The women's road race of the 2008 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 27 September in Varese, Italy. The course comprised eight laps around a 17.35-kilometre route, making a total distance of 138.8 km. Each lap featured two ascents: the first at Montello (6.5% gradient for 1.15 kilometres); and the second at Ronchi, Gallarate (4.5% for 3.13 kilometres). The race included a total of 1,937 metres of climbing.
Pre-race favourites included Varese local rider Noemi Cantele and her teammates Tatiana Guderzo and Giorgia Bronzini, Marianne Vos of the Netherlands, Judith Arndt of Germany (champion in 2004), reigning Olympic champion Nicole Cooke and silver medallist Emma Johansson. Notably missing from the start list was Marta Bastianelli, reigning champion from 2007, who was awaiting a verdict on a non-negative drug test result in July 2008.
The race was won by Great Britain's Nicole Cooke, with Marianne Vos and Judith Arndt finishing with the same time, second and third respectively. Cooke was the first British woman to win the race since Mandy Jones in 1982.
The race Not long after the race began, a Swedish rider brought down the front row of the peloton when her tyres slipped on some painted letters on the road. Christine Thorburn was also brought down in a crash, when she was squeezed up against a fence. Although she was not severely injured and did attempt to chase the bunch, she failed to make contact and did not finish.
A group of thirteen riders soon broke away from the main group, driven mainly by the American Kristin Armstrong. They gained 25 seconds on the field but were pulled back by the Dutch and British teams with one lap to go. As soon as the break was caught, Marianne Vos launched a counter-attack on the Montello climb, Nicole Cooke, Judith Arndt, Trixi Worrack and Emma Johansson, and Susanne Ljungskog joined her in what was to become the winning break. Ljungskog's chances ended when she punctured, leaving five in the break.
Worrack and Vos attacked on the final hill, but were brought back to the break with 2 km to go. The race finished with a sprint, Vos took the lead before being overtaken by Cooke just before the finish line. Arndt struggled to match their speed in the sprint, she was nearly caught out by a late surge by Johansson, but eventually crossed the line in third place.
Final classification
Rank Rider Country TimeNicole Cooke3h 42'11"Marianne Voss.t.Judith Arndts.t.4Emma Johanssonat 5"5Trixi Worrackat 11"6Diana Žiliūtėat 1'47"7Marta Vilajosana Andreus.t.8Joanne Kiesanowskis.t.9Alex Wrubleskis.t.10Yuliya Martisovas.t.11Claudia Häusler s.t.12Chantal Beltman s.t.13Linda Villumsen s.t.14Giorgia Bronzini s.t.15Nikki Egyed s.t.16Grace Verbeke s.t.17Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli s.t.18Edita Pučinskaitė s.t.19Christiane Soeder s.t.20Maryline Salvetat s.t.21Kaytee Boyd s.t.22Amber Neben s.t.23Małgorzata Jasińska s.t.24Siobhan Dervan s.t.25Laura Lorenza Morfin Macouzet s.t.26Monia Baccaille s.t.27Rasa Polikevičiūtė s.t.28Sharon Laws s.t.29Tatiana Guderzo s.t.30Mirjam Melchers-Van Poppel s.t.31Susanne Ljungskog s.t.32Modesta Vžesniauskaitė at 1'56"33Natalia Boyarskaya s.t.34Jolanta Polikevičiūtė s.t.35Emma Pooley s.t.36Anna Sanchis Chafer s.t.37Noemi Cantele at 1'59"38Zinaida Stahurskaya at 4'54"39Kristin Armstrong at 4'56"40Alexandra Burchenkova at 5"24"41Elizabeth Armitstead s.t.42Rosane Kirch at 6'08"43Grete Treier at 6'11"44Maja Adamsen s.t.45Oxana Kozonchuk s.t.46Clemilda Fernandes Silva s.t.
Rank Rider Country Time47Karine Gautard s.t.48Erinne Willock s.t.49Lieselot Decroix s.t.50Sereina Trachsel s.t.51Martina Růžičková s.t.52Eneritz Iturriaga Echevarria s.t.53Vicki Whitelaw s.t.54Edwige Pitel s.t.55Paulina Brzeźna s.t.56Marissa van der Merwe s.t.57Monika Grzebinoga s.t.58Liesbet De Vocht s.t.59Daniela Pintarelli s.t.60Julie Beveridge s.t.61Jessica Allen s.t.62Suzanne de Goede s.t.63Oenone Wood s.t.64Carla Ryan s.t.65Tatiana Antoshina s.t.66Patricia Schwager s.t.67Kori Kelley Seehafer s.t.68Monika Schachl at 6'16"69Rosara Joseph s.t.70Fabiana Luperini s.t.71Charlotte Becker s.t.72Luise Keller s.t.73Oksana Kashchyshyna at 9'22"74Verónica Leal Balderas s.t.75Sylwia Kapusta at 12'14"76Anriette Schoeman at 13'17"77Sigrid Corneo s.t.78Felicia Greer s.t.79Jennifer Hohl s.t.80Élodie Touffet s.t.81Rasa Leleivytė s.t.82Miho Oki at 17'50"83Yevheniya Vysotska at 20'20"84Laure Werner at 22'02"85Mirjam Hauser-Senn s.t.86Julie Krasniak at 27'51"87Chrissie Viljoen at 28'39"88Lynette Burger s.t.89Magdalena Zamolska s.t.90Inga Čilvinaitė s.t.91Alyona Andruk s.t.
Did not finish 45 riders failed to finish the race. Mayuko Hagiwara of Japan was disqualified, and Grassi Herrera of Mexico did not start the race.
Rider CountryKarin Thürig Anne Samplonius Irene van den Broek Christine Thorburn Angela Brodtka Rochelle Gilmore Anita Valen De Vries Hanna Taukanitsa Yuka Yamashima Maria Briceno Jimenez Eva Lechner Brooke Miller Emma Rickards Katheryn Curi Mattis Andrea Thürig Iosune Murillo Elkano Regina Bruins Jarmila Machačová Yulia Blindyuk Louise Moriarty Leticia Gil Parra Olivia Dillon Garcia Buittrago
Rider CountryKathryn Bertine Monica Holler Christine Majerus Karin Aune Anna Harkowska Robyn de Groot Cherise Taylor Uênia Fernandes de Souza Emilia Fahlin Nathalie Bates Yolandi Du Toit Janildes Fernandes Silva Gema Pascual Torrecilla Marie Lindberg Heather Wilson Alena Sits Ko Polona Batagelj Nathalie Lamborelle Laura Lepasalu Katarína Uhláriková Adriana Lovera Varela Mariya Slokotovich
References
External links Varese 2008 home page