Videos

Riders were closest to a dominant VosMedallists behind Marianne Vos Emma Johansson and Rosella Ratto are both looking towards the future and hoping to be able to take the rainbow jersey themselves in years to come. Johansson and Ratto were the nearest to Vos in last week’s women’s world road race championships, crossing the line fifteen seconds behind the dominant Dutchwoman, who took off on the final lap to defend the title she won last year. Vos’ team-mate Anna van der Breggen was best of the rest, a further eighteen seconds behind. Both Johansson and Ratto know that they were two of the strongest riders in the race, and draw on that thought as encouragement for future editions. “Obviously, I also want that rainbow jersey, it’s not a secret I think,” said Johansson. “I think everyone would like to have that one, one day. But she [Vos] is an amazing [...]

Duo grilled over how and why they lost out on victory Facing questions which appeared insensitive at times, given the disappointment Joaquim Rodriguez showed on the podium, both he and Spanish team-mate Alejandro Valverde had to defend themselves in terms of their tactics in the world road race championships on Sunday. The duo spoke to the press approximately an hour after the finish of the road race and were essentially asked how they had not managed to win the race. There were two of them in the final move of four, yet Portugal’s Rui Costa managed to outmanoeuvre Valverde and then bridge across to Joaquim Rodriguez, who had attacked a couple of kilometres earlier. He then beat him in the sprint to the line. “You did the race of your life today, but can you explain how it is possible that Spain didn’t win this title?,” said one writer to [...]

“I just went hoping my legs wouldn’t fail me. They didn’t fail me”The new world road race champion Rui Costa has pledged to do his utmost to shine in the famous jersey, saying that he will do it justice in the months ahead. The Portuguese rider added the world title to previous victories such as stages in the Tour de France and the overall classification of the Tour de Suisse. The win confirms him as one of the world’s best riders, and he is determined to have a strong season in 2014 with the stripes on his back. “It was always a big dream of mine since I was a child to wear this jersey. Today I realised a dream and in a way won the lottery,” he said at the post race press conference, which can been seen in the video below. “This jersey means a big deal to [...]

“Today, if you had any problems, you were gone”Both of Ireland’s captains started this morning determined to try to achieve a big performance, believing the punchy course would suit their strengths, but instead Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin each ended up on the ground, behind the bunch and then out of the race. The problems which befell them were similar to those suffered by many other riders on the greasy surface, with the first two thirds of the race rendered extremely tricky due to the heavy rains on a road slicked by city traffic and painted lines. Roche hit the deck on the first of ten laps of the Firenze finishing circuit. He wasn’t badly hurt, but was sufficiently delayed to make it impossible to get back on. “I felt good and the others on the team were really focussed. Matt Brammeier and Sam Bennett were helping myself and Dan [...]