Jolien d’Hoore bested teammate Chloe Hosking across the final passage of the finish line of the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta in city centre Madrid on Sunday to win the last round of the UCI Women’s WorldTour. The Wiggle High5 duo shared the Madrid Challenge podium with Marta Bastianelli (Alé Cipollini), who sprinted in for the third.
For the second straight year, Madrid Challenge ended in a field sprint. The 5.8 kilometre circuit on flat, fast and wide roads lends itself to a high-speed bunch finish. Several teams attempted to chase an alternative outcome, sending riders up the road in pursuit of time gaps, television time and tiring the competition.
The Vuelta a España race organisers borrow the model used for La Course by Le Tour. Madrid Challenge offers the women’s peloton a chance to race on the same circuit used by the men to close out their Grand Tour.
Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans Cyclng Team) was crowned the first UCI Women’s WorldTour winner in Madrid. Kasia Niewiadoma (Rabo Liv Cycling Team) won the youth classification.
Over 17 rounds of racing and 35 race days, the UCI Women’s WorldTour peloton covered 3495.7 kilometres.
UCI Road World Championships, Doha (QAT) > Sunday October 9th to Sunday October 16th
Last year’s results
Elite Women road race 1. Elizabeth Armitstead (GBR) 2. Anna Van der Breggen (NED) 3. Megan Guarnier (USA)
Elite Women time trial 1. Linda Villumsen (NZL) 2. Anna Van der Breggen (NED) 3. Lisa Brennauer (GER)
Elite Women team time trial 1. Velocio-SRAM (GER) 2. Boels Dolmans Cycling Team (NED) 3. Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team (NED)
Doha, Qatar will host the 2016 UCI Road World Championships next month. It is the first time a UCI Championships event will be held in the Middle East.
The UCI Road World Championships will open with a team time trial on Sunday, 9 October and conclude with the Elite Men’s road race eight days later. The UCI women’s peloton have the opportunity to compete in three events: the team time trial, the individual time trial and the road race.
Trade teams field six-rider squads for the team time trial while National Federations select riders for the individual time trial and the road race. Similar to the Olympics, field size is smaller than what we’re accustomed to during the regular season, and UCI rankings determine the number of riders each nation is allowed.
The Elite Women’s individual time trial covers 28,9 kilometres on the artificial island known as The Pearl-Qatar. Roads are wide, open and exposed to wind, and the course includes long sweeping turns around several different roundabouts.
The Elite Women’s road race begins at the Qatar Foundation before travelling to The Pearl-Qatar for seven laps around a 15.2-kilometre circuit, the same circuit used for the individual time trial. Like the time trial, the possibility of wind poses the main challenge during the road race.
With the inaugural UCI Women’s WorldTour now complete, we take a look at the UCI Women’s WorldTour by facts and figures.
Number of rounds: 17 Number of race days: 35 Number of one-day races: 13 Number of stage races: 4 Number of team time trials: 2 (one standalone, one as part of a stage race) Number of winners: 20 individual winners + 2 teams (Twenty16 – RideBiker – AMGEN Tour of California stage two TTT; Boels Dolmans Cycling Team – Vårgårda TTT) Most winning rider: UCI World Champion Lizzie Armitstead with three one-day races, one stage win and one stage race general classification victory Most winning team: Boels Dolmans Cycling Team with 15 wins from five different riders + the team time trial in Vårgårda for 16 wins in total Most winning nation: The Netherlands with nine victories from six riders. The United States of America was a close second with eight victories from three riders. If you add in TTT wins, that’s ten victories for The Netherlands compared to nine victories for USA. Youngest winner: Thalita de Jong (22) Oldest winner: Evie Stevens (33); Kirsten Wild and Giorgia Bronzini are also 33 but Stevens’ birthday comes first. Number of riders to wear the UCI Women’s WorldTour overall jersey: 4 – Lizzie Armitstead, Anna van der Breggen, Chantal Blaak, Megan Guarnier Number of riders to wear the UCI Women’s WorldTour youth jersey: 2 – Floortje Mackaij, Kasia Niewiadoma.
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