Dutchwoman Marianne Vos won her third World Championships title in cyclocross, when she beat Hanka Kupfernagel and Daphny van den Brand in Sunday’s elite women’s race. Vos rode away from the others in lap two of the five-lap race and won decisively by 45 seconds.
With her title she equaled Kupfernagel’s third gold medal in this discipline. Vos’ advantage on her statistics is her age – at only 22 years old she still has plenty of time to add more cross titles.
The course was quite slippery, with parts of it on packed snow and other parts over melting snow and ice. There were several 180 degree turns marked by barriers where the racers put their hands on the barrier and slung themselves around.
Vos started her celebration early, when she wasn’t even on the paved section yet. Over the finish line she took off her sunglasses, revealing her big smile as she crossed the finish line with both hands in the air.
Kate Nash was fourth, always able to see Van den Brand ahead of her. But Nash was unable to close the gap in her home country. This is the first time during these championships that the clear favorite won the race. However, another pre-race favorite – Sanne Cant of Belgium – finished in 15th spot. Italian champion Eva Lechner was fifth, followed by two French women.
On the podium, Kupfernagel smiled happily about silver, knowing that today, Vos was simply too strong.
Results
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) in 45’59”
2. Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) at 45″
3. Daphny van den Brand (Ned) at 1’02”
4. Kate Nash (Cze)
5. Eva Lechner (Ita)
6. Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Fra)
7. Caroline Mani (Fra)