Alyssa Sarkisov (DC Velo) claimed the junior women's road race title, sprinting to victory by a bike length over Jorja Bond (Boulder Junior Cycling). Sarkisov's teammate Lidia Cusack rounded out the podium after leading out the sprint.
"It feels amazing," Sarkisov told Cyclingnews. "It feels like it's not real. I keep thinking maybe I'm wrong - maybe I didn't win that like, It's just crazy!"
"We were all together going up the hill on the last lap, which kind of surprised me," Sarkisov said of the breakaway. "There were no attacks or anything. Some people tried to attack on the downhills, and then there was one attack by Helena Jones (Twenty24 Aevolo) with maybe half a kilometre to go.
"I was like, 'oh, shoot, this might be it'. And then I come to Lydia, and I was like, no one's pulling, no one's bringing her back. This is gonna be it.
"She pulled me to the front, caught her, and then she lead me out and I started sprinting, and I got the sprint and she was still third with the lead out."
The victory was Sarkisov's third title but her first in the 17-18 juniors and earns her an automatic bid for the UCI World Championships in Zurich in September, and Cusack was more than happy to help her since she earned her place with a victory in the time trial earlier in the week.
"I got the win on Tuesday, so I have my spot at Worlds. So I figured just got to help her get to Worlds," Cusack said. "Now we're both going."
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
-
Now-retired Franck Bonnamour banned for four years due to an 'unexplained abnormality' in Athlete Biological Passport
French cyclist's ban to span from February 5, 2024, to February 4, 2028 -
'I'm not done with the Tour' - Mads Pedersen completes alternative 2025 season at Vuelta a España before returning to the Tour de France
'I'm ready for the next three weeks' - Dane to target Vuelta stages points jersey and share Lidl-Trek leadership with Giulio Ciccone -
'Jonas is the favourite' - UAE Team Emirates GC duo João Almeida and Juan Ayuso point to Vingegaard as top name for Vuelta a España victory
In Tadej Pogačar's absence, Spaniard and Portuguese racers joint leaders for squad -
Safety in the spotlight: Are the UCI's new rules doing more harm than good?
2025 has seen the UCI introduce and propose a number of changes aimed at making professional cycling safer, but many of their ideas have attracted major backlash. Cyclingnews investigates the initiatives and issues at play to see if the UCI is looking in the right places…
