attack
doesn't really get away either. Kupfernagel has done her duty for the day and
drops off the back. Mara Abbot of the US is hanging in at the back of the pack.
12:17 CEST 114.7km/19km to go
The last lap has
now been started with a quite large group. The sixth lap took 31'37" with an
average speed of 36.2 km/h. The women have now been underway three and a quarter
hours.
68 women in the group -- we can expect that to change shortly.
12:20 CEST
The women are really moving now.
And no surprise, the Italians are in the lead again.
12:21 CEST
Two Italians have built up a few
metres lead over the following pack, which is led by Beltman, we believe.
12:22 CEST
Vos and Cantele are in the lead but
it's not much of a lead -- 20 meters?
12:24 CEST
Will the remaining peloton let these
two top favourites get away? Arndt has just joined them, with for or five others.
Another Italian pulls away ahead of the group of five, which includes Vos, Cantele
and Arndt.
12:26 CEST
Marta Bastianelli is the one in the
lead. She is the co-captain with Cantele.
12:27 CEST
The group of five has been joined
by a group from behind. We don't have all the names, but Arndt, Cantele, Vos,
Beltman, Worrack and Wood are all in there.
12:28 CEST
Another crash -- Arndt is said to
have crashed in the descent. That could be it for her.
12:29 CEST
The chase group is going uphill again
and Arndt is chasing them. She now has a team-mate with her.
Bastianelli
is having a mechanical, the chain fell off, but she manages to get it back on
without dismounting.
12:30 CEST
She is keeping on though, her lead
is only 12 seconds.
It is not a colleague with Arndt but Erinne
Willock of Canada who went down with her. They have caught the group now.
12:31 CEST
The speed has fallen to 21 km/h as
they go uphill again.
12:32 CEST
Bastianelli has a lead of 20 seconds
over the group which contains all the favourites including American Kristin
Armstrong.
12:33 CEST
There are 12 to 15 in the following
group. The 20 year-old Bastianelli continues on alone.
12:33 CEST
Seven riders have pulled away in
chase of the Italian.
12:34 CEST
We can recognize Wood and Beltman,
Worrack....
12:36 CEST
The following groups are coming together
again, about 25 riders. Bastianelli's lead is down to 18 seconds.
12:39 CEST
Now a Canadian has jumped out Erinne
Willock. They are letting her go.
12:41 CEST 130.7km/3km to go
Bastianelli's braid
is lying flat on her back as she continues in the lead. Willock is only a few
meters ahead of the followers.
12:42 CEST
Bastianelli is 17 seconds ahead of
Willock who is five seconds ahead of the ever-smaller group Will the Italian
be able to stay away to the end?
12:43 CEST 130km/2km to go
Her lead is now down
to 15 seconds over Willock, which means 20 seconds to the group
.
12:45 CEST
The pack has her in their sights
-- can they still catch her?
12:46 CEST
500 m -- she looks nervously behind
her, but she is going to make it!
12:47 CEST
And it is gold for Italy -- Bastianelli
wins!
12:48 CEST
She comes in with a time if three
hours 46 seconds. Second goes to last year's winner, Marianne Vos. And Italy
can even claim another medal, as Georgia Bronzoni takes third!
12:49 CEST
An unexpected result, with an overjoyed
and exhausted young winner.
12:50 CEST
The rest of the peloton dribbles
in over the line. We won't stay around to count them all, though.
Thanks for joining us this morning -- come back in a little while for the U23
men's race. Can they offer anything as exciting and surprising at this one?
Provisional results 1 Marta Bastianelli (Italy) 3.46.34 (35.406 km/h) 2 Marianne Vos (Netherlands) 0.06 3 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy) 4 Svetlana Bubnekova (Russia) 5 Noemi Cantele (Italy) 6 Emma Johannsson (Sweden)
