cycling
Despite a broken elbow: World Championship gold for van Vleuten
Annemiek van Vleuten from the Netherlands is the first to cross the finish line at the World Championship road race in Wollongong. photo
© Dirk Waem/BELGA/dpa
The Dutch van Vleuten crowns her super season with World Championship gold. She wins with a broken elbow. Despite a strong performance, Liane Lippert is denied precious metal.
Standing behind the finish line with a bandaged arm, Annemiek van Vleuten could hardly believe her luck.
“I can’t believe it. I’m still waiting for someone to come and tell me it’s not true,” said the exceptional Dutch rider after winning gold in the road race at the World Cycling Championships in Wollongong, Australia, despite a broken elbow had fetched.
For van Vleuten it was the culmination of a super year in which she had already won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta. The start was uncertain for a long time. On Wednesday, the 39-year-old had a bad fall in the mixed team time trial shortly after the start and fractured her elbow.
Strong race by Liane Lippert
For Liane Lippert, on the other hand, the race over 164.3 kilometers ended in a huge disappointment. After 164.3 kilometers, the 24-year-old from Friedrichshafen took fourth place behind second-placed Belgium Lotte Kopecky and third-placed Silvia Persico from Italy. Even in mixed, Lippert had to be content with the thankless fourth place.
The podium place would also have been possible for Lippert. The German made the strongest impression on the mountain. She had attacked twice on Mount Pleasant and in a five-man lead group she had already distanced the favorites. But the rivals in the group didn’t work well together, so they all joined forces with a good kilometer to go. Van Vleuten used the moment to attack.
“What should I do. I couldn’t sprint with my elbows, so I attacked. That was the only chance I had. I was just waiting for them to catch me, but they didn’t come,” added van Vleuten. The pain was “hell” on the way. “I couldn’t get out of the saddle on the mountain. My legs exploded there.”
World Championship bronze for U23 driver Ricarda Bauernfeind
Ricarda Bauernfeind was happy about bronze in the U23 class at the World Championships. As in the time trial, there was a U23 rating in the women’s race. There, the New Zealander Niamh Fisher-Black won ahead of the British Pfeiffer Georgi. Bauernfeind had already won bronze in the individual time trial.