Wild hands Cervelo its second win in Sweden

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The Cervélo women's team claimed its second victory of the weekend, with sprinter Kirsten Wild claiming the women's World Cup round in Vårgårda, Sweden following up on the squad's success in the team time trial on Friday.

Wild bested HTC-Columbia's Adrie Visser and hometown favourite Emma Johansson (Redsun) in a dash to the line.

The victory propelled Wild into the second spot in the World Cup rankings, with Marianne Vos (Nederlands Bloeit) maintaining the lead she has held since she won the first round in March.

The riders got underway for the dozen laps of the 11km circuit and Cervélo took the reins from the gun. Emma Pooley, winner of La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, put in one of her signature attacks on the first lap but could only gain 1:30 on the HTC-Columbia-led field.

Mid-way through the race Pooley was pulled back, and there was quickly a counter-attack by 22-year-old Shara Gillow (Australia). The daughter of 1980 Olympian David Gillow managed to pull out a minute's lead, but an untimely puncture halved her advantage despite  a quick wheel change, and she was caught shortly thereafter.

Looking to extend her 70-point World Cup lead, Vos went all-in on the final trip up the Hägrungabacken and opened a significant gap. However, the strong work from Wild's squad pulled it all back together in sight of the finish line.

Wild proved fastest in the sprint over her compatriot Visser, while Johansson thrilled the home crowd with her third place finish.

Vos' gamble did not pay off, and she now leads the World Cup standings by a mere 18 points over Wild with one round left to go, the GP de Plouay on August 21.

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