August 03, 2019 – Lorena Wiebes was crowned the Prudential RideLondon Classique champion on Saturday but only after the most dramatic finish in the race’s history ended with a mass crash and with the original winner, Kirsten Wild, denied victory by the race commissaires.
Yet behind the 36-year-old, there had been carnage in the thrilling mass finish and little did Wild realise that she had been judged responsible for the crash as she had swerved late from her sprinter’s line to get the best road position on the inside of Wiebes for the denouement, only to clip the wheel of Chloe Hosking, who simply had nowhere to go.
The Australian sprinter, another of the race favourites, took a bad fall, and her tumble set off a chain reaction with other fast-finishing riders falling like dominoes across the width of the finish on the Mall, sending about a dozen to the tarmac too, including sprints classification winner, Susanne Andersen.
Mick Bennett, the race director, reported the good news that although “a number of riders crashed during the final sprint, initial reports confirm that there were no serious injuries”.
Wild originally believed she had taken the triumph and called it “the best feeling to beat the best sprinters in the world” but she was originally disqualified for being “judged to have deviated from her chosen line and endangered other riders.”
Then, on further lengthy review, the original disqualification was overturned but Wild was still relegated to the last place in her group, in 37th position.
The victory and 25,000 Euro first prize was instead awarded to Wiebes, the new Dutch champion, who is considered one of the great new talents in the sport but was left somewhat amazed to hear that the verdict had been reversed after she thought her long sprint for home had fallen just short.
“I didn’t have a very good position over the last five kilometres so I had to go to the front and start my sprint really early. It was a surprise win at the end. Kirsten came over in the last 50m but she was disqualified so it was really surprising. It’s just crazy,” she smiled.
It had been the Parkhotel Valkenburg rider’s first race in London and she reckoned she had been inspired by the big crowds lining the route.
“The rest of the season I hope to take as many as wins as possible,” added the youngster, who has shot to number three in the world this season with 11 race victories.
It had been an extraordinary and unfortunate finish to a race which had always looked as if it would be a sprinters’ dream, with the strongest of the 16 teams setting a ferocious pace around the 20 3.4km laps of the picturesque central London course that weaved round St James’s Park, past Buckingham Palace and up and down Constitution Hill.
The first 19 laps on the largely flat circuit were a mere prelude to a super-charged finish to the richest one-day race in women’s cycling as the powerful teams with the best sprinters kept the pace high to discourage breakaway attempts.
But, alas, for the British road race and time trial champion Alice Barnes, her race was ended just before the start of the final lap as Sunweb’s Leah Kirchmann fell and her handlebars caught the back wheel of the Canyon/SRAM rider’s bike.
“It was pretty disappointing, I really wanted to be contesting the finish but one of the bikes behind caught me and there was nothing I could do then,” sighed Barnes.
As the field gathered for a mass final sprint, Wild, of the WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling Team, found herself a little isolated without teammates to lead her out. She found herself squeezed for room and was forced to duck inside.
Her finish though was still powerful enough to see her overtake the Italian Elisa Balsamo (Valcar Cylance Cycling), who was promoted to runner-up, and third-placed American Coryn Rivera, Team Sunweb’s 2017 winner. The great Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) finished sixth.
Norway’s promising 21-year-old Andersen dominated the Continental Tyres Sprints Competition, easing to three of the four intermediate sprints and finishing runner-up in the other to take the 3,000 Euro first prize as her Team Sunweb concentrated their efforts there while also working out the best way to help their top sprinter Rivera.
Sadly for Andersen, her big day ended with her getting caught up in the big crash after doing the leg work for Rivera. “I dropped Coryn off and I went out to the right. I managed to dodge the crash twice but the third time I had nowhere to go. Luckily, I had managed to break quite hard before I went down but I took a tumble.
“It was a really big crash, involving around 20 girls. My elbow is swollen and my head hurts but we did good. I’m very happy.”
In a race where there were few attempts to split the peloton, Maelle Grossetete, the 21-year-old rider from French team FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope, lifted the Combativity Award, presented by SRAM, largely because of the way she battled back to the peloton after she had to change her bike due to a mechanical problem. “I think I was rewarded for my courage in catching up,” she said.
Ultimately, Rivera summed up what a remarkable day it had been in the Classique. “It’s a super-cool race, amazing to be racing in front of Buckingham Palace. It’s cool to have these roads closed and buzzing with people supporting us,” said the American.
