Nat Bromhead
Annemiek van Vleuten won the UCI Elite Women Road Race World Championship title in Yorkshire overnight, the Dutch rider effectively time trialling more than 100km of the challenging course solo.
Compatriot and defending champion Anna van der Breggen finished second with AVV’s Aussie teammate Amanda Spratt third.
Van Vleuten said she wanted to go hard on the climb, saying she ‘thought the move was good for the team.’
“Then I had a gap and I continued,” she added. “I trained a lot for this. It helped me to be ready for such a big effort today. People know that I do a lot of hours on the bike. It brings me a lot of emotions. It was such a big dream for me to be the UCI World Champion on the road as well because you can wear the rainbow jersey much more than in time trial.”
“The atmosphere when I crossed the finishing line was fantastic with so many people attending here in Yorkshire and cheering for me. I really enjoyed the moment. It gave me goose bumps.”
