Netherlands and Vollering drag and tug, but Kopecky comes out on top and prolongs her world title

Lotte Kopecky has won the women's road race at the World Championships. The Belgian rider let Demi Vollering do the hard work and then beat her in the sprint. Chloe Dygert finished second, ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini, leaving Vollering without a medal.

It was a very wet day in Zürich. The women began their 154-kilometer course in a rain-soaked Uster. From the city near Lake Greifensee, the peloton rode to Zürich, where they would tackle the local circuit. The riders were to complete five laps of the 27-kilometer circuit, with the steep Bergstrasse and Witikonerstrasse climbs serving as the key challenges.

Before the race, a moment of silence was held to remember Muriel Furrer, an 18-year-old Swiss rider who passed away after a crash in the women's junior race on Thursday. After spending a day in the hospital in critical condition, she succumbed to her injuries on Friday. The minute of silence was moving, and the Swiss team was visibly emotional.

After the moment of silence, the women began their race. From the start, three riders broke away: Luxembourg's Nina Berton, Spain's Sara Martín and Switzerland's Caroline Baur. They gained a lead of about a minute and a half, but the pace picked up on the first climb. The Netherlands, with Mischa Bredewold at the front, reduced the gap to half a minute. With 100 kilometers to go, the breakaway was caught, largely due to an acceleration by Thalita de Jong, who brought along Belgian rider Julie Van De Velde.

Breakaway group of eleven (including two Dutch riders) gets reeled in by Dutch team

The break didn’t last long, but it marked the beginning of a hectic phase. After a flurry of attacks, eleven women broke away: Bredewold and Riejanne Markus represented the Netherlands, along with Justine Ghekiere (Belgium), Soraya Paladin (Italy), Sarah Gigante (Australia), Elena Hartmann (Switzerland), Franziska Koch (Germany), Niamh Fisher-Black (New Zealand), Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Norway), Christine Majerus (Luxembourg) and Urska Zigart (Slovenia). A strong group, and the Netherlands had the numerical advantage. However, Vollering was uncomfortable with the situation, so Pauliena Rooijakkers took the lead and closed the gap in one go. With 70 kilometers to go, everyone was back in one group.

This led to a few attacks, but the pace set by the Dutch women ensured that the second full lap on the local circuit was relatively calm. It wasn’t slow, though: with about 50 kilometers to go, only 40 cold and shivering riders remained in the peloton as the rain and cold took their toll. The Dutch pace also meant that Pauline Ferrand-Prévot couldn’t keep up. The French rider, considered an outsider for the victory, was quickly ruled out of the race for the world title. On the penultimate climb of the Bergstrasse, Vollering took the lead, causing several gaps to form, with Grace Brown among those unable to keep up.

Rooijakkers then took over and led out Vollering, who once again took the lead. Only a handful of women could keep up, but the Dutch numerical advantage was gone: Vos and Pieterse were dropped, leaving Vollering alone. Kopecky followed easily. For a brief moment, only seven riders remained at the front, but chaos after the acceleration allowed more riders to come back. Markus returned and attacked with Belgian rider Justine Ghekiere. They quickly pulled away, but the chaos behind them led to a regrouping of about twenty riders.

Vos and Markus in the lead entering final lap

The two leaders had a maximum gap of about 45 seconds, but Vollering was determined to stay in control. With Bredewold and Pieterse back in the group, the gap was quickly reduced. When it was down to ten seconds, Vos attacked. She and Australian Ruby Roseman-Gannon joined the two leaders and began to extend their lead again. It seemed like a perfect situation for the Dutch team. For a moment, it looked like the Dutch were racing against each other: Bredewold kept the gap small but then stopped pulling. As a result, the four riders entered the final lap with a minute’s lead.

It was a big advantage for four strong riders, and the Netherlands seemed to have the upper hand. Vos struggled a bit as she joined the leaders, but on the Bergstrasse, she managed to stay with her three companions. The chasing group began to fall apart: Kopecky, Vollering, Liane Lippert (Germany), Chloe Dygert (USA) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy) broke away from the rest of the favorites, though the action wasn’t captured on camera. They were three-quarters of a minute behind and quickly closed the gap. Meanwhile, Vollering refused to help with the chase, as she wouldn’t bring back her Dutch teammates.

As the chase group got closer to the leaders, Longo Borghini attacked. Vollering responded, but Kopecky let a gap open. Together, they closed the gap. Lippert joined later as well, making it six leaders, without Kopecky and Dygert but with two Dutch riders: Vos hung on, but Markus couldn’t. She dropped back to join Kopecky and Dygert, who were about fifteen seconds behind. At the top of the Binz hill, the leaders hesitated, allowing the chasers to get closer. At that point, the American rider attacked the defending champion: it didn’t seem like it would be Kopecky’s day.

Everything comes back together in the finale

That was also true for Vos, who dropped on the plateau at the top of the climb. She was overtaken by the American time trialist, who steadily closed the gap. With 14 kilometers to go, she caught the front group, where Vollering had since taken off her black rain jacket. But the American wasn’t the only one to return: suddenly, Kopecky was back, with Vos on her wheel. Markus also returned, meaning there were now three Dutch riders, two Belgians and five solo riders heading into the final stretch.

On the last incline before the descent, Vollering made one last attack, but it was easily anticipated. Kopecky caught up, as did most of the group. Vollering was now isolated, as Vos and Markus were out of contention. Kopecky took advantage of this and pushed hard in the descent to prevent the two Dutch riders from coming back. Vollering tried to make one last move on the final incline in a desperate attempt to drop Kopecky, but Longo Borghini countered sharply. She quickly opened a gap, forcing Vollering to chase. It nearly cost Lippert and Kopecky their positions, but with four kilometers to go, the group came back together.

With four riders heading into the final kilometer, Roseman-Gannon and Dygert were closing in from behind: the leaders weren’t cooperating. Instead of four, there were now six riders competing for the world title. Vos and Markus were too far behind. Roseman-Gannon attempted a late attack in the final kilometer, but Vollering let nothing slip. She led the sprint, but Kopecky easily overtook her to claim her second world title. Dygert took second, followed by Longo Borghini. Far behind the winner, Puck Pieterse won the sprint among her competitors for the U23 world title — a small consolation for the Dutch team.

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