Kirsten Wild (WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling) crossed the line first Saturday at the RideLondon Classique, but the race jury ruled the Dutch rider deviated from her line in the final 100 metres and disqualified her result, lifting Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg) to the top step of the podium ahead of Elisa Balsamo (Valcar-Cylance Cycling).
A massive crash in the final 100 metres took out Chloe Hosking (Alé Cipollini) and about 20 other riders, and the race jury ruled Wild's move from her line caused the melee.
How it happened
The criterium-like course was shortened compared to the last year's. Cutting out Whitehall and the Admiralty Arch, the new circuit had a length of 3.4 kilometres and was raced clockwise instead of anticlockwise. On 20 laps, the peloton raced around St James’s Park, passing Horse Guards Parade and Buckingham Palace before going up Constitution Hill. After a U-turn at the top, the race finished on The Mall.
Intermediate sprints after laps 4, 8, 12, and 16 ensured that the speed was high throughout the race, and there were no real breakaways. Abby-Mae Parkinson (Drops) tried to get away several times but had the peloton on her wheel each time. Dani Christmas (Lotto Soudal Ladies) attacked on lap 11 and had a small gap for about one kilometre before being reeled in again.
Team Sunweb led out Susanne Andersen for the four intermediate sprints. The 21-year-old was first across the line three times, winning the sprint competition. Coming onto the finishing straight with one lap to go, her teammate Leah Kirchmann crashed. Kirchmann’s bike got tangled up with that of British champion Alice Barnes who avoided crashing but was out of contention for the final sprint.
The lead-out trains of Valcar Cylance and WNT-Rotor took control on the final lap. Team Sunweb came to the front with one kilometre to go, but it was German champion Lisa Brennauer (WNT-Rotor), with Wild on her wheel, who led the peloton past Buckingham Palace and onto the finishing straight with just over 500 metres to go.
Coming from behind, Wiebes had to open her sprint early and sped past Brennauer with about 200 metres to go as Brennauer ran out of steam. As riders tried to follow Wiebes, Wild lost the open road ahead of her, and when she went to the left, she caused the crash of Hosking that set off a chain reaction across the width of the road.
Wild crossed the line just ahead of Wiebes, but after a review of the finish, she was disqualified by the race jury, giving Wiebes the win.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 0:00:05 |
| 21 | Lauren Kitchen (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope | 0:00:06 |
| 22 | Jeanne Korevaar (Ned) CCC-Liv | 0:00:14 |
| 23 | Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) Ale Cipollini | 0:00:19 |
| 24 | Riejanne Markus (Ned) CCC-Liv | |
| 25 | Annelies Dom (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies | |
| 26 | Maëlle Grossetete (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope | 0:00:23 |
| 27 | Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Team Sunweb Women | 0:00:25 |
| 28 | Pfeiffer Georgi (GBr) Team Sunweb Women | 0:00:26 |
| 29 | Lara Vieceli (Ita) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling | 0:00:28 |
| 30 | Lisa Brennauer (Ger) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling | 0:00:29 |
| 31 | Sara Penton (Swe) Team Virtu Cycling | |
| 32 | Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling | 0:00:30 |
| 33 | Christina Siggaard (Den) Team Virtu Cycling | 0:00:32 |
| 34 | Julie Solvang (Nor) Hitec Products-Birk Sport | 0:00:33 |
| 35 | Dani Christmas (GBr) Lotto Soudal Ladies | |
| 36 | Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling | 0:00:36 |
| 37 | Kirsten Wild (Ned) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling | |
| 38 | Coralie Demay (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope | 0:00:38 |
| 39 | Emilie Moberg (Nor) Team Virtu Cycling | 0:00:39 |
| 40 | Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Fra) Trek-Segafredo Women | 0:00:41 |
| 41 | Skylar Schneider (USA) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam | 0:00:42 |
| 42 | Chantal Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam | 0:00:44 |
| 43 | Danique Braam (Ned) Lotto Soudal Ladies | 0:01:04 |
| 44 | Claudia Koster (Ned) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling | 0:01:06 |
| 45 | Lealin Teutenburg (Ger) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling | 0:01:07 |
| 46 | Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) Valcar-Cylance Cycling | |
| 47 | Ella Harris (NZl) Canyon-SRAM | |
| 48 | Grace Garner (GBr) Hitec Products-Birk Sport | 0:01:12 |
| 49 | Jessica Raimondi (Ita) Ale Cipollini | 0:01:15 |
| 50 | Abby-Mae Parkinson (GBr) Drops | 0:01:19 |
| 51 | Sarah Rijkes (Aut) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling | 0:01:21 |
| 52 | Chantal Hoffmann (Lux) Lotto Soudal Ladies | 0:01:24 |
| 53 | Janine van der Meer (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg | 0:01:29 |
| 54 | Lauretta Hanson (Aus) Trek-Segafredo Women | 0:01:36 |
| 55 | Katarzina Pawlowska (Pol) Team Virtu Cycling | 0:01:37 |
| 56 | Susanne Andersen (Nor) Team Sunweb Women | 0:01:39 |
| 57 | Pernille Feldman (Nor) Hitec Products | |
| 58 | Abi Van Twisk (GBr) Trek-Segafredo Women | |
| 59 | Julia Soek (Ned) Team Sunweb Women | 0:01:44 |
| 60 | Allison Beveridge (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women | 0:01:46 |
| 61 | Rotem Gafinovitz (Isr) Canyon-SRAM | 0:01:53 |
| 62 | Christa Riffel (Ger) Canyon-SRAM | |
| 63 | Sara Bergen (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women | 0:01:59 |
| 64 | Lotta Pauliina Lepistö (Fin) Trek-Segafredo Women | 0:02:20 |
| 65 | Valerie Demey (Bel) CCC-Liv | 0:02:48 |
| 66 | Alice Barnes (GBr) Canyon-SRAM | 0:03:36 |
| 67 | Elizabeth Bennett (GBr) Drops | 0:03:59 |
| 68 | Manon Lloyd (GBr) Drops | 0:04:02 |
| 69 | Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb Women | |
| 70 | Natalie Redmond (Aus) Drops | |
| 71 | Maria Van 'T Geloof (Ned) Alé Cipollini | 0:04:55 |
| 72 | Katherine Maine (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women | 0:05:11 |
| 73 | Brodie Chapman (Aus) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank | 0:05:36 |
| 74 | Shannon Malseed (Aus) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank | |
| 75 | Rozanne Slik (Ned) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank | |
| 76 | Gillian Ellsay (Can) Rally UHC Cycling Women | 0:05:49 |
| 77 | Summer Moak (USA) Rally UHC Cycling Women | 0:05:50 |
| 78 | Esther van Veen (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg | 0:06:02 |
| 79 | Megan Barker (GBr) Drops | 0:07:44 |
| 80 | Kendall Ryan (USA) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank | 0:08:08 |
| 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 |
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