World Cup leader Marianne Vos (Waowdeals) captured her second World Cup win of the season in sunny Bern, Switzerland on Sunday afternoon. Vos rode away from compatriot Annemarie Worst (Steylaerts-777) in the final lap. US champion Katie Compton (KFC Racing) was third at 22 seconds from Vos on a blistering fast course.
"This is a win that provides me with a lot of morale for the remainder of the World Cup. This feels great," Vos said in the post-race flash interview. Vos rode in second position behind Italian champion Eva Lechner (Creafin Tüv Sud) during the opening lap around the massive Weyermannshaus open-air pool.
Sixteen riders were still together when Vos - a seven-time world champion - surged away during the second of six laps. Current world champion Sanne Cant (Corendon-Circus) was unable to keep up and in no time the 31-year-old Dutch rider collected a lead of 12 seconds. Vos seemed on her way for a long solo ride.
"I rode my own race because when you're in traffic and something happens at an obstacle then you're in trouble," Vos said.
Suddenly, Annemarie Worst moved up through the chase group and put the hammer down during the third lap. "I was just too late to join Marianne when she attacked,"Worst said.
She rode a fast lap and slowly started to ride away from Katie Compton and tried to reconnect with Vos. “I felt she was coming back. Actually, she was coming back so fast that I realized that I shouldn’t try to hold her off because when she comes back in the final lap then I wouldn’t stand a chance," Vos said.
By the end of fourth lap, Worst bridged up with Vos, while Compton trailed the two leaders by seven seconds. "It took a lot of effort to close the gap but it pleased me a lot that I was able to do it," Worst said.
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Teammates Cant and Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado, Maghalie Rochette (CX Fever Racing Team p/b Specialized) and Ellen Van Loy (Telenet Fidea Lions) were battling for fourth place. Worst tried to shake off Vos during the final lap but the experienced World Cup leader wasn’t in trouble. Instead, she moved back into the front position during the final lap and gapped her compatriot on a technical section with short, steep climbs.
"I wanted to be in front at the short hills. I noticed that I had a gap and tried to keep it until the finish. It worked out," Vos said.
She deployed an impressive display of her abilities with a fastest lap time of the race, at 6:32 minutes, it was eight seconds faster than Worst's third lap. Vos had time to celebrate the 22nd World Cup win of her career. Worst was pleased with second place during her first World Cup round of the season and high-fived with the fans at the finish line.
Compton was content with her performance, taking her first World Cup podium result of the season. Cant won a non-sprint for fourth place from teammate Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado at 34 seconds from the winner. Rochette was sixth, Van Loy finished seventh, Alice Maria Arzuffi (Steylaerts-777) eighth, Lechner ninth and Kaitlin Keough tenth.
In the World Cup standings, Vos strengthened her lead against chasers Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing CX) and Katerina Nash (CLIF Pro Team), who skipped this World Cup round in Switzerland. Vos now has 225 points. Cant moves up to second place overall at 68 points. Kaitlin Keough is just three points further back.
The fourth World Cup round of the season will be held in Tábor, Czech Republic on November 17.
'Looking at last year's programme and this year's programme doesn't give us any insight for this moment, but we will do it, of course, afterwards' says team manager Rutger Thijssen