“And it’s really motivating to be taking part in a race where the prize money is the same as in the men’s race.”
Results
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg 1:33:55
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling
3. Coryn Rivera (USA) Team Sunweb Women
4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
5. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women
6. Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv
7. Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
8. Marta Tagliaferro (Ita) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
9. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling
10. Eugénie Duval (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
11. Eva Buurman (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
12. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Team Virtu Cycling
13. Fernke Markus (Fra) Parkhotel Valkenburg
14. Lonneke Uneken (Ned) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
15. Lucy Garner (Gbr) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
16. Romy Kasper (Ger) Ale Cipollini
17. Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
18. Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Canyon-SRAM
19. Alison Jackson (Can) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
20. Jip van den Bos (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:05
21. Lauren Kitchen (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:06
22. Jeanne Korevaar (Ned) CCC-Liv 0:14
23. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) Ale Cipollini 0:19
24. Riejanne Markus (Ned) CCC-Liv
25. Annelies Dom (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
26. Maëlle Grossetete (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:23
27. Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Team Sunweb Women 0:25
28. Pfeiffer Georgi (Gbr) Team Sunweb Women 0:26
29. Lara Vieceli (Ita) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 0:28
30. Lisa Brennauer (Ger) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 0:29
31. Sara Penton (Swe) Team Virtu Cycling
32. Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling 0:30
33. Christina Siggaard (Den) Team Virtu Cycling 0:32
34. Julie Solvang (Nor) Hitec Products-Birk Sport 0:33
35. Dani Christmas (Gbr) Lotto Soudal Ladies
36. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling 0:36
37. Kirsten Wild (Ned) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling
38. Coralie Demay (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:38
39. Emilie Moberg (Nor) Team Virtu Cycling 0:39
40. Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Fra) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:41
41. Skylar Schneider (USA) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:42
42. Chantal Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:44
43. Danique Braam (Ned) Lotto Soudal Ladies 1:04
44. Claudia Koster (Ned) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 1:06
45. Lealin Teutenburg (Ger) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 1:07
46. Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling
47. Ella Harris (Nzl) Canyon-SRAM
48. Grace Garner (Gbr) Hitec Products-Birk Sport 1:12
49. Jessica Raimondi (Ita) Ale Cipollini 1:15
50. Abby-Mae Parkinson (Gbr) Drops 1:19
51. Sarah Rijkes (Aut) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 1:21
52. Chantal Hoffmann (Lux) Lotto Soudal Ladies 1:24
53. Janine van der Meer (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg 1:29
54. Lauretta Hanson (Aus) Trek-Segafredo Women 1:36
55. Katarzina Pawlowska (Pol) Team Virtu Cycling 1:37
56. Susanne Andersen (Nor) Team Sunweb Women 1:39
57. Pernille Feldman (Nor) Hitec Products
58. Abi Van Twisk (Gbr) Trek-Segafredo Women
59. Julia Soek (Ned) Team Sunweb Women 1:44
60. Allison Beveridge (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women 1:46
61. Rotem Gafinovitz (Isr) Canyon-SRAM 1:53
62. Christa Riffel (Ger) Canyon-SRAM
63. Sara Bergen (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women 1:59
64. Lotta Pauliina Lepistö (Fin) Trek-Segafredo Women 2:20
65. Valerie Demey (Bel) CCC-Liv 2:48
66. Alice Barnes (Gbr) Canyon-SRAM 3:36
67. Elizabeth Bennett (Gbr) Drops 3:59
68. Manon Lloyd (Gbr) Drops 4:02
69. Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb Women
70. Natalie Redmond (Aus) Drops
71. Maria Van ‘T Geloof (Ned) Alé Cipollini 4:55
72. Katherine Maine (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women 5:11
73. Brodie Chapman (Aus) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 5:36
74. Shannon Malseed (Aus) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
75. Rozanne Slik (Ned) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
76. Gillian Ellsay (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women 5:49
77. Summer Moak (USA) Rally UHC Cycling Women 5:50
78. Esther van Veen (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg 6:02
79. Megan Barker (Gbr) Drops 7:44
80. Kendall Ryan (USA) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 8:08
DNF Dannielle Khan (Gbr) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Marit Raaijmakers (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
DNF Emma White (USA) Rally UHC Cycling Women
DNF Chloe Hosking (Aus) Ale Cipollini
DNF Louise Norman Hansen (Den) Team Virtu Cycling
DNF Giorgia Bariani (Ita) Ale Cipollini
DNF Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling