Wyman dominates in Faè di Oderzo

Great Britain's Helen Wyman (Kona-FSA) dominated the elite women's Ciclocross del Ponte in Faè di Oderzo, Italy on Tuesday, besting runner-up Vania Rossi by nearly two minutes. Italy's Francesca Cucciniello finished third, 38 seconds behind Rossi.

With very heavy rain for 48 hours before the race, the course had changed beyond recognition from its normal fast and sweeping style to a mud-bath where only the strong would prevail.

"The course was pretty old school," said Wyman. "A bumpy field for one section, ditch jumps and lots of mud. Another great thing was the amount of support. I was really surprised but there were loads of people watching and some even managed to cheer for me despite me beating the Italians."

Wyman took the lead after the first pits and didn't ever look like getting caught. The fast-improving Rossi was chasing hard behind, having returned to 'cross this season. The course was always going to be about who made the least mistakes when ridden in these conditions, and in the battle for second, that was Rossi.

"This is the perfect time of year for me to be getting in more competition," said Wyman. "We've got two World Cups coming up in Belgium, and I want to be going well for them and the third round of the GVA that follows them. It’s a shame there aren't more international events mid-week in Belgium or Holland, but that’s just the way it is, so it is necessary to get those extra kilometres in the car done, but it’s always worth it.

"I'm looking forward to five days in Italy now with some good weather and quality training. I hope I can take some good form into my next races."